Do I need drainage behind wood retaining wall?
Third, since most retaining walls are impervious, which means water cannot pass through the wall itself, efficient drainage is crucial. When drainage goes unaddressed hydrostatic pressure will build up behind the wall and cause damage such as bulging or cracking.
How long will a pressure treated wood retaining wall last?
Retaining Wall Materials Pressure-treated pine and fir that are rated for ground contact should survive 40 years; western red cedar or redwood lasts about 20.
Do retaining walls help with drainage?
Without a retaining wall, you could experience serious drainage problems which could also lead to the damage to your landscaping. Retaining walls prevent erosion, control waterflow, and also serve to make your outdoor areas more visually appealing.
Should you use fabric behind retaining wall?
A barrier behind the wall, lined in fabric and filled with gravel, creates an area for water collection and movement. The fabric helps keep the voids in the gravel from packing with silt. Leave room above the gravel backfill for topsoil or bedding soil. You can use the top courses of block and the wall cap as edging.
Do all retaining walls need weep holes?
Although there are exceptions, most retaining walls require gravel backfill, soil compaction, pipe or toe drains, and weep holes. Together, these four features will provide adequate drainage for most designs. Only a few types of walls will not require all of them.
How to properly add drainage to your retaining wall?
Install drainage stone at the back of the retaining wall and extend 12-in behind the blocks. Start the drainage stone near the base of the wall and extend up to within 6-inches of the top of the wall. To estimate the quantity of drainage stone, take the area of the wall in square feet and multiply by 1-ft to get the cubic feet of drainage stone.
Can a cinder block retaining wall hold water?
The segmental blocks cannot hold the weight of that much water by themselves. Also, walls greater than 4-ft can cause catastrophic damage if the wall fails. All poured concrete or cinder block retaining walls. These walls do not have natural joints for water to drain through like segmental blocks and wood walls do.
What causes water to build up behind a retaining wall?
When drainage goes unaddressed hydrostatic pressure will build up behind the wall and cause damage such as bulging or cracking. There are a number of ways to ensure proper drainage of water from behind a retaining wall.
Where to put filter fabric on retaining wall?
You do not need filter fabric behind the drainage aggregate when a full 12-in of aggregate is installed behind the wall. If your site has clay or dark backfill, you may place filter fabric along the back of the retaining wall blocks to prevent the fine material from seeping through the blocks and staining your wall face.