On Wed, 26 Oct 2005 18:39:57 -0700, Frank J Warner
wrote:
Finishing up my house. Back yard is last thing I have to do. It's got a
hillside that slopes down maybe 20 degrees to the back my house. I need
to put retaining walls to keep this hillside from ending up in my
bedroom during next year's heavy rain.
This evening, while taking my walk, I followed a dry creekbed that had
been shored up in places with heavy guage galvanized corrugated sheet
metal. Looks very much like this stuff:
http://www.cajunmarineconstruction.c...ing_Walls.html
It actually looked pretty good to me, as I tend to go with
non-traditional landscape treatments wherever I can get away with it. I
liked the industrial feel, and it looked like the metal walls had been
in place for at least a couple of decades with little or no corrosion.
The stuff is perfect for my application, but I don't have any
experience with it. Especially whether it's something a handy guy could
install himself, or even where to buy it within a reasonable distance
of my house (California Central Coast).
Anybody ever work with this stuff?
I've seen it used many times, and it's NOT DIY unless people will
rent you very heavy equipment - do you have truck access to the area?
The stuff installs fast, they can get in and out in a day if all the
prep work is done, so it might not be that expensive.
They use a heavy lift crane with a special Vibratory Pile Driver to
install sheet piling - it's a paint shaker the size of a large engine
block with a big set of gripper clamps on the bottom for the sheet
piling, and a remote hydraulic power supply driven by a large engine.
They grab the piling with the gripper, the crane places it in
position so it interlocks with the last sheet, and they turn on the
shaker, which buzzes it down into the dirt like a tent peg. And if
the shoring was temporary, removing them is just a matter of bringing
the crane back and reversing the procedure.
Make absolutely sure that the area is clear of all drainage or
utility lines, The sheet pile will go right through them like they
aren't there, with possibly disastrous results.
-- Bruce --
--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
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