retaining wall replacement - building regs required?

[mickthetree]

Morning all

We are about to buy a property which has a retaining wall along one side which has failed. There is an alley down the side of the house for access to the garden and this separates the house from the wall by a distance of about 1 metre. The house is on the low side of the wall.

The house comes with responsibility for the wall as shown by a land registry report.

The wall is 1.6m high and runs for approximately 8 metres down the side of the garden then turns 90 degrees away from the house and runs for another 8 metres. The wall has failed at multiple points and a structural engineers report states it will need to be demolished and rebuilt with a concrete toe slab and hollow concrete reinforced, brick faced wall.

There is a road on the other side of the wall but separated by a patch of land approximately 2-3 metres.

I'm getting some quotes for the work, but should the replacement of this wall require notification to building control, or application for building regs?

One of the builders has also suggested it will require detailed drawings and calculations from the structural engineer.

This all seems a bit over kill for a replacement retaining wall, but I bow to those in the know.

 

[^woody^]

Building regs do not apply to garden walls

 

[mickthetree]

Hi woody

Thanks for that.

Not even when they retain earth behind?

 

[^woody^]

No

 

[mickthetree]

Cheers woody
Would building control need to be notified? Or is that dependant on the local authority? I got a quote today for 10k. That's less than half what the structural engineer suggested but still more than I'd thought it should be. I'm getting some more quotes in to compare.

 

[^woody^]

No. The building regulations only apply to "buildings" not walls in gardens or anywhere else.

Engineers will always over-engineer

A retaining wall can be built from basic principles - a sound foundation, and a normal wall - the wall thicker at the base if need be. No need for fancy foundations and reinforcement

 

[noseall]

A retaining wall can be built from basic principles - a sound foundation, and a normal wall - the wall thicker at the base if need be. No need for fancy foundations and reinforcement

Very blasé i must say Woodpost. There are many things to consider when building a retaining wall, so I would deffo seek pro' advice.

The durability of the materials for one is often overlooked. How it may be affected by water, direct sunlight, sulphates etc. Whilst i agree strength is one of the things it's not the only thing.

 

[^woody^]

A 215mm wall on a 600mm wide foundation down to good ground, will be good for 1.8m of earth that is relatively stable (ie no massive/thirsty roots or heavy traffic)

Remember that the wall is not retaining all the soil behind it, just a small segment of it

Otherwise, add an extra skin on the back for 1/3 of the height

 

[tony1851]

A 215mm wall on a 600mm wide foundation down to good ground, will be good for 1.8m of earth that is relatively stable (ie no massive/thirsty roots or heavy traffic)

Hmmm. I wonder.

 

[^woody^]

I think the OP should go for it, and then post back in a few years

 

[jamesr36]

Hello Mickthetree,

I am looking at buying a house with a failed retaining wall that sounds exactly the same as yours. How much did you end up paying for the building work?

Thanks

 

[mickthetree]

Hi James
Where is the property? Could it be the same one?
Havent had the work done yet.

 

[jamesr36]

House is in Tring, Herts. Did you get any quotes? My guess is £5-6k but haven't properly looked at it yet.

 

[mickthetree]

Hi James

pm sent

 

[RajSingh2013]

to over engineer use steel dowels set in foundations then place through engineering bricks.