Hello,
we want to fully support the slope on our hillside property (sloping down away from the street) from the front corner of the house to the side property line, in order to create a level parking space at the top near the street and to have a slightly flat area at the bottom.
A full story height needs to be retained, so about 3 meters (10 feet) high. The width up to the side boundary is approximately 3.50 meters (11.5 feet).
Now the question arises what options we have. So far, I have come up with the following three possibilities:
A) The most obvious solution would be to install L-shaped retaining wall blocks. The problem is first finding someone willing to do this (few but very large blocks), as well as the cost and appearance.
B) The currently most likely approach is to build a wall from concrete formwork blocks together with my father. Based on statics found online, I would choose 24 cm (9.5 inches) blocks and construct it with appropriate reinforcement (vertical and horizontal) on a frost-protected concrete foundation. Ideally, I would then have it plastered directly with the house. The advantages would be appearance and cost. However, I am uncertain whether this wall (retaining soil on one side plus traffic load from the parking space) will really hold up over time. Are these concerns justified?
C) A completely new idea I had is gabion walls, since these are apparently designed to handle high loads if built with sufficient width and can be constructed relatively tall.
What is your opinion? What is ultimately the best option for such a high wall that also needs to bear significant loads? Possibly any other suggestions?
we want to fully support the slope on our hillside property (sloping down away from the street) from the front corner of the house to the side property line, in order to create a level parking space at the top near the street and to have a slightly flat area at the bottom.
A full story height needs to be retained, so about 3 meters (10 feet) high. The width up to the side boundary is approximately 3.50 meters (11.5 feet).
Now the question arises what options we have. So far, I have come up with the following three possibilities:
A) The most obvious solution would be to install L-shaped retaining wall blocks. The problem is first finding someone willing to do this (few but very large blocks), as well as the cost and appearance.
B) The currently most likely approach is to build a wall from concrete formwork blocks together with my father. Based on statics found online, I would choose 24 cm (9.5 inches) blocks and construct it with appropriate reinforcement (vertical and horizontal) on a frost-protected concrete foundation. Ideally, I would then have it plastered directly with the house. The advantages would be appearance and cost. However, I am uncertain whether this wall (retaining soil on one side plus traffic load from the parking space) will really hold up over time. Are these concerns justified?
C) A completely new idea I had is gabion walls, since these are apparently designed to handle high loads if built with sufficient width and can be constructed relatively tall.
What is your opinion? What is ultimately the best option for such a high wall that also needs to bear significant loads? Possibly any other suggestions?
Pamiko schrieb:
Isn’t it normal to use this kind of height to bridge such gaps?Hello Pamiko,Of course, L-shaped concrete blocks are designed for that purpose. However, the substructure must be properly prepared. From what I can see, that doesn’t seem to be fully considered in your case.
Steven
Pamiko schrieb:
The substructure is of course important to us as well and should be planned accordingly. Hello Paminko
Consulting a professional is essential for this project. They need to calculate what kind of counter support is necessary for the load. Pouring a foundation and then placing L-shaped concrete blocks on it will probably not be sufficient. An L-shaped block of your size has a base projection of 170cm (67 inches) and weighs 1.8 tons at 1 meter (39 inches) wide. If, for example, dozens of tons of pressure push against the block from the right side and nothing resists on the left, I am concerned that the L-shaped block will tip over.
Most likely, you will need to drill deep foundation piles several meters deep and connect the L-shaped blocks to the foundation. There are many options for this, but they all have one thing in common: they are quite expensive.
Do you have a basement? Could the retaining wall possibly be anchored into the house? Or, to create an additional basement space, could the structure be built as a usable room, somewhat like a garage?
Steven
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