How would you repair this? (with pics)

[TheMrs]

I'm hoping you all can help DH and I brainstorm so we come up with the best way of fixing a problem on our homestead. We live in an earth-berm home so the north side of our home is built into a hill. The hill continues on past our house towards my husband's detached shop building. There is a small path behind my husband's shop that we use often. The path is wedged between the back of the shop and a retaining wall that was built using railroad ties. The problem is that the railroad ties are beginning to break apart and we need to come up with another way to hold back the hill so we can keep our path usable. Here are some pictures to help you visualize:

As you walk out from our house and go towards the hill



You can see that the railroad ties are starting to bust and bend outward



Now from the top of the hill looking down onto the path



The railroad tie wall is about 4 feet high and 10 feet in length. There's about three feet between the wall and the shop building.

If it were your place, how would you go about fixing this? Thanks for your help!

[DaleK]

I'd probably just make a concrete ramp, depending what I could do for drainage

[Awnry Abe]

I like the looks of things. How many years did the ties last? How about pre-fab concrete blocks. For the life of me, I cant remember the name of the things. They are commonly used in retaining walls. Even a slouch like me can install them.

[Danaus29]

Retaining wall blocks.
Awful expensive and they will be heavy compared to rr ties but you shouldn't have to do it ever again. I would put in steps instead of leaving the dirt slope. I have one of those and hate it.

[Darren]

If you're going to remove the ties and cut into the hillside, consider gabions with geotextile to block earth infiltration. The main cost will be the rock unless you can use river rock or something similar.

[Spotted Owl]

We just had a similar problem as this. We pulled the old wood out and replaced it with power poles from the local utility. Pull the old wood out, dig a 6' hole about a foot bigger in diameter than the pole used for the post on either end of the wall. Then lay poles behind the posts on top of each other alternate the big ends and smaller ends to keep a more level layer. Then we put some pressure treated plywood behind the wall of poles. Filled it back in. All done and cost nothing other than some time and sweat. Should last 50+ years depending on the condition of the pole used, we used as much of the butt sections as possible, more treatment and longer lasting, they weigh a lot more though. I don't think the plywood was needed we just had some from a prior project.

Just a thought.



Owl

[Nimrod]

http://www.familyhandyman.com/landsc...onger/view-all

[littlebitfarm]

I had a 4' by 80' retaining wall, made out of RR tie in front of my house. It lasted 20 years. I replaced it with retaining wall blocks and will never have to do it again! I used Allen blocks. Not cheap, but they hook together and you fill them with gravel for extra holding power. Each block weighs 75 pounds.

Do your research. The little flat blocks from the big box store can't do 4'. These suckers make cinder blocks look small.

[michael ark]

Here is what i am looking at doing.http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...retaining+wallYou can find tires every where.

[||Downhome||]

Me personally, I would head to the big box store and buy enough Portland cement for the amount of concrete mix to pour a new wall.

with some rebar and wire you could may be use a hypertufa mix instead and make it a garden type feature.

While at it think I would widen that walk...

[JoePa]

I would definitely widen the walk first - then use those blocks that link together - they look real nice - or put new railroad ties back in -

[Hornacopia]

If you get a fair amount of rain and your soil is clay, part of the problem is soil creep -- essentially the hillside moving slowly downhill. This can impart a high load on a retaining wall. Fortunately this doesn't look like the wall is that high.

I agree with others that i would first dig back and widen the pathway to four or five feet, and make plans for steps instead of a dirt ramp.

Gabions are a solution, but filling them by hand in this type of space is a chore (I know from experience). A concrete wall with adequate footing and reinforcement is a good choice, but make sure you have drain rock and a footing drain behind it to avoid buildup of hydrostatic pressure. If you can get equipment close enough, concrete "eco-blocks" would be a fast and permanent solution, and they are sometimes quite inexpensive if you can find them surplus from some other use.

For a DIY project, concrete retaining wall blocks are probably the best solution. Bury the bottom course or use a concrete footing to avoid creep, and batter the wall back by 10 or 15 degrees (most blocks have this designed in). Make sure to use drain rock behind the blocks, and a footing drain at the base of the wall.

Horn

[kilgrosh]

I agree in making the path wider. Also, you're gonna end up making it wider because you will have to dig into the hillside to replace the old ties.

Here's my take:
dig into the hill by 2 feet and 2 feet down. Put in rock for drainage and a French drain to allow water to flow away from the hill. then I would use retaining wall blocks for the new wall. If you liked the look of the wood ties, you can cover the block with 2x8s and a 4x4 posts on the ends to make it look like a wooden retaining wall.

Best of luck!

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

nothing wrong with RR ties , still fairly cheap comparatively , they hold up 20-30 years , but any wall will have the same problem if you don't dig back several feet , add drainage , and terrace it some , the hill wants to keep moving , not much will stop that, anything that will ,will be big $

[ronbre]

the space is small enough to do the decorative concrete interlocking blocks..but to save $ you could use 2x6 on the outside (would take 1 3/4 inches of your space away)..treated lumber..or if it isn't falling down..remove the railroad ties and replace them with 4x4 or 4x6 lumber and this time drill down thru them (oh treated of course) and pound rebar into the ground or it might topple over.. do it when the weather is such that the wall being removed won't make a collapse..and do it all in one day..remove replace at the same time..make sure if it begins to collapse you are ready for that..you MAY want to dig back some of the soil away from the wall if it is loose or wet

[BlackFeather]

A lot of good ideas above, in conjunction with the new retaining wall, look into reinforced earth construction. I read an article years ago about how a construction company built houses on a steep hill in stead of using a real thick retaining wall they basically pounded in posts into the hill behind the retaining wall to reinforce the ground so it wouldn't move and then were able to get by with only a 1 foot thick wall. Just a thought, it might or might not work in your situation.