oh, boy,
ultimately it's contractor time for this repair. i know this. but i'm looking for advice on maybe an effective "band-aid" type bracing concept so we can get a little more time to incorporate plans for foundation work for a planned home addition that would essentially butt right against said wall.
or, frankly, ANYTHING else at all that's helpful. read on, and after i spill the beans i'll hammer out some questions.
the wall is 10 feet tall, first off. it's approximately 40 feet in length. the yard above the wall is on my property. the home is below, with about a 10-or-12 foot concrete slab patio area directly beneath the wall and between the wall and the house. the wall is cinder block with rebar, filled in with concrete, and looks like a concrete foundation, as well.
when we bought the place, four years back, the wall had already been damaged by a bush/tree that had been allowed to grow directly against the wall. (if i could get ahold of the monkey that let it happen....grrrr... but never mind that.) we knew it was going to be trouble at the time, but it wasn't IMMINENTLY coming down, so much as... well, it's eventually gonna need some serious work...
i have gradually watched the cracks get bigger, and the wall is no longer even near plumb--the top is hanging out half a foot over, at least, at the worst spot. there's a staircase on the end near the main damage and a corner (90 degree) at the stair case, and the corner has developed some bad cracking now, as well. the 3/4 rigid conduit used as the frame for a wire fence atop the wall has begun to look kind of like a 3-point saddle.
i have pics from four years ago, and i'll get some new ones taken, and try and post them here.
like i mentioned before, the plan was to add on to the home and fix the wall at the same time, but now there's a couple 2-year-olds running around, and the wall seems to be getting worse faster now, and i'm wondering if i can gain any more time by removing (a massive amount of) dirt from behind the wall and bracing it somehow (with anchors into the patio slab and big-*** lumber) or if that'll a.) do anything at all, or b.) even make it worse?
searching the net i don't see anything even approaching the size of this wall on any DIY sites, and when i come across documents from cities talking about low bids of $80K for emergency retaining wall repairs i simply shudder.
i appreciate your time and concern.
--jt
ultimately it's contractor time for this repair. i know this. but i'm looking for advice on maybe an effective "band-aid" type bracing concept so we can get a little more time to incorporate plans for foundation work for a planned home addition that would essentially butt right against said wall.
or, frankly, ANYTHING else at all that's helpful. read on, and after i spill the beans i'll hammer out some questions.
the wall is 10 feet tall, first off. it's approximately 40 feet in length. the yard above the wall is on my property. the home is below, with about a 10-or-12 foot concrete slab patio area directly beneath the wall and between the wall and the house. the wall is cinder block with rebar, filled in with concrete, and looks like a concrete foundation, as well.
when we bought the place, four years back, the wall had already been damaged by a bush/tree that had been allowed to grow directly against the wall. (if i could get ahold of the monkey that let it happen....grrrr... but never mind that.) we knew it was going to be trouble at the time, but it wasn't IMMINENTLY coming down, so much as... well, it's eventually gonna need some serious work...
i have gradually watched the cracks get bigger, and the wall is no longer even near plumb--the top is hanging out half a foot over, at least, at the worst spot. there's a staircase on the end near the main damage and a corner (90 degree) at the stair case, and the corner has developed some bad cracking now, as well. the 3/4 rigid conduit used as the frame for a wire fence atop the wall has begun to look kind of like a 3-point saddle.
i have pics from four years ago, and i'll get some new ones taken, and try and post them here.
like i mentioned before, the plan was to add on to the home and fix the wall at the same time, but now there's a couple 2-year-olds running around, and the wall seems to be getting worse faster now, and i'm wondering if i can gain any more time by removing (a massive amount of) dirt from behind the wall and bracing it somehow (with anchors into the patio slab and big-*** lumber) or if that'll a.) do anything at all, or b.) even make it worse?
searching the net i don't see anything even approaching the size of this wall on any DIY sites, and when i come across documents from cities talking about low bids of $80K for emergency retaining wall repairs i simply shudder.
i appreciate your time and concern.
--jt