My property is 68' wide. The last 10' in the backyard slopes down
about 5' (10' run, 5' high). I'd like to make that back 10' flat so I
can actually use it. Anyone have any ideas of what it would cost to
have a retaining wall built? It would be 5' at the highest point, and
even though 68' wide, there isn't any slope on one side of my yard so
the wall isn't 5' all the way across, and since the slope in that
direction is pretty even I think it works out to about 2 1/2' high at
the mid point (34' or the 68' total).

My house is far enough away from the back fence that it shouldn't be a
factor (the weight of the house). I do have an in-ground pool, about
10,000 gallons, on the flatter side of my yard. Would the pool be a
factor? It doesn't seem like it would since I'm not removing any
earth from around it, and hopefully it is already held firmly in-place
by what is already there (thus it shouldn't be adding weight/pressure
on the retaining wall).

I live in Tucson, Arizona. The soil is about average I'd say, maybe a
bit on the hard side. I've found some small rocks while diging
towards the front of my property, but the back doesn't seem to be
nearly as rocky.

Just trying to get a ball-park before I go calling any contractors. I
know it would be easier to just call and get some ideas, but I really
hate people (in person anyway).

In Tucson, you could just use cinder block and build a regular wall. The
soil there is hard as a rock (baked by the hot sun) and quite dry. I would
think very little (if any) pressure from the soil would be placed on the
wall. So just the cost of a regular wall if local building codes allow it?
(Actually the soil is so hard there, I heard they sometimes need to use a
jack-hammer to dig post holes for fences!)

In other areas, the soil turns almost liquid when it rains, so a retaining
wall needs to be able to hold back the soil and needs to be exceptionally
sturdy. (Like 1 ft. thick solid concrete with rebar and supports driven
into the hill, then water-proofed on the hill side and a drainage system
installed.)


"Eric" wrote in message
My property is 68' wide. The last 10' in the backyard slopes down
about 5' (10' run, 5' high). I'd like to make that back 10' flat so I
can actually use it. Anyone have any ideas of what it would cost to
have a retaining wall built? It would be 5' at the highest point, and
even though 68' wide, there isn't any slope on one side of my yard so
the wall isn't 5' all the way across, and since the slope in that
direction is pretty even I think it works out to about 2 1/2' high at
the mid point (34' or the 68' total).

My house is far enough away from the back fence that it shouldn't be a
factor (the weight of the house). I do have an in-ground pool, about
10,000 gallons, on the flatter side of my yard. Would the pool be a
factor? It doesn't seem like it would since I'm not removing any
earth from around it, and hopefully it is already held firmly in-place
by what is already there (thus it shouldn't be adding weight/pressure
on the retaining wall).

I live in Tucson, Arizona. The soil is about average I'd say, maybe a
bit on the hard side. I've found some small rocks while diging
towards the front of my property, but the back doesn't seem to be
nearly as rocky.

Just trying to get a ball-park before I go calling any contractors. I
know it would be easier to just call and get some ideas, but I really
hate people (in person anyway).

Thanks Bill, you've made my day! I'll check with the permit guys and
see what they say. If I don't need any special engineering I'll
probably do the work myself, or at least a lot of it. Some other
people in my area have put up similar walls, with just standard 8"
block, but the highest one I've seen so far is about 4 feet, and that
one didn't have much slope to the ground before he put up the wall (in
other words, he didn't have to add much fill at all).

Yah, I build a little wall, about 4' long, on the side of my house,
and I was so glad that my brother let me borrow his
mini-jack-hammer... Solid as a rock is right!

"Bill" wrote in message ...
In Tucson, you could just use cinder block and build a regular wall. The
soil there is hard as a rock (baked by the hot sun) and quite dry. I would
think very little (if any) pressure from the soil would be placed on the
wall. So just the cost of a regular wall if local building codes allow it?
(Actually the soil is so hard there, I heard they sometimes need to use a
jack-hammer to dig post holes for fences!)

In other areas, the soil turns almost liquid when it rains, so a retaining
wall needs to be able to hold back the soil and needs to be exceptionally
sturdy. (Like 1 ft. thick solid concrete with rebar and supports driven
into the hill, then water-proofed on the hill side and a drainage system
installed.)


"Eric" wrote in message
My property is 68' wide. The last 10' in the backyard slopes down
about 5' (10' run, 5' high). I'd like to make that back 10' flat so I
can actually use it. Anyone have any ideas of what it would cost to
have a retaining wall built? It would be 5' at the highest point, and
even though 68' wide, there isn't any slope on one side of my yard so
the wall isn't 5' all the way across, and since the slope in that
direction is pretty even I think it works out to about 2 1/2' high at
the mid point (34' or the 68' total).

My house is far enough away from the back fence that it shouldn't be a
factor (the weight of the house). I do have an in-ground pool, about
10,000 gallons, on the flatter side of my yard. Would the pool be a
factor? It doesn't seem like it would since I'm not removing any
earth from around it, and hopefully it is already held firmly in-place
by what is already there (thus it shouldn't be adding weight/pressure
on the retaining wall).

I live in Tucson, Arizona. The soil is about average I'd say, maybe a
bit on the hard side. I've found some small rocks while diging
towards the front of my property, but the back doesn't seem to be
nearly as rocky.

Just trying to get a ball-park before I go calling any contractors. I
know it would be easier to just call and get some ideas, but I really
hate people (in person anyway).