Hi,
We are planning to build a garden wall at the front of our property, facing the turning circle. Against this garden wall, we want to pile up an embankment on the inside of the property and then plant it as a flowering/wild hedge. This is intended to serve as a long-term privacy screen.
The embankment itself will be about 1.10 meters (3 ft 7 in) high and 2/3 meter (2 ft 2 in) wide.
The wall will be 28 meters (92 ft) long and 1.25 meters (4 ft 1 in) high above ground. For the foundation, I have planned 10 cm (4 inches) of gravel and 3 rows of 24 cm (9.5 inches) formwork blocks. Every 6 meters (20 ft), the foundation of the formwork blocks should have cantilever supports extending under the future embankment to form an L shape.
The foundation should be reinforced horizontally with #8 rebar in the 1st and 3rd rows, and reinforced horizontally towards the embankment every 50 cm (20 inches) with #10 rebar. Then, 5 rows of 17.5 cm (7 inches) formwork blocks will be laid on top. These will also be reinforced horizontally with #8 rebar in the 2nd and 4th rows, plus #10 rebar every 50 cm (20 inches) horizontally towards the embankment. This horizontal reinforcement runs through all 8 rows with spacing from the soil.
The top row of formwork blocks will be filled with concrete only to about one-third of their height, so they can be planted later. The embankment will only reach up to the underside of the upper block row. On the embankment side, the wall will be sealed with a bitumen coating and studded membrane.
I have read up on this topic as much as possible, also here in the forum. In discussions with other homeowners nearby, I was asked if I am preparing for war, referencing a tank barrier.
Ultimately, I am unsure if the whole setup might be somewhat oversized, especially regarding the foundation and reinforcement. The wall has to hold the embankment, but this will be shallowly piled and planted, so there is no significant lateral pressure on it.
Finally, my question is: Is this construction okay as planned, or is it possibly oversized? Does anyone have suggestions or tips?
Many thanks
Marc
We are planning to build a garden wall at the front of our property, facing the turning circle. Against this garden wall, we want to pile up an embankment on the inside of the property and then plant it as a flowering/wild hedge. This is intended to serve as a long-term privacy screen.
The embankment itself will be about 1.10 meters (3 ft 7 in) high and 2/3 meter (2 ft 2 in) wide.
The wall will be 28 meters (92 ft) long and 1.25 meters (4 ft 1 in) high above ground. For the foundation, I have planned 10 cm (4 inches) of gravel and 3 rows of 24 cm (9.5 inches) formwork blocks. Every 6 meters (20 ft), the foundation of the formwork blocks should have cantilever supports extending under the future embankment to form an L shape.
The foundation should be reinforced horizontally with #8 rebar in the 1st and 3rd rows, and reinforced horizontally towards the embankment every 50 cm (20 inches) with #10 rebar. Then, 5 rows of 17.5 cm (7 inches) formwork blocks will be laid on top. These will also be reinforced horizontally with #8 rebar in the 2nd and 4th rows, plus #10 rebar every 50 cm (20 inches) horizontally towards the embankment. This horizontal reinforcement runs through all 8 rows with spacing from the soil.
The top row of formwork blocks will be filled with concrete only to about one-third of their height, so they can be planted later. The embankment will only reach up to the underside of the upper block row. On the embankment side, the wall will be sealed with a bitumen coating and studded membrane.
I have read up on this topic as much as possible, also here in the forum. In discussions with other homeowners nearby, I was asked if I am preparing for war, referencing a tank barrier.
Ultimately, I am unsure if the whole setup might be somewhat oversized, especially regarding the foundation and reinforcement. The wall has to hold the embankment, but this will be shallowly piled and planted, so there is no significant lateral pressure on it.
Finally, my question is: Is this construction okay as planned, or is it possibly oversized? Does anyone have suggestions or tips?
Many thanks
Marc
Marc O. schrieb:
We plan to install a garden wall at the front of our property facing the turnaround area.
On the inside of the property, we want to build up a soil embankment against this garden wall and then plant it as a flowering/wild hedge. So basically a Frisian-style embankment that looks like a wall from the street side.
Marc O. schrieb:
The wall is planned to be 28 meters (92 feet) long and 1.25 meters (4 feet) high above ground level. Even assuming that “above ground level” refers only to the height above the original terrain, I would consider this a borderline structure that likely requires a building permit/planning permission.
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Ask a structural engineer.
I’m not sure about your height measurements, but with a 1.2m (4 feet) wall plus a 1.1m (3.6 feet) embankment, you will most likely need to go through the building permit / planning permission process. I would also take the (still) smiling comments from the neighbors a bit more seriously.
I’m not sure about your height measurements, but with a 1.2m (4 feet) wall plus a 1.1m (3.6 feet) embankment, you will most likely need to go through the building permit / planning permission process. I would also take the (still) smiling comments from the neighbors a bit more seriously.
H
HilfeHilfe24 Mar 2021 07:31I also built a wall with the same dimensions to retain the slope. I used formwork blocks, installed 8mm (5/16 inch) rebar, and poured concrete.
11ant schrieb:
So basically a Frisian dyke, but designed with a wall appearance on the street side.
Even assuming "above ground" only refers to the height above the original terrain, I would consider this a borderline structure requiring approval. Exactly, similar to a Frisian dyke, just with a wall look.
Yes, original terrain meaning 1.25m (4 feet) above the asphalt surface of the turning area, which corresponds to my original plot elevation.
guckuck2 schrieb:
Ask a structural engineer.
I don’t know your exact heights, but with a 1.2m (4 feet) wall plus a 1.1m (3.5 feet) embankment, you will likely need approval.
I would also take the (still) smiling comments from the neighbors more seriously. Regarding approval and such, this is not an issue at least in Lower Saxony.
It is considered a boundary wall, and as long as I don’t exceed 2m (6.5 feet), no special structural analysis or building permit / planning permission is required.
Also, from the municipal side, since the wall borders only the public traffic area and no neighboring property, there are no objections.
This is implemented this way in other parts of our residential areas as well, though in those cases, the plots have been fully filled rather than having an embankment leaning against the wall.
And I don’t need to worry about neighbors because no one is directly affected here; the zoning plan allows this since it is a mixed-use area.
There are no other limiting external factors except for the execution of the structure itself.
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