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Default Retaining wall in garden - Celcon blocks?

I have lookead at the usual paving expert page and googled for a couple of hours
but have to ask another question in here...
I need to build a short (about 3 feet long) earth-retaining wall which will also
support one end of a bike store (6' x 3'). The wall needs to be about 28" high -
from the lower ground level.
Appearance is not a consideration since the face of the wall will be less than a
foot from an existing garden shed.
I only have access to B&Q and Wickes and found some Celcon Standard blocks in
B&Q which, according to the web site, can be used as foundations as well as
internal/external walls. They seem very soft and flaky and I am unsure if they
would weather well without rendering.
This site appear to be using something similar:-
http://www.gardenadvice.co.uk/howto/...retainingwall/

Any opinions on using Celcon blocks?

Geo
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Default Retaining wall in garden - Celcon blocks?

Geo wrote:
I have lookead at the usual paving expert page and googled for a couple of hours
but have to ask another question in here...
I need to build a short (about 3 feet long) earth-retaining wall which will also
support one end of a bike store (6' x 3'). The wall needs to be about 28" high -
from the lower ground level.
Appearance is not a consideration since the face of the wall will be less than a
foot from an existing garden shed.
I only have access to B&Q and Wickes and found some Celcon Standard blocks in
B&Q which, according to the web site, can be used as foundations as well as
internal/external walls. They seem very soft and flaky and I am unsure if they
would weather well without rendering.
This site appear to be using something similar:-
http://www.gardenadvice.co.uk/howto/...retainingwall/

Any opinions on using Celcon blocks?

Geo


Jot sure about celcon..isn't that the soft ****e you cut with a saw? I
used proper concrete blocks and steel ties between every one. That
worked OK. I'd use double thickenss for 28" of soil tho, and do leave
drain holes at the bottom and backfill with gravel..



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Default Retaining wall in garden - Celcon blocks?

On Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:15:06 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

..isn't that the soft ****e you cut with a saw?

That's the fella

I used proper concrete blocks and steel ties between every one.

I can't visualise that?
I was going to use the blocks on their side so 8 1/2" thick.
Had thought of drain holes but not of gravel.

Geo
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Default Retaining wall in garden - Celcon blocks?

On 17 Aug, 18:45, Geo wrote:
On Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:15:06 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

..isn't that the soft ****e you cut with a saw?


That's the fella

I used proper concrete blocks and steel ties between every one.


I can't visualise that?
I was going to use the blocks on their side so 8 1/2" thick.
Had thought of drain holes but not of gravel.

Geo


Not sure if this is going to help - it's the 3ft long bit that worries
me and probably does justify extra thickness. Anyway I built a 20m
long wall 10m years ago using 6" dense concrete blocks. It is on a
curve and one end is 3 courses high - ie is around 28" above the
ground. Rather obviously it is still standing and looking good.

I was concerned about the build up of drainage water behind the wall
and place short lengths of 15mm plastic pipe through the wall every 3
blocks. At the base of the wall I ran a length of that drainage
plastic pipe ( corrugated with holes) and back filled with gravel.

Rob
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Default Retaining wall in garden - Celcon blocks?

On Aug 17, 7:59*pm, robgraham wrote:
On 17 Aug, 18:45, Geo wrote:

On Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:15:06 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:


..isn't that the soft ****e you cut with a saw?


That's the fella


I daresay you could do it with all sorts of things and cross your
fingers, but for a retaining wal I'd definitely be using dense blocks,
not aerated. A collapsing retaining wall can be dangerous.


NT


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Default Retaining wall in garden - Celcon blocks?


"Geo" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:15:06 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

..isn't that the soft ****e you cut with a saw?

That's the fella

I used proper concrete blocks and steel ties between every one.

I can't visualise that?
I was going to use the blocks on their side so 8 1/2" thick.
Had thought of drain holes but not of gravel.


Same site you linked to has a french drain
http://www.gardenadvice.co.uk/howto/...ain/index.html


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Default Retaining wall in garden - Celcon blocks?

On Sun, 17 Aug 2008 16:18:59 GMT, Geo wrote:

OK - gone off the aerated blocks.
Thanks for the French drain info.
The dense blocks weigh about 20kg which I think will be too much for me to
handle (working from the upper level only) so am now considering either cutting
dense blocks in half (with a 4 1/2" grinder??)
or
using B&Q clay engineering bricks at 29p each and "single brick" (8 1/2") thick
wall.
The short length is still a slight worry but the wall will be supporting half
the weight of the bike store+base which will be about 100kg empty so this should
give it some additional stability.

Geo
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Default Retaining wall in garden - Celcon blocks?

Geo wrote:
On Sun, 17 Aug 2008 16:18:59 GMT, Geo wrote:

OK - gone off the aerated blocks.
Thanks for the French drain info.
The dense blocks weigh about 20kg which I think will be too much for me to
handle (working from the upper level only) so am now considering either cutting
dense blocks in half (with a 4 1/2" grinder??)

Wuss :-)

or
using B&Q clay engineering bricks at 29p each and "single brick" (8 1/2") thick
wall.
The short length is still a slight worry but the wall will be supporting half
the weight of the bike store+base which will be about 100kg empty so this should
give it some additional stability.

Geo


Get wall ties and use em everywhere. The pressure of wet soil behind is
large.

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