This summer's patio in the garden project is ramping up and this weekend I want to build a retaining wall
It is to be about 80cm high and a good 15m long, walling off 3 sides of a patio (to follow after the wall). Its going to be made from concrete blocks (later rendered and painted).
Unfortunately I have a dilema as Mrs Llama has enlisted her Dad to help. Now he knows a bit, being a retired surveyor and son of bricklayer. But I'm not sure what he is suggesting will be up to it.
His plan is as follows:
Dig trench to depth equal to the width of a block (i.e. 3 inches) plus 'a bit more' and lay a level foundation using blocks on their side bedded in alot of mortar. Then wait for this to go off. Then build the wall up on the foundation - 3 rows of 1 block wide.
The 2 things that worry me about it are (1) are the foundations deep enough and (2) is a 3 inch wall enough to retain 80 cm of earth. 'Cos I've looked around on the 'net about this and from what I see it would be propper to use concrete foundations of 1 foot and a wall of at leat 9 inches wide.
He just says: yes foundations are deep enough, Victorians never bothered with them etc etc; and yes 3 inches is wide enough because the soil is pretty solid and unmoving. The last bit does seem to be true as another bit of the garden has 1.2m high held back by a thid reinforced concrete coal bunker until I removed it >1 year ago and it has not budged.
So ...
Will it work?
Or Should I overrule him and tell him we are doing it my way?
And if so then how to let him down gently because I don't fancy doing the whole thing by myself.
