Building oak sleeper retaining wall - is this a correct way?

[GloriousEuropa]

Forgive my lack of illustrative skills, but as the picture attempts to show:

Oak sleepers laid on a bed of 20mm gravel with the gravel back-filled in behind them so water can drain, with the gravel shielded from soil clogging it with non-woven geotextile membrane.

Obviously the measurements are off, but I'm happy to take recommended measurements!

 

[Tigercubrider]

what holds the sleepers together?

 

[GloriousEuropa]

what holds the sleepers together?

Well the first would be buried deeper than in the pic but the ones on top would be these:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/timbascrew-flange-timber-screws-silver-6-7-x-150mm-200-pack/7139j

 

[conny]

Try this link.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/timbascr...-6-7-x-150mm-200-pack/7139j?_requestid=469493

Nope. That still takes you to the queueing page.

Go to Screwfix site and type in 7139j in the search box to see them.

 

[GloriousEuropa]

Try this link.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/timbascr...-6-7-x-150mm-200-pack/7139j?_requestid=469493

Nope. That still takes you to the queueing page.

Go to Screwfix site and type in 7139j in the search box to see them.

I’m confused. Are you telling me to look up the same product I posted a link to above your post?

And I am more focussed on the gravel and geotextile membrane for this thread as I’m just looking for confirmation it will work and what the best measurements are

 

[conny]

I’m confused. Are you telling me to look up the same product I posted a link to above your post?

And I am more focussed on the gravel and geotextile membrane for this thread as I’m just looking for confirmation it will work and what the best measurements are

Sorry for the misunderstanding GE. I posted it for Tiger Cub as it was he who asked what you were using for fixings.

 

[GloriousEuropa]

Sorry for the misunderstanding GE. I posted it for Tiger Cub as it was he who asked what you were using for fixings.

No problem

Do you have any advice to offer on building the sleepers?

 

[conny]

I'm afraid not. I've never tackled anything like that but your plan seems to be a good one to me.

I'm surprised you haven't had more replies to be honest but hopefully that may change.

 

[GloriousEuropa]

I'm afraid not. I've never tackled anything like that but your plan seems to be a good one to me.

I'm surprised you haven't had more replies to be honest but hopefully that may change.

Thank you for noticing that too!

I've had to ask on the Screwfix forum as well.

I don't mean to sound ungrateful but I am getting to the point where I do not see the point in these forums, because even the people who do bother to reply only answer half of your questions, so they don't answer the full picture thus it's difficult to learn anything.

I understand one should just hire tradesman experts, but firstly these are Do It Yourself forums, and secondly, the funny thing is, this info I've been forced to find out myself because the guy supposedly building my driveway, who has amazing reviews online, has been utterly garbage with communication and responding.

So tomorrow I am forced to drop him because he is ignoring all questions I ask and is essentially tasking ME with finding out how the sleepers are to be constructed and how it should be done. And to top it all off he's two weeks overdue on his start date, and supposedly was updating us Monday but never did, and so we asked him when he planned to start, and has since ignored us again.

 

[conny]

Dropping him sounds the best idea. Not exactly showing himself in a good light by not returning your calls and expecting you to tell him how it's going to be built.

For what it's worth, I think your plan looks a feasible one but don't know how any drainage water will drain away if the public road is right next to the bottom sleeper, but as I said, I've not done anything like this as like you I am just a DIY'er of limited skills.

 

[GloriousEuropa]

Dropping him sounds the best idea. Not exactly showing himself in a good light by not returning your calls and expecting you to tell him how it's going to be built.

For what it's worth, I think your plan looks a feasible one but don't know how any drainage water will drain away if the public road is right next to the bottom sleeper, but as I said, I've not done anything like this as like you I am just a DIY'er of limited skills.

I've been thinking of making a post about him to ask if I'm being overly expectant or critical.

First of all when he came and surveyed the front lawn, etc. he said yeah oak sleeper retaining walls would be fine to hold up the resin driveway and to use as replacement front walls for the god-awful crumbling brick walls that must be 60 years old.

Then we said we'd source them as they're cheap. But where we got them had to order in the oak sleepers we wanted and didn't supply fixings. We've asked him on three separate occasions which fixings would be best, and he hasn't replied.

We asked him how he planned to lay the sleepers to ensure they remain rot-free over the years, and nothing.

The only thing he last updated us on is that he'd let us know Monday just gone when he would be starting. He didn't. So we asked him... no reply.

 

[scbk]

It's not something I have much experience in, my first thought would be will it be strong enough to hold back the weight of the soil (and rain water!), especially as it's bordering a public road.

 

[StephenStephen]

It's not something I have much experience in, my first thought would be will it be strong enough to hold back the weight of the soil (and rain water!), especially as it's bordering a public road.

That's something I'd be wondering too. I'd be thinking of maybe a return at both ends or anchoring into the ground, and maybe stepping the higher ones further back...

 

[daviesm1976]

Hi

the first thing to check is how high is this wall. You have drawn 5 sleepers so is it 50cm? How long is it also?

I am not a structural engineer but the first thing to be aware of is that you should seek advice from one if the wall is over 1m. I would want to be quite confident over the strength of the wall because if it collapses on to the public highway you will be liable!

The other thing that may come into it is how long the wall is. Obviously the idea of the gravel is to aid drainage to avoid water pressure and freeze thaw action pushing it over. Make sure the gravel is angular not rounded. You could also have weep holes or a french drain at the bottom to ensure water escapes.

In terms of tying it together, you could use rebar through the sleepers to pin them. Another thing you could to add strength is to put geogrid down.

I suppose to keep the timbers from rotting you could add sone kind of membrane behind them or paint with some waterproofer much as you would with a block wall.

 

[Old Salt]

My SIL inherited a sleeper retaining wall in his garden approx 4 feet high. I dont know how it had been up but he had to replace it after about 7 years as it was disintegrating.

Not sure I would risk next to a public road.