How Many Inches Of Concrete For A Retaining Wall

Follow the block manufacturer s instructions for wall height limits.

How many inches of concrete for a retaining wall.

How many retaining wall blocks do you need. Cut as many pieces as necessary for vertical reinforcement every 32 inches. For example if you are pouring a retaining wall that will be 12 inches thick and will use wooden planks that are 1 1 2 inches thick for your forms you ll need to space the stakes about 15 inches apart 12 inches for the retaining wall plus two pieces of 1 1 2 inch thick wooden board. How to build a concrete wall figure a.

Avoid placing the retaining wall where downspouts are pointed to keep standing water from forming inside the wall. If concrete is not being used to build the footing as is common for drystacked stone walls and very short walls the footing can simply consist of about 6 inches of compacted base material like angular sharp edged gravel. Of leveling sand and half the height of the first course of blocks. Interlocking concrete blocks are beautiful and designed and structured specifically for use in retaining walls.

Avoid having downspouts pointed at the retaining wall and if it s against the house keep soil and mulch well below the siding. Cross section of a retaining wall a cinder block retaining wall is only as straight and solid as the base it s built on. Concrete blocks are concrete masonry units or cmus but we often refer to them as concrete blocks or cinder blocks learn more about concrete masonry units a wall typically requires 1 1 8 blocks per square foot. Tall wall excavate a trench deep enough to accommodate 4 to 6 in.

Block walls usually cost 20 30 per square foot which can vary depending on the type of block used concrete block walls can last a lifetime when installed correctly and add beauty to almost any landscape. Top this with 1 inch of coarse sand or small gravel before constructing the wall proper. Estimate the retaining wall cost by adding the price per block. Of compacted base 1 in.

For example if you want the finished height of your retaining wall to be three feet 36 inches tall you d need to dig the trench eight inches deep to accommodate three inches of crushed rock. Before building a retaining wall plan it out. For example you can estimate a 10 wide by 2 high retaining wall and observe the materials required. The pieces are the height of the wall plus 36 inches for an overlapping bend in the footer.

Poured concrete is typically the most expensive followed by wood timber and then stones and pavers. The interlocking retaining wall block can be used to build walls up to 24 to 36 inches high depending on the size of the block. If you re building a concrete block wall then check out our concrete block calculator. Mark each piece at 36.