Retaining Walls

Retaining Wall Recommendations

I will outline why a pine or hardwood timber sleeper retaining wall really should not be used where you are trying to hold back an amount of dirt.
I would not use pine or hardwood for the following reasons:

1. With time and the exposure to the elements, the timber will rot, crack, and allow termites’ to get in and eat out the timber.
2. The time-intensive labour involved to keep them in good order by painting, then to stop water and moisture and to lessen the exposure to the elements.
3. The cost of having a pest control man coming around to treat the timber sleeper retaining walls for termites every six or twelve months for how ever long you have your property (or for as long as the wall is in place) would well out weigh the cost of putting it in, in the first place.
4. Massive pressure from the dirt behind the timber sleeper retaining walls will, over time, make the walls move outwards. The moisture held within the dirt does not help, nor does the rain, as the dirt will soak up all the moisture, making the dirt much heavier, thus more pressure against the wall to make it move.

What would I use for a retaining wall?

I would be far more inclined to use core-filled and capped besser bricks, with good strong foundation steel reinforcing rods and good drainage. I concede that using bricks for a retaining wall is much more costly (when done correctly) but, it is there for ever more and a brick retaining wall;

Does not need maintenance

Does not need to be termite treated

Does not need painting

Does not rot

Water and moisture & exposure to the elements will not damage brick retaining walls and termites can not do damage to brick retaining walls.

So why not do the sums for yourself of concrete stumps versus timber stumps?

---