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June 29, 2011 at 4:08 pm #599549
JspiffMemberI live on a slope and have an 8 ft high retaining wall that holds up my back yard. The wall has cracked over the decades, and there is a large chunk that is just barely holding on.I would like to know if it’s possible to repair the damaged section, rather than replacing the whole wall. Can anyone recommend someone who does this type of work?
June 30, 2011 at 2:15 am #727976
jamjetsParticipantJspiff, I see no professional has answered your question yet. Way back when my training was in geosciences which doesnt really qualify here for an answer, but as a homeowner I have built some dry stack rock walls. There are several walls (mostly block) within a five minute walk from my house which are obviously failing. There is one failure about halfway up the hill between Thriftway and 35th on Morgan (south side)that is a textbook failure but may still last a long time before complete failure.
Eight feet is pretty tall. The good news is they fail slowly, which is normally the case with most things mother nature. In general a block wall, once doomed, can’t be saved unless you can build another retainer in front of it (not normally practical). That is generally not the case since they are built right at the property line, and never a guaranteed fix. A good wall will have batter, which essentially is a lean into the slope. If you look at “rockery” walls you will see they normally “step back” to achieve slope stability. Non-battered vertical concrete walls do work well if they are well constructed. My house is 60 years old and has some concrete retaining walls that have cracked a little but are still very stable.
If your wall failure is acute, I would say you are looking at a teardown R&R. I would expect poured concrete to be $200-300 per linear foot? Maybe saving for it a while is possible while you save for it?
There are a few projects on gatewood hill in progress and maybe you can get some current info from the vendors? If I encounter some on my morning walks I will note the vendor for you..
Good luck, Ben
June 30, 2011 at 3:19 am #727977
jwwsParticipantJspiff,
If the wall is failing severely you will need to get a permit for repairs/rebuilding and it will probably entail geotechnical engineers from the city evaluating during the permit process prior to any rebuilding process – don’t just hire some one who will patch this – this sounds like it is keeping your property in place/preventing it from sliding downhill/into your neighbors. Dry stack walls are not retaining walls for this amount of soil you need some sort of underground stabilization to prevent the wall from bulging/failing.
June 30, 2011 at 3:30 pm #727978
jamjetsParticipantTotally agree, did not intend to imply a dry stack wall would be appropriate. Concrete walls have big footers and require engineering. Timber walls need “dead-men” and engineering too; they probably have no cost advantage over formed concrete(??). I have seen some very big walls done with the engineered precast blocks but I dunno, I just don’t trust them that much I guess. If you call Ventana (WSB sponsor)they could recommend someone to take a look…
June 30, 2011 at 4:32 pm #727979
JspiffMemberThank you for the information and the suggestion to call Ventana. That sounds like a good place to start.
July 4, 2011 at 5:12 pm #727980
jamjetsParticipantJspiff, here are a couple locations of recently done concrete walls I saw when walking, about a block from one another. Both are just west of the water towers on 35th (top of gatewood hill). Neither are 8 feet high, but both are very well built and you should drive by(see notes below). You can search google maps on these addresses and see the before “street view”.
3803 SW Myrtle St
Seattle, WA 98126
This wall is part of a larger, very cool backyard project that included a large water feature with “floating” stepping blocks/stones. Worthy of stopping the car and peeking thru the open fence, maybe even ask the owners about the builder. An interesting feature is this wall steps down as the street grade falls away from the higher house and water feature.
7112 36th Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98126
Though only about 4 feet high, this is a very substantial (stout) wall that replaced a prior rockery. The wall almost out-does the fairly plain looking house now. Interesting point for you is that this appears to be a wall-only project (so far?), not part of a grand re-scaping as in the previous example. There is a sidewalk barricade that has a construction company name on it, may be same as the wall builder?
Just another $.02 worth… Ben
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