Author Topic: Advice for retaining wall/fence combo  (Read 1741 times)

Carless

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  • Location: Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Advice for retaining wall/fence combo
« on: November 01, 2015, 11:25:28 AM »
Hello!
So my father has decided to tackle the retaining wall in the backyard of their house, which also supports the fence.  This side of the property runs along a laneway, and the retaining wall is cracking and bulging outwards.  It's needed to hold the garden in, there's about a 2' drop in level between the two.  The wall runs about 8' to a door, then another 20' to the garage.  The fence is in horrible condition, I suspect that one good push would take it down, but at least when people hit it with a car there's plenty of flex.

The plan; hire a contractor to demolish the concrete, remove it, and pour a new wall into which fence supports can be inserted.  This is heavy labour and my father isn't up to that, and in addition the laneway is the only access to a lot of driveways so this needs to be done quickly.  Dad'll build the fence once they're done which is well within his capabilities (I suspect I'll wind up pitching in for this)

Questions;
What is the best way to attach the fence supports?  Pipe set into the wall?  Some sort of bolts?  We plan to be able to remove the fence sections if needed.


What do we need to specify about the wall?  How much rebar?  Are there specific types of concrete we should call for?  How much higher than the backyard should it be?  How thick?  Do we need garden-drainage holes through it?

Any suggestions for potential pitfalls here?  We want this thing to last ~20 years.

Recommendations for good books on this topic are also welcome.

Thanks!