MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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Bit of advice needed please folks. I will be (attempting) to build a wall in an area of my garden, as part of a feature/patio. So the wall will 8' high and 11' in length. I plan to build it using the same stone as my house (clipsham stone). behind it will be a breeze block wall of the same dimensions.
Despite renovating a couple of houses this will be the first time I have ever attempted stone/wall building work on this scale. So, in general terms I just wanted some advice on foundations required, support (as the wall will be stand alone other than one end where it meets a wall of the house).
Just some general advice would be appreciated from experts/builders before I undertake the project in the summer.
What's it retaining
mexicans.
8 foot high? That's one hell of a feature.
Better make sure you know how to lay bricks on a free standing wall of that height and length. Will give anyone under it when it collapses a mighty big headache.
Save yourself the compen claim and get a brickie in.
Nothing. It will be in front of an existing fence line within our land. It wil have nothing to retain on any side.
Who is paying for it
8' by 11' wide is basically a sail. Get a brickie in.
here's one I built last month. There is about 6 tonnes of concrete as a foundation as there is a 4 foot drop to floor level the other side of that door. So whole bit below ground is shuttered concrete. I built a 6 inch solid block wall on the rear edge of the concrete and bunged stainless wall ties in every few feet on each course. There is then 9 inches of stonework built onto the front. It is only basically repairing an old stone shed so nothing needs to be signed off. Use a lime mix morter for the stone work and sand/cement for the blockwork. If you haven't done much block work then use of 9 inch hollows would be easier if going 8 foot high. Of course, if the wall is being used to retain something then it may need to be stronger/buttressed and incorporate drainage/seepage possibilities. IANAB
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EDIT> Bear in mind that building with stone is incredibly slow and uses huge amounts of materials. There is as much back fill as there is facing stone, unless you can buy nice square cropped stuff. That wall is about 9 square metres and I was quoted £110 a square metre just for the stone work with me doing the block work and supplying all materials. So basically a grands worth of labour just on the stone work.
Any wall over 2m high needs planning permission (over 1m high if next to a road). Gardens walls are not subject to Building Regulations but there's some advice anyway:
https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/20/fences_gates_and_garden_walls/2
also from the Brick Development Association (mostly applicable even if you're not using bricks). The wind load varies across the country (where are you?)
If it's close to the fence line, and there are buildings on the other side, check the Party Wall Act as you may need to tell the neighbour about your foundations.
https://www.gov.uk/party-walls-building-works
A wall like yours would typically have piers built in at each end and the centre, ie, short sections of double thickness, to support it. You'll need a DPC between it and the house wall so it's probably easier to put a pier there as well rather than try to put ties through the DPC.
The breeze block wall and the stone wall should be tied together as one wall for stability.
As mentioned by others, 8' is a high wall. For foundations, it will depend on what kind of soil/rock etc the ground is. I'd seriously consider getting a structural engineer to advise you.
You dint need a dpc, or a structural engineer. Just some common sense and to tie it in to the rear coursing.
8′ by 11′ wide is basically a sail. Get a brickie in.
This would be my choice. It’s not just the footings you want to worry about but how you attach to the house and what size pier you need. I only have half (at best) an idea what I’m on about that’s why I’d ask someone who knows (not STW)