Quoted £3800 for a concrete block wall...rip off?

[matt84]

Hi,

Just quoted £3800 for a wall with footings from concrete block, 212mm thick or something similar?

I've decided against this and will do it myself as it's just a retaining wall there just 'in case'.

Couple of questions-

I'm on very hard chalky soil, how deep should I do the footings?

What blocks would be best? The wall will be cladded so no need to look pretty.

Many thanks

20160925_183603

• matt84
• 25 Sep 2016

 

[endecotp]

It's not "just a retaining wall", it's a Retaining Wall, and it needs to be done properly or it will not retain.
I think I said in my first post that people tend to underestimate how strong a retaining wall needs to be.
Did the person who gave you this quote calculate that 212mm of concrete block was right? If so, congratulations, you've just saved yourself the cost of a structural engineer. If it was just a guess....

On Sunday I saw a retaining wall being constructed by a riverbank. It was a similar size to yours, and consisted of reinforced concrete about 200mm thick (i.e. rebar grids, shuttering, poured concrete), then stone facings. No idea about the foundation.

 

[matt84]

Thanks for the reply.

The 200 and something hollow concrete blocks with room for rebar look promising. Not too expensive either.

Any ideas on foundations anyone? It's pretty firm, the 1.5t digger was fine on the base and it's a very chalky area.

Thanks

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Rough rule of thumb for mass retaining walls is the width at the base is 1/3 of the height. As mentioned sevetal times in your other thread it needs designing really.

 

[noseall]

Any ideas

I think you ought to design and build the whole thing yourself. You seem to know all about building, costs and design. Don't know why you even bothered with quotes.

 

[r896neo]

Maybe repost this for a third time in another section and then you might get the answer you are looking for? Could i suggest DIY disasters...