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I have these rotting railroad tie retaining walls on two sides of my house (with a walkout basement). After this last winter, one side is totally blown out. I've removed some of the ties that were being used as stairs (not part of the wall) and they shredded as I lifted them.
1st Question: If I have a cinderblock basement that is lower than the retaining walls, are these retaining walls important for the structural integrity of the house? (In other words, do I need to get this fixed NOW?)
2nd Question: Next to my driveway, there is a slope that goes down towards the retaining wall. I'd like to put in a retaining wall RIGHT NEXT TO the driveway, then have it flat, then have the 2nd retaining wall. This would be a short retaining wall (about 6"). Can I put in a retaining wall adjacent to the driveway, or does that cause drainage problems?
It would be better to show pictures and maybe then you would get a better answer. Off hand, I think the wall next to the driveway may cause draniage problems. Especially if you already thought of it. Take some pictures and let's see the lay of the land and go from there.
Hi, I'm a structural engineer. The retaining wall has nothing to do with the house's basement walls. You should get it fix if you don't want messy soil everywhere in case the retaining walls fail.
ShaneSA is correct. There is possibly a drainage problem. My mother-in-law's house in TN has that problem. Her yard/driveway is poorly graded. It slopes all the wrong way. Her driveway is always collecting water after a rainy day.
p.s. This is my first post! I stumble across this forum while researching garden window info.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CloudyDaysForever
I have these rotting railroad tie retaining walls on two sides of my house (with a walkout basement). After this last winter, one side is totally blown out. I've removed some of the ties that were being used as stairs (not part of the wall) and they shredded as I lifted them.
1st Question: If I have a cinderblock basement that is lower than the retaining walls, are these retaining walls important for the structural integrity of the house? (In other words, do I need to get this fixed NOW?)
2nd Question: Next to my driveway, there is a slope that goes down towards the retaining wall. I'd like to put in a retaining wall RIGHT NEXT TO the driveway, then have it flat, then have the 2nd retaining wall. This would be a short retaining wall (about 6"). Can I put in a retaining wall adjacent to the driveway, or does that cause drainage problems?
Hi, I'm a structural engineer. The retaining wall has nothing to do with the house's basement walls. You should get it fix if you don't want messy soil everywhere in case the retaining walls fail.
ShaneSA is correct. There is possibly a drainage problem. My mother-in-law's house in TN has that problem. Her yard/driveway is poorly graded. It slopes all the wrong way. Her driveway is always collecting water after a rainy day.
p.s. This is my first post! I stumble across this forum while researching garden window info.
Welcome! There are plenty of people in need of structural engineer questions around here, so if you stick around you are going to have some questions!
Here's some pictures of the driveway. The driveway drains fine now. Also, it is sloped down towards the street. I'm not sure that water really drains off the sides of the driveway where the short retaining wall would be, but I'm still concerned?
You can see where soil is eroding from underneath the driveway. Also, that's a stump I'm digging out.
Red Lines mark where I'd like to put the 1st retaining wall (about 6"-1' tall).
It looks really bad in person. I can't seem to capture how bad it is with the camera.
The driveway is getting undermined right at the garage- not good. And all indications say that drainage is occurring at that area. So, the last thing you want to do is put a wall right against the drive (as indicated in the 2nd pic). You would actually be forcing water(run-off) underneath the drive. Keep the wall in it's original location- just make it taller (6" lower than the drive). And be sure to use a deadman system. It will prevent the wall from peeling over like it is now. What would help that corner would be to run the wall about 2' past the corner of the garage and turn it back into the foundation. Pipe the downspout down and under the wall and at least five feet from the foundation and/or retaining wall.
As far as the wall on the other side- it appears to be nothing more than a raised bed. I'd get rid of it and re-establish a good positive grade away from the house.
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