Retaining Earth

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Hi,
I would like remove some banked earth in the garden and then I need to build a wall to hold back the earth but Im not sure how deep the footings need to be and whether I should go for single brick or breeze block construction?

Also how long will I have to get the wall up before the earth starts crumbling\giving way ?

....im assuming I build the wall a little forward and then backfill with small aggregate when the mortar has set - is this correct ?

The depth of the earth will be appx 3ft above ground level .

thanks
 
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The depth of the footings will depend on the firmness of the ground they are dug into. Local advice is best.

If you make the wall curved towards the earth it is retaining then it will be a lot stronger, much less likely to topple under the weight of the earth and thus the footings need not be so deep. The same principle of a curved wall is used for high dams retaining water in reservoirs.
 
Thanks for the advise - very interesting. ;)

So basically I need to have a very slight overhang on each course to make it lean towards the earth and then back fill after 2-3 courses (to make sure I have access to backfill) ?
 
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@bernardgreen ignoring your curvature daftness (may be of relevance if the wall was actually being designed), the Hoover dam is about 12 times as thick at the base than at the top, so whilst the outer face may be vertical (actually its not at all) the other side (facing the water) is about a 50° slope. This is a dreadful example in this instance. :mrgreen:

OP there are dozens of really good threads on the forum about retaining walls of this nature, have a search.
 
Years ago I built a raised bed, about 3' high. It was about 9' long and single skin. The secret was that it had a curve on it like the dam. I suppose that the centre was about 9" inwards of the true line. It had 12" deep X 9" wide strip foundations. It lasted at least 20 years. I lined the wall with roofing felt then a couple of inches thickness of pea shingle.In the vain hope that the bricks would not grow moss by draining excess water and remaining dry. Err, It sort of worked, but one does not know how bad it would have been without the roofing felt.
I think in your case you need decent pillars at the ends for the bend to work against, I had the curved "corners" of the bed. It was trapezoidal in shape, two long curved walls with radiused corners to a straight section and a short section with square corners joining the curved walls at the other end.
There is a technique of building the wall "on the batter", that is leaning the wall into the soil. I think this needs temporary shoring to hold the wall at the correct angle until the soil is in place.
Frank
 

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