Cheap (little) retaining wall.. ideas please :)

duncan_m

duncan_m

I have a little retaining wall to build.. Its about 100M long and needs to be about 400mm high.. I want to do this really cheaply :D

I'm considering pouring concrete into a form after trenching down about 600mmm.. 150mmwide I've got plenty of reo and scrap steel to throw in..

But I'm struggling to come up with an idea for some cheap formwork.. being only 400mm high there's not going to be any huge forces at work.. I've got a lot of scrap corrugated iron. maybe that would work..

So.. any other ideas for either a very cheap retaining wall or some cheap formwork for my concrete creation?

I dont think there's going to be a lot of weight behind the wall, it'll be holding back compacted quarry rubble which should be quite stable in its own right..
 
Hi Dunc,

for formwork, go down to the local cabinet shop and ask if they have any cover sheets they want to get rid of.

Everytime they get a pack of board it comes with a top and bottom cover sheet and while they use some for various things they generally always have leftovers.

Doesn't have alot of strength but a few extra pegs will take care of that.

try and get 18mm or more.


regards
rossv
 
How about limestone blocks in lieu of the concrete pour ?
They're cheap enough and easy to lay and would look better than the concrete finish..

kp
 
kph said:
How about limestone blocks in lieu of the concrete pour ?
They're cheap enough and easy to lay and would look better than the concrete finish..

kp
Click to expand...

Actually, you gave me another thought.. a nice long line of big boulders could work.. perhaps with some cement crudely poured between them to seal any gaps down low..

Anyone know what big rocks cost.. I'll only need about 100 that are 1M wide.. what jolly fun it would be moving them all into place.. I'll have to watch this YouTube video a few more times and get some more ideas :)
 
On The Inventors on ABC last night, the winner's invention was a formless wall system. Even this old shell-back was impressed.
 
duncan_m said:
Actually, you gave me another thought.. a nice long line of big boulders could work
Click to expand...
It reminds me of a situation some time back.

We have a very big block. It's rocky.

We came home one day to find the neighbour in our place, with a wheelbarrow, on our block, loading stones for his retaining wall.

Fortunately, he did not remain our neighbour for much longer.
 
kph said:
How about limestone blocks in lieu of the concrete pour ?
They're cheap enough and easy to lay and would look better than the concrete finish..

kp
Click to expand...

When you said Limestone blocks.. I had pictured perfectly square things for some reason.. came across these when I was googling for rock supplies:

http://www.justrocks.com.au/pages/lstonequarry.html

riverland-2.jpg


That'd, errr, rock! :)
 
We made a retaining wall out of leftover odd shaped limestone rocks from a builders job..even lent us his ute for the job (three trips fully loaded).

Made the cement in a wheelbarrow and coloured it to suit the limestone, we used an axe to shape the odd shaped rocks to fit

The builder wouldn't take any money and begrudgingly took a carton of beer, he was just happy to get rid of the rocks

Hey...for a cheap retaining wall, how about some corrugated iron lengthways and a few star pickets to hold in place :D
 
duncan_m said:
When you said Limestone blocks.. I had pictured perfectly square things for some reason.. came across these when I was googling for rock supplies:
Click to expand...

Yer, thats what I meant. Seem to be avail from many sources here in WA.
Come delivered on a pallet.

But the last landscape we had done did utilise 100 ton of rocks to form up a retaining wall around a house. The landscaper rekmarked it was much cheaper than using 'twin side' for example, but with the labour cost included, it was still pretty exxy.

Came up a treat though, and in fact became a feature of the property.
( someone explain how to get a 1.2MB pic down to 100KB and I'll post it!!)

kp
 
resize or compress (compress may be better) it in Office Picture Manager to web or e-mail size and save (then post) the photo, this should reduce the size.

Thats a simple way..but I'm no PC Guru and there are probably easier ways
 
duncan_m said:
I have a little retaining wall to build.. Its about 100M long and needs to be about 400mm high.. I want to do this really cheaply :D

I'm considering pouring concrete into a form after trenching down about 600mmm.. 150mmwide I've got plenty of reo and scrap steel to throw in..

I dont think there's going to be a lot of weight behind the wall, it'll be holding back compacted quarry rubble which should be quite stable in its own right..
Click to expand...

If it's only 400mm high without much weight behind it is it necessary to dig down 600mm - seems like a lot of effort that you may not need.

John.
 
Hiya Duncan,

It may only be a retaining wall but IMHO going with the concrete method will just look plain ugly.

If you live in a fairly rocky environment then you could approach excavation guys to see if they have a surplus of rock to get rid of. Another approach is to find new building sites where excavation is about to, or is in the process of happening and try your luck there. You can often pick up rock for nothing, sometimes just the cartage, depending on how desperate they are to be rid of it. The best way to install the rock once on site is with a mini excavator with a grab bucket.......about $70/hr.

Another approach is to just batter the 400mm off to 45 degrees or so........it is not a high cut and this wouldn't look too shabby. Maybe seed it then or turf or even create a garden along it.

Just a couple of ideas........:)

Cheers

Jared
 
How about scrounging up a pile of second hand bricks etc, varying colours would not matter , make a retaining wall and rendering the lot (hides a bad brick job as well)?
 
duncan_m said:
But I'm struggling to come up with an idea for some cheap formwork.. being only 400mm high there's not going to be any huge forces at work.. I've got a lot of scrap corrugated iron. maybe that would work..
Click to expand...

Duncan, you could always tex screw the corrugated iron into small
10 mts sections and just screw the sections into star pickets,
maybe a strong post in the middle to tie everything in, then just
paint all in same to blend in.good luck willair........
 
Last edited by a moderator:
hi duncan_m
go to the council in your area and ask what site just got its cc or construction certificate and ask at the site for the rocks and they will put them to one side for you as they break them up they will break to a size you can move.
the iron on its side may sound funny but its the best idea and paint it floor grey and make it a feature..
same place the site will get you some very good top soil to back fill if you ask them to put it aside.
our last lot was taken for free from flower power in truck loads and the sand stone went into the walkway at darling harbour as cut stabs.

you can get free bricks at the sites if you ask and they are in a hurry.
 
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