ᐅ Retaining wall for the retaining wall!? Do you have any ideas?
Created on: 14 Mar 2023 09:06
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Hausbau75
Good morning everyone,
First of all, a friendly hello! This is my first post here, and I hope I’m in the right place.
Last week, we had our “greenfield” meeting on the property, which means the civil engineer, basement builder, and house builder were all present. Unfortunately, we discovered that the elevation level relative to the neighbors’ retaining walls is not quite as it was supposed to be in theory. We are closer to the walls and not as high as expected. You could wonder how this happened, but that won’t help—I need solutions because the situation is what it is.
I’ve uploaded two pictures that clearly show what it’s about. I also made some colored markings to get a better overview.
Regarding the issue:
We bought the house together with a rather large carport that serves as a porch roof and storage area (the building permit / planning permission has been approved, and the house is already scheduled for production, so no changes are possible anymore). Above the carport, there is a wall made of planter stones (visible on the right side of the first picture). Along the entire length, the civil engineer will now build a retaining wall, ensuring that neither the carport nor the existing wall will be affected—essentially a retaining wall for the retaining wall. This will be done before the house and carport are built, otherwise it wouldn’t make sense.
On the left side of the picture, you can see a retaining wall made of L-shaped concrete blocks about 2m (6.5 feet) high. You can see from the photos that the civil engineer has already excavated earth up to about 2m (6.5 feet) before this wall. He hasn’t dared to go closer yet. Another problem in this area is two large roots that almost certainly extend beneath the foundation of the L-block wall.
The civil engineer is now understandably worried that if he works closer to the wall and cuts these roots (he does not want to remove them because he and we believe they extend under the L-blocks), the roots will die, which could eventually cause the L-blocks to settle.
As you can see, we definitely need more maneuvering space to be able to get a vehicle under the carport and also back out again. Currently, there is about 2m (6.5 feet) to the edge of the house, which is definitely too little space. Leaving it as is would also waste too much space on the property. While we want to plant something along the wall, a 2m (6.5 feet) wide strip is too much.
Now we need your advice. Do you have any ideas on how to support this L-block wall if these two roots need to be removed?
We have time to proceed this way—the house construction will take the entire year and certainly the driveway won’t be paved immediately after that, probably not even next year. Nevertheless, I would appreciate your opinions and ideas because it is important to us to do this correctly, well, and safely. Money is naturally tighter than it might have been a few years ago, so we are also interested in your cost-effective suggestions.
Thank you very much for any ideas…
Best regards,
Paul
First of all, a friendly hello! This is my first post here, and I hope I’m in the right place.
Last week, we had our “greenfield” meeting on the property, which means the civil engineer, basement builder, and house builder were all present. Unfortunately, we discovered that the elevation level relative to the neighbors’ retaining walls is not quite as it was supposed to be in theory. We are closer to the walls and not as high as expected. You could wonder how this happened, but that won’t help—I need solutions because the situation is what it is.
I’ve uploaded two pictures that clearly show what it’s about. I also made some colored markings to get a better overview.
Regarding the issue:
We bought the house together with a rather large carport that serves as a porch roof and storage area (the building permit / planning permission has been approved, and the house is already scheduled for production, so no changes are possible anymore). Above the carport, there is a wall made of planter stones (visible on the right side of the first picture). Along the entire length, the civil engineer will now build a retaining wall, ensuring that neither the carport nor the existing wall will be affected—essentially a retaining wall for the retaining wall. This will be done before the house and carport are built, otherwise it wouldn’t make sense.
On the left side of the picture, you can see a retaining wall made of L-shaped concrete blocks about 2m (6.5 feet) high. You can see from the photos that the civil engineer has already excavated earth up to about 2m (6.5 feet) before this wall. He hasn’t dared to go closer yet. Another problem in this area is two large roots that almost certainly extend beneath the foundation of the L-block wall.
The civil engineer is now understandably worried that if he works closer to the wall and cuts these roots (he does not want to remove them because he and we believe they extend under the L-blocks), the roots will die, which could eventually cause the L-blocks to settle.
As you can see, we definitely need more maneuvering space to be able to get a vehicle under the carport and also back out again. Currently, there is about 2m (6.5 feet) to the edge of the house, which is definitely too little space. Leaving it as is would also waste too much space on the property. While we want to plant something along the wall, a 2m (6.5 feet) wide strip is too much.
Now we need your advice. Do you have any ideas on how to support this L-block wall if these two roots need to be removed?
We have time to proceed this way—the house construction will take the entire year and certainly the driveway won’t be paved immediately after that, probably not even next year. Nevertheless, I would appreciate your opinions and ideas because it is important to us to do this correctly, well, and safely. Money is naturally tighter than it might have been a few years ago, so we are also interested in your cost-effective suggestions.
Thank you very much for any ideas…
Best regards,
Paul
W
WilderSueden14 Mar 2023 12:07Costruttrice schrieb:
A distance of 4 meters (13 feet) is not much, considering that an excavator needs to be positioned and operate there. In practice, the distance is less because the new retaining wall won't be built directly under the existing one. Let’s assume 1 meter (3 feet), so the excavator would have only 3 meters (10 feet) left. That’s really tight, leaving no room for it to turn around.
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Hausbau7514 Mar 2023 13:46haydee schrieb:
I would try to find a solution that doesn’t require touching the retaining wall.
If I remember our prices from 18 correctly, underpinning would cost you a small five-figure amount. And here I see the problem that this can no longer be changed, as already mentioned everything is already finalized, both with the authorities and the builder’s plans...
If we are not supposed to touch the wall or the roots, then the clearance for driving into the carport remains at just 2 meters (6.6 feet). Even if it were increased to 2.5 meters (8.2 feet), driving in might still be possible, but I know that over time it is only a matter of time before someone hits the house wall while backing out.
Where am I supposed to quickly find a structural engineer now, and honestly, a five-figure sum is completely out of the question... I need to let this sink in and think about it further...
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Costruttrice14 Mar 2023 13:56Hausbau75 schrieb:
Where am I supposed to find a structural engineer so quickly now, and to be honest, anything five-figure is no longer feasible... Finding a structural engineer should not be the problem. If you don’t know one near your construction site, check the website of the engineering association for your state or region. They usually have member directories where you can look for structural engineers close to you. Typically, you can get an appointment within 1-2 weeks—that was our experience.
A structural engineer might also have alternative ideas and could possibly give you an estimate of the approximate costs.
For us, it was unfortunately a mid five-figure amount last year, but of course, that depends on the length and dimensions involved.
H
hanghaus202314 Mar 2023 14:19Please show us the plan at last. You just need to take a photo with reasonably parallel lines. Simply leave out the mirror image of the plan.
In my opinion, you should first ask the excavation contractor for an additional quote for supporting the sewer main. They will know how to handle it and may involve the structural engineer and the geotechnical engineer.
I would try to avoid touching the sewer main if possible. The roots should initially be considered a minor issue.
Is this going to be a solid construction house? Concrete basement?
In my opinion, you should first ask the excavation contractor for an additional quote for supporting the sewer main. They will know how to handle it and may involve the structural engineer and the geotechnical engineer.
I would try to avoid touching the sewer main if possible. The roots should initially be considered a minor issue.
Is this going to be a solid construction house? Concrete basement?
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hanghaus202314 Mar 2023 14:23Costruttrice schrieb:
For us, it was unfortunately a mid five-figure amount last year, but of course it all depends on the length and dimensions.I would initially assume the same. If it ends up being less, that’s definitely a good thing.
Without more information, I would suggest planning the parking spaces differently.
You can’t just get away with a bargain here. Above all, it has to be done properly. Imagine if the L-shaped retaining blocks shift or settle.
It’s tough when problems like this occur early on, but a slope always brings surprises.
Why are you deeper than planned?
You can’t just get away with a bargain here. Above all, it has to be done properly. Imagine if the L-shaped retaining blocks shift or settle.
It’s tough when problems like this occur early on, but a slope always brings surprises.
Why are you deeper than planned?
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