Retaining wall

[TEL86]

Hi all,

Posted this in the garden section recently but think its better suited here.

Our garage has a raised bed running along its length with soil sitting directly against the brick (single skin). In winter it gets very wet in the garage. I have dug a trench along the edge of the garage so the bricks can dry but need some advice on how to keep the soil away in the long-term. I'd like to maintain the channel (perhaps less wide) so the bricks can continue to breath.

Can anyone suggest a way of supporting the wall of the trench? Any alternatives to building a new brick wall that I could do on the cheap? I was thinking of some sort of metal or plastic sheeting sunk into the ground but struggling to find anything suitable.

Thanks for the help

Thom

 

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

Gravel boards, held away from the wall with bricks or blocks.

 

[TEL86]

Thanks for the reply @Bobby Dazzler . Do you mean something concrete like the link below or would wood work? The trench is probably 2-3 feet deep so I'd need quite a few unless I can find a deeper option.

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Recessed-Concrete-Gravel-Board---50mm-x-300mm-x-1-8m/p/151501

Thanks

 

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

Yes, you want concrete ones.
Normally gravel boards would only be supported at each end. Because of the way you would be using them you can support them at each end and in the middle (or two intermediate supports).
If you're concerned about damp tracking across the boards/blocks/bricks use a strip of DPM to isolate them.

 

[cdbe]

If you create a French drain (fill the trench with well draining stone) it will retain the soil. What's important (obviously) is that the trench goes at least 150mm below the internal floor level. I don't know whether it would achieve anything but I would also separate the stone from the soil with a vertical layer of polythene (DPM from Toolstation etc) if you think water is coming from the soil, or weed barrier membrane, if you think water will drain into the soil.