Retaining wall?
- Thread starter Paul.J
- Start date
Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:
Graham Orm
Established Member
Paul.J":1cplinof said:
It very possibly did, but looking at the state it is in, I doubt you could prove it. Unless they actually damaged it directly I think you'd be on a hiding to nothing trying to get them to take responsibility. It looks like it's leaning further along as well.
Paul.J
Established Member
Oh no Gray,i am not gonna try and get the builder to do anything or blaming him come to that matter just one of those things i suppose but was just at a loss as to what caused it as it was fine last time i saw it about twelve months ago.
I didn't notice any leaning or cracks when i inspected it,think it might just be the piccy.
Looks like i will have to get some quotes in :roll:
Would it be an easy DIY job do you think?
I didn't notice any leaning or cracks when i inspected it,think it might just be the piccy.
Looks like i will have to get some quotes in :roll:
Would it be an easy DIY job do you think?
Graham Orm
Established Member
Paul.J":2kw3cl6h said:
Not really if it's to be done properly. It needs knocking down and excavating behind, a good foundation then rebuilding. Hard graft and requiring bricklaying skills, unless you intend to put formers up and pour concrete again, then you'll need joinery skills instead of bricklaying.
Paul.J
Established Member
Looks like i missed a couple of posts.
Dave- The wall is ours but not surewhat you mean about the party wall act??
Hivenhoe-Good point miight be wortha call to em.
I won't be doing that sort of work so its gonna have to be a builder.
I was prepared to patch it up but as you say might just all fall out again in a few years time,which is why i was going to bang some steel pins in to hold it better??
Where i thought it was dry and sandy it was just the top where i could see and reach from our side but it really is still solid.
Dave- The wall is ours but not surewhat you mean about the party wall act??
Hivenhoe-Good point miight be wortha call to em.
I won't be doing that sort of work so its gonna have to be a builder.
I was prepared to patch it up but as you say might just all fall out again in a few years time,which is why i was going to bang some steel pins in to hold it better??
Where i thought it was dry and sandy it was just the top where i could see and reach from our side but it really is still solid.
Doug B
Shy Tot
That's bad...... :shock:
How long a section is it Paul, also what height & width?
Looks like they used stones out of the garden in the original :lol:
Don't you know a couple of useful blokes who could give you a dig out :?: :-"
How long a section is it Paul, also what height & width?
Looks like they used stones out of the garden in the original :lol:
Don't you know a couple of useful blokes who could give you a dig out :?: :-"
Evening Paul
The Party Wall Act, as I understand it (I'm not a Lawyer) is intended to stop a neighbour doing work that will cause structural problems to you, or vice-versa.
Have a look at ...
https://www.gov.uk/party-wall-etc-act-1996-guidance
Cheers
Dave
The Party Wall Act, as I understand it (I'm not a Lawyer) is intended to stop a neighbour doing work that will cause structural problems to you, or vice-versa.
Have a look at ...
https://www.gov.uk/party-wall-etc-act-1996-guidance
Cheers
Dave
Paul.J
Established Member
Doug B":2eg6sc7f said:
Are you volunteering Doug
The section thats fell out is about 8' long about 40" high but thickness i would guess at about 10" but i think it tapers down wider from what i remember when we done the fence when we first moved in??
Dave- If i have read that right its not a party wall,the whole of the wall is on our land and is the boundary line.
The section thats fell off is holding back soil in the back garden and runs along the length of the house into the front garden getting smaller in height down to about 6".
Lons
Established Member
Hi Paul
It looks more serious than I originally thought (before you posted a pic). I also think it's best to do a re-build and unless you are competant, that means getting in the professionals which will be expensive though you might be able to mitigate some of the costs by doing the initial digging yourself or using cheap family labour!
On the subject of insurance, it probably is worth persuing but you need to check on your excess clause and be aware that your enquiry will be listed as an incident and logged on a database, (often even if you don't go ahead it can affect future premiums). Your neighbour will / should have home insurance also which most likely includes a public liability product which may cover your damage even if the builder who allegedly caused the damage won't accept responsibility so I'd have a word with them first.
It's a minefield really but you either have to bite the bullet and do it properly or patch and watch it fall out after the first winter IMO.
Bob
It looks more serious than I originally thought (before you posted a pic). I also think it's best to do a re-build and unless you are competant, that means getting in the professionals which will be expensive though you might be able to mitigate some of the costs by doing the initial digging yourself or using cheap family labour!
On the subject of insurance, it probably is worth persuing but you need to check on your excess clause and be aware that your enquiry will be listed as an incident and logged on a database, (often even if you don't go ahead it can affect future premiums). Your neighbour will / should have home insurance also which most likely includes a public liability product which may cover your damage even if the builder who allegedly caused the damage won't accept responsibility so I'd have a word with them first.
It's a minefield really but you either have to bite the bullet and do it properly or patch and watch it fall out after the first winter IMO.
Bob
Paul,
one pic is not enough to to know exactly what is going on, can you post a load of hi res pics somewhere if not here?
IF the line of the wall is good at the base then it follows that there has been no ground shift, clean off ALL the lose and get some more pics taken. IF (in capitals once again!) you have a section where the top edge has failed then the question is why, this could range from tree roots to a bad mix on that section etc etc but it means that you only have to replace that section in one form or another, again dependent on what is there, get a level out and check for plumb etc.
The solution could just be to square it up, chem fix some re-bar into the good section either side, shutter up and pour, leaving enough room for finishing.
Many years of groundwork a lot of it structural concrete means i could waffle on for ages but it's a bit pointless with out more pics / information, just remember this work involves a lot of costs generally, labor intensive, removal of waste etc if it can be repaired then that's the course to take. Render on retaining walls can fail whilst the structure remains sound.
I'm nowhere near you unfortunately but if you can get some decent shots up would be happy to discuss on the phone if it's of use to you. My initial thoughts are if the rest of the wall is good then stick a pin in with rebar drilled in at least 500mm either side to give some more support to the existing structure, aarrrgggghh im waffling :lol:
Dean
one pic is not enough to to know exactly what is going on, can you post a load of hi res pics somewhere if not here?
IF the line of the wall is good at the base then it follows that there has been no ground shift, clean off ALL the lose and get some more pics taken. IF (in capitals once again!) you have a section where the top edge has failed then the question is why, this could range from tree roots to a bad mix on that section etc etc but it means that you only have to replace that section in one form or another, again dependent on what is there, get a level out and check for plumb etc.
The solution could just be to square it up, chem fix some re-bar into the good section either side, shutter up and pour, leaving enough room for finishing.
Many years of groundwork a lot of it structural concrete means i could waffle on for ages but it's a bit pointless with out more pics / information, just remember this work involves a lot of costs generally, labor intensive, removal of waste etc if it can be repaired then that's the course to take. Render on retaining walls can fail whilst the structure remains sound.
I'm nowhere near you unfortunately but if you can get some decent shots up would be happy to discuss on the phone if it's of use to you. My initial thoughts are if the rest of the wall is good then stick a pin in with rebar drilled in at least 500mm either side to give some more support to the existing structure, aarrrgggghh im waffling :lol:
Dean
Paul.J
Established Member
All i can say at this stage is that after inspecting it yesterday the wall itself is stronger than i thought,the mix used that is, as its rock hard still.
There has been no movement outwards,the line of slabs i put down twenty years ago are still in line with walls edge.
There are no trees near by,and without seeing what fell out it might have been fixed before.
If i can go with a repair,i have seen one on Youtube where mesh is used to hold the new mix on,would this be adviseable or just drill rebar in??
There has been no movement outwards,the line of slabs i put down twenty years ago are still in line with walls edge.
There are no trees near by,and without seeing what fell out it might have been fixed before.
If i can go with a repair,i have seen one on Youtube where mesh is used to hold the new mix on,would this be adviseable or just drill rebar in??
Doug B
Shy Tot
That's only just over half a cube of concrete Paul, I could sort it for you , but I'm busy really till the spring.
If you can wait I could do it then, it doesn't look too bad & I presume it's only retaining garden soil from next door.
PM me your phone number or I'll get it off the Shark next time I'm on touch with him.
Cheers.
Doug.
PS if ya string some Xmas lights along it you'd hardly notice it & there's only 12 odd weeks until then :lol: :lol:
If you can wait I could do it then, it doesn't look too bad & I presume it's only retaining garden soil from next door.
PM me your phone number or I'll get it off the Shark next time I'm on touch with him.
Cheers.
Doug.
PS if ya string some Xmas lights along it you'd hardly notice it & there's only 12 odd weeks until then :lol: :lol:
Sounds more like a repair is on the cards then. In that case if you look at a circle divided into quarters you have a profile that looks like the top right quarter, rounded over basically, what you want is more of a bottom left of a square |_ with the left hand side of the _ angled down slightly to aid keying. Clean up the sides a bit, if you use 10mm bar drill 12 mm holes, get some chem fix (don't just whack a 10mm bar into a 10mm hole) and fix in some bars all round, leave 40mm cover on the concrete. When CF dry and substrate washed, shutter (various ways to put new material on) and PVA the substrate that your trying to bond to (don't put it in the mix) leave enough room for finishing, again PVA before trying to bond render.
There are choices here, you can fix on some EML (but thats prob best for the render if you thicken it up and fix to get a lock on the new section of wall) and use a finer aggregate size if you want but i'd go for bar, you can try just bonding to whats there but keying provides more mechanical lock etc etc! Depends on tools etc that you have but either which way your looking at a cheap repair that has a very good chance of lasting a very long time verses a 100% certainty of a very big bill. There's no way my thoughts would be to rip it all out! For the look of it the renders just carpet, you make it look nice after.
Dean
There are choices here, you can fix on some EML (but thats prob best for the render if you thicken it up and fix to get a lock on the new section of wall) and use a finer aggregate size if you want but i'd go for bar, you can try just bonding to whats there but keying provides more mechanical lock etc etc! Depends on tools etc that you have but either which way your looking at a cheap repair that has a very good chance of lasting a very long time verses a 100% certainty of a very big bill. There's no way my thoughts would be to rip it all out! For the look of it the renders just carpet, you make it look nice after.
Dean
Paul.J
Established Member
Thanks both.
You both have PMs.
Xmas lights sounds good Doug :ho2
You both have PMs.
Xmas lights sounds good Doug :ho2
powertools
Established Member
Without a picture from further back to include more detail and more information about the work your neighbour carried out I am amazed at some of the advice you have been given.
powertools":24vm5cxb said:
Well help the man out then, he hasn't done it yet! One of the strengths of this forum is that you get lots of opinions and advice, all of which makes you think, i hope you would tell me if i had a thread and there's something you thought i hadn't been made aware of
Dean
Paul.J
Established Member
Is it the Xmas lights idea your not keen on :lol:powertools":w0j1mljg said:
As far as i know all the work the builder done down by the wall was to lay some new slabs.
As i say i am not blaming the builder but would have thought he'd have told me about the wall and might have even got him to have repaired it while the property was empty.
powertools
Established Member
It is impossible for any one to advise you without knowing how thick the wall is and how the fence is fixed to it.
There should have been no work carried out involving a digger within several feet of that wall without a party wall agreement being in place without that you are now faced with the problem of trying to repair or replace your wall working off your neighbours new slabs this is likely to be impossible without causing damage.
Even if your wall is still strong enough to support your garden from your neighbors side it is unsightly and it is in their interests as well as yours that something is done and you now need to agree with them the best course of action to avoid more problems as work starts.
There should have been no work carried out involving a digger within several feet of that wall without a party wall agreement being in place without that you are now faced with the problem of trying to repair or replace your wall working off your neighbours new slabs this is likely to be impossible without causing damage.
Even if your wall is still strong enough to support your garden from your neighbors side it is unsightly and it is in their interests as well as yours that something is done and you now need to agree with them the best course of action to avoid more problems as work starts.
Similar threads
