Retaining Wall

Im putting up a small retaining wall. 2 course Bradstone blocks with cap on top. Do I need to put caulking (what type) between layers?

Don't know what Bradstone looks like. Can you post a pic? Most retaining walls allow water to pass through so that forces don't build up behind the wall. You may need adhesive to join flat blocks together, but not to caulk the seams or spaces between them.

Are these not just paving stones?

slownsteady said:

Most retaining walls allow water to pass through so that forces don't build up behind the wall. You may need adhesive to join flat blocks together, but not to caulk the seams or spaces between them.

Learn something every day

Click to expand...

Damn if you don't. THANX!

I did not know that. It explains why a permit is needed after a certain height...

I believe you just glue the cap on. The rest should have a way of locking together.

slownsteady said:

Don't know what Bradstone looks like. Can you post a pic? Most retaining walls allow water to pass through so that forces don't build up behind the wall. You may need adhesive to join flat blocks together, but not to caulk the seams or spaces between them.

Click to expand...

This is generally incorrect.

Walls lower in height than 2'6" are "garden walls" and are not considered retaining, have open head joints, IE the grout is absent between the lowest coarse of block.

"Retaining walls", with a height higher than 2'6", have an engineered footing, closed head joints and have a drainage system, french drain, behind the base, above the footing to address the hydrology, water accumulation from percolation, directed to accommodate the the natural flow of the land on the down side.

I think the 2'-6" interpretation of the code regarding "engineered" projects may be a local one or out-dated. When it comes to requirements, a code jurisdiction can adopt any reputable industry standard or model code.

An engineered wall is not just anything over 2'-6". A code can specify the maximum height of an "un-engineered" wall and it is usually in the range of 4' or 5'.

The engineered footing can be either a concrete footing (width, depth, thickness and reinforcement) OR it can a system of different solid layers of base and sub-base and compaction layers with no concrete footings.

I have seem many engineered retaining walls using SRW(sentimental retaining wall) units that were between nothing and 30' high high that had no concrete footings or mortar (bed and head joints) and just geo-grid soil reinforcement. The most extreme wall I have seen was on highway that was about 600' long and was between nothing and 40' high. These were concrete block sized units and not massive blocks measured in feet mad from come back concrete.

The 2'-6" limitation seems a little archaic and limiting to owners, designers and responsible contractors. The amount of unit being made available without any support or background makes thing a little bit "clouded" for the public. I "garden walls" should be limited to walls retaining a reasonably sized garden that is used as a garden and has controlled drainage and a reasonably level surface.

Dick

My city makes me pull a permit and have engineering on any wall that is retaining dirt. Even 6" tall. I fought with them a couple weeks ago on this.

Yep Chris, just one of the drawbacks of living up in the rarified air, while the rest of us flatlander's, here on the truly left coast, have been living with what I previously posted for over 35yrs.

Okay, so the moral of the story is "check your local code".

slownsteady said:

Okay, so the moral of the story is "check your local code".

Click to expand...

Yes, local codes vary. The codes dept is a great resource for preventive problems down the road.

Not my code dept. they just want a permit for anything. Can't wipe without a permit

It's the nanny state of nanny states, where they charge you, to protect you, from you.

My two foot tall stacked rock wall is a code violation because of not having the proper footing or using cinder block as a base even though people have been building these rock walls for centuries this way and they are still standing.

WELL! we'll see about that!

What did you say your address is?????

123 not your street in not your county in not your state.com

The bricks are 6 inches high and 4 inches wide by 2 feet long I,m only installing a couple of courses around a garden bed. Will try and post a picture

So the wall will be a foot-high garden wall. Do the blocks interlock somehow? Maybe a lip on one side of the back edge, or maybe with pins inserted into holes?
You may want to bury the first course (six inches down) into the ground to anchor your wall a little better; so then you would need three courses to get a foot-high wall. you could do it the easy way, by just laying the blocks on the ground and building up from that, but you will be rebuilding that wall before you know it.

What can I cut stones with? They re about 6 inches high and 4 inches thick

Quickly with a wet saw and diamond blade, not so quickly with a dry saw.