Retaining walls and retaining wall ideas and design
Retaining walls and garden walls including timber (sleeper retaining walls), treated pine walls and gabion walls are used widely in landscaping and garden retaining walls can be constructed from a range of materials include concrete, block, gabion walls, timber , block and stone retaining walls, dry stone walls, masonry walls, brick and concrete walls. Retaining walls for Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra,
Retaining Walls, Design and Ideas for Garden Walls and Landscaping Retaining Wall Ideas includes timber, treated pine, masonry and gabion walls
Retaining walls (retainer walls) are effective in creating landscaping features, maintaining or altering soil levels, creating flat areas on a sloping block and combating erosion.
Walls may be structural or decorative and may require a planning or building permit depending on location, height and other factors.
Smaller walls can be a DIY project, however council and safety regulations still apply.
Garden walls may be low wall constructed from stone or timber and if they are a low wall may require little effort to construct.drainage for retaining walls is essential, a build up of water behind a wall can cause structural damage and the potential of collapse.
A retaining wall can be simple or quite complicated. A low garden wall designed to retain a garden bed may require a straight forward construction. A higher wall expected to expected to hold back soil is a different story. So carefully evaluate:
the height of the wall.
the material (soil rock etc) that the retaining wall needs to restrain.
drainage requirements behind the wall.
any weight or traffic that will be applied above the wall or at the base of the wall.
council or engineering regulations relevant to your retaining walls construction.
MATERIALS FOR BUILING RETAINING WALLS
Wet Stone and Dry Stone Garden Retaining Walls Wet and Dry stone walls are a traditional methods of building retaining walls and fences. Stone is decorative, durable and functional
Wet stone retaining walls are generally more stable than dry stone walls and when properly designed can be used for walls that need to hold back large quantities of soil.
Dry stone walls do not require solid foundations like those of wet stone walls.
Timber Retaining Walls or Sleeper Retaining Walls
Timber walls (sleeper retaining walls) are one of the most popular DIY garden walls. Timber sleeper retaining walls have been used for many years to create walls. Railway sleepers (red gum) and treated pine are the two main types of timbers used in walls. Metal or steel uprights are now a popular alternative to sleeper uprights. Concrete sleepers are also available.
Brick Masonry and Block Retaining Walls
In many cases, block walls or brick and masonry retaining walls are the strongest and longest lasting option. With proper foundations a brick wall can last a long time.
Reinforced poured concrete walls are another option.
Gabion Retaining Walls
Gabion walls are wire mesh containers or 'gabion baskets', filled with stone. They are usually handmade and Gabion walls are designed to suit a specific site. They are particularly useful for sloping sites. Gabion walls allow water penetration and if properly constructed are long lasting. Gabion baskets need to designed to take the weight and stress of the rock fill. Costs vary greatly for gabion retaining walls as the cost of the basket is one part and the cost of the rock will depend on type of rock, on some sites rock is free, on others you need to buy it in.
Unlike many other walls Gabion Walls usually do not require concrete foundations. The mesh used for construction is usually welded wire mesh although materials vary depending on site requirements and the size of the wall. Gabion walls may be flush faced vertical walls or inclined at 6 - 10 degrees
