Retaining wall

[HomerSimpson]

We're having some quotes for a new garage and because our house is on a slight slope we will need to cut it back into the hill to keep it level with the existing house. At the back of the garage this will be about 1m below current ground level and our builder says this will need a 13" deep retaining wall (part of which will form the garage wall). Does 13" sound deep enough to you or should I get some structural calculations done?

 

[jeds]

Assuming there is nothing heavy on the upper tier - i.e. like a building - then the general rule for low height retaining walls is that the maximum height of the wall should be between 2 and 4 times the thickness.

In your case, a 13" wall should be no more than between 26" and 52" high.

So you are well in.