I am having to renew a low garden border retaining wall that is currently made from 6” half round timber on posts. Its only 18” high so not under any load, infact the current fence has rotted and fallen away in several places where the border has remained as a wall of soil. It is my intention to replace with 2” x 4” posts every 1.2m with 3 layers high of 6” x 1” gravel board to form the wall. I was planning to put the posts in with postcrete but I am leaning towards packing in gravel. I want to put a weed membrane between the timber and the soil but not sure if I should go for a water porous one or would a plastic sheet keep the moisture away from the timber. We are in East Devon so the soil is very heavy and clay based.
I appreciate it will rot eventually the timber is from a very good wood yard with a good reputation for good quality wood and well treated. This is just an intermediate fix that I am hoping will get us through 10 years or so, I will eventually replace with brick or rendered block when money and time are more readily available.
Sleepers ?
You'll not need to postcrete ... just stack them on top of each other (brick pattern) and use a metal right angled brace, behind the sleepers, to keep them together/in place ... hammering the brace into the soil
Well that What I've done for similar
Good luck
Can't you just batter/slope the ground back so you no longer need a retaining wall?
Sadly we don't have the money for sleepers and also can't really afford to remove width from the already skinny border. No space to slope the ground back either.
Have a look on facebook marketplace, I have a guy locally that does reclaimed/salvaged treated timber, wayyyy cheaper than the local timber place and good to reuse stuff.
I'm doing the same this weekend. Using 3" fence posts (postcreted in) at 3ft spacing and 27 x 120mm decking boards. Screwfix damp-proof membrane to line the inside and hopefully slow the rot.
Hunt freecycle for 750mm slabs (or 900mm) set vertically in a trench with concrete. If they look ok paint, if not make up shiplap panels hung onto metal builders strapping and hook over the face sides. Stop the panel short of contact with the ground
4" sq tanalised tiber posts, semi-permiable membrane (plastic will hold water) gravel boards, back fill with 14mm shingle, top with soil.
I use old scaffold boards for the same purpose - much more to them for the same price as a gravel board. I've heard about lining the rear with plastic, but I think that'd just hold water against the wood once it (inevitably) gets there..
Building a wooden border retaining wall
Ask trump - he seems to be the border wall expert
Your design sounds good but get used scaffy boards instead of gravel board. You won't need a membrane.
Wood won't work. The Mexicans will just set fire to it.
must be bigly concrete
