I have a 2' tall retaining wall in my garden. It consists of 6x8 railroad
ties, set on edge. The rr-ties are laterally supported by treated 4x4 lumber
posts, imbedded about 1' into concrete supports poured into the soil on the
low side of the wall. there is no concrete footing for the RRties, they are
set on the soil.

All this is now 30 years old. The RR ties are still in good shape but the
treated 4x4 have rotted/broken-off at the base of the wall. Therefore, the
RR ties are slowly being pushed downhill, collapsing the wall.

If I could replace the 4x4 posts in their cast concrete bases, I could
easily re-align the RR ties. How can I replace the 4x4 posts, set in
concrete? Do I need to dig out the concrete base and re-pour new concrete
around a new post? That's hard work for an 85 year old.

Thanks for any help

Walter

--

www.rationality.net

On Thursday, January 15, 2015 at 11:16:41 AM UTC-5, Walter E. wrote:
I have a 2' tall retaining wall in my garden. It consists of 6x8 railroad
ties, set on edge. The rr-ties are laterally supported by treated 4x4 lumber
posts, imbedded about 1' into concrete supports poured into the soil on the
low side of the wall. there is no concrete footing for the RRties, they are
set on the soil.

All this is now 30 years old. The RR ties are still in good shape but the
treated 4x4 have rotted/broken-off at the base of the wall. Therefore, the
RR ties are slowly being pushed downhill, collapsing the wall.

If I could replace the 4x4 posts in their cast concrete bases, I could
easily re-align the RR ties. How can I replace the 4x4 posts, set in
concrete? Do I need to dig out the concrete base and re-pour new concrete
around a new post? That's hard work for an 85 year old.

Thanks for any help

Walter

--

www.rationality.net

If the old 4x4's have broken off at the cement line or can be cut off
there and covered up with some soil, mulch, whatever, then it's probably
easier to just put new 4x4's embedded in concrete in new locations.
That way you don't have to remove the concrete that's there. That
assumes that visually it's OK, ie that it won't look like hell because
the area of the wall where the old 4x4 were doesn't look different, etc.

Curious though how you're going to "easily" re-align the railroad ties.
If they've shifted, with dirt behind them, that typically isn't easy,
unless maybe you have a tractor to push it with.....

"trader_4" wrote in message
...
On Thursday, January 15, 2015 at 11:16:41 AM UTC-5, Walter E. wrote:
I have a 2' tall retaining wall in my garden. It consists of 6x8 railroad
ties, set on edge. The rr-ties are laterally supported by treated 4x4
lumber
posts, imbedded about 1' into concrete supports poured into the soil on
the
low side of the wall. there is no concrete footing for the RRties, they
are
set on the soil.

All this is now 30 years old. The RR ties are still in good shape but the
treated 4x4 have rotted/broken-off at the base of the wall. Therefore,
the
RR ties are slowly being pushed downhill, collapsing the wall.

If I could replace the 4x4 posts in their cast concrete bases, I could
easily re-align the RR ties. How can I replace the 4x4 posts, set in
concrete? Do I need to dig out the concrete base and re-pour new concrete
around a new post? That's hard work for an 85 year old.

Thanks for any help

Walter

--

www.rationality.net

If the old 4x4's have broken off at the cement line or can be cut off
there and covered up with some soil, mulch, whatever, then it's probably
easier to just put new 4x4's embedded in concrete in new locations.
That way you don't have to remove the concrete that's there. That
assumes that visually it's OK, ie that it won't look like hell because
the area of the wall where the old 4x4 were doesn't look different, etc.

Curious though how you're going to "easily" re-align the railroad ties.
If they've shifted, with dirt behind them, that typically isn't easy,
unless maybe you have a tractor to push it with.....


Yes, there is probably no easy solution. Will have to bite the bullet and
dig new holes for the posts. As to aligning the RR ties: I will have to dig
out part of the hill behind the ties, lift/push the ties into the proper
location and then just leave a narrow gap behind the ties to avoid future
lateral pressure of the soil.

In ,
Walter E. typed:
"trader_4" wrote in message
...
On Thursday, January 15, 2015 at 11:16:41 AM UTC-5, Walter E. wrote:
I have a 2' tall retaining wall in my garden. It consists of 6x8
railroad ties, set on edge. The rr-ties are laterally supported by
treated 4x4 lumber
posts, imbedded about 1' into concrete supports poured into the
soil on the
low side of the wall. there is no concrete footing for the RRties,
they are
set on the soil.

All this is now 30 years old. The RR ties are still in good shape
but the treated 4x4 have rotted/broken-off at the base of the wall.
Therefore, the
RR ties are slowly being pushed downhill, collapsing the wall.

If I could replace the 4x4 posts in their cast concrete bases, I
could easily re-align the RR ties. How can I replace the 4x4 posts,
set in concrete? Do I need to dig out the concrete base and re-pour
new concrete around a new post? That's hard work for an 85 year old.

Thanks for any help

Walter

--

www.rationality.net

If the old 4x4's have broken off at the cement line or can be cut off
there and covered up with some soil, mulch, whatever, then it's
probably easier to just put new 4x4's embedded in concrete in new
locations. That way you don't have to remove the concrete that's
there. That assumes that visually it's OK, ie that it won't look
like hell because the area of the wall where the old 4x4 were
doesn't look different, etc. Curious though how you're going to "easily"
re-align the railroad
ties. If they've shifted, with dirt behind them, that typically
isn't easy, unless maybe you have a tractor to push it with.....


Yes, there is probably no easy solution. Will have to bite the bullet
and dig new holes for the posts. As to aligning the RR ties: I will
have to dig out part of the hill behind the ties, lift/push the ties
into the proper location and then just leave a narrow gap behind the
ties to avoid future lateral pressure of the soil.

Just out of curiosity, I would be interested in seeing a couple of photos of
what you have now if you are able to do that.

On Thu, 15 Jan 2015 08:48:43 -0800 (PST), trader_4
wrote:

Curious though how you're going to "easily" re-align the railroad ties.
If they've shifted, with dirt behind them, that typically isn't easy,
unless maybe you have a tractor to push it with.....

Drive a good sized re-bar in the ground. Brace it, if you get it
inline.
--
"The definition of a liberal, a liberal is somebody that doesn't care what you do as long as it's mandatory". -- Charles Krauthammer

Hi Walter,

I have a 2' tall retaining wall in my garden.
It consists of 6x8 railroad ties, set on edge.

Are we talking three rows 8" high, or four rows 6" high?

The wall would be stronger if the ties were laid flat, but that does mean
an extra row of ties.

The rr-ties are laterally supported by treated 4x4 lumber posts,
imbedded about 1' into concrete supports poured into the soil
on the low side of the wall. there is no concrete
footing for the RRties, they are set on the soil.
All this is now 30 years old. The RR ties are still in good shape but
the treated 4x4 have rotted/broken-off at the base of the wall.
Therefore, the RR ties are slowly being pushed downhill, collapsing
the wall.

Have you dug down on the back side of the wall to see what the back sides
of the ties look like? After 30 years I would question whether they're as
good as they might appear, especially if the treated 4x4's have rotted.

I had some old ties along our driveway that looked fine from the front, but
underneath they were completely rotted away. If your ties are rotted,
you're better off building a new wall.

If I could replace the 4x4 posts in their cast concrete bases, I could
easily re-align the RR ties. How can I replace the 4x4 posts, set in
concrete? Do I need to dig out the concrete base and re-pour new
concrete around a new post? That's hard work for an 85 year old.

Unfortunately, there's no easy way to repair your wall. You'll need to dig
the dirt back from behind the wall to position the wall back where it used
to be. You probably won't be able to just push things back into alignment.
It would probably be easier to take it apart and reassemble in the new
position.

Granted, this won't be easy at 85, or even at my age of 51. Maybe you can
find some young bucks with more brawn than brains?

Two feet is not an overly high retaining wall, but it's usually the water
in the soil that pushes it forward. You can help reduce the problem by
installing drainage pipe, gravel, and landscape fabric behind the wall.
Then route the drain away from the wall.

If you have room, you might be able to save some work by rebuilding the
wall in front of it's original position. That would give you room to
install drainage behind the wall without digging a lot of dirt.

If it comes down to rebuilding the wall, you may want to look at other
options. Precast blocks are popular and widely available, but they can get
expensive for long walls. Or, you can dry stack rocks with a slight
backward slope. You could build forms and pour a concrete retaining wall.
Or, you could do what I did and build a mortared stone retaining wall:

http://www.watsondiy.com/2008wall.htm
http://www.watsondiy.com/2009wall.htm

If you decide to stay with railroad ties, you could probably forego the 4x4
posts. Just overlap the rows of ties, stepping each row back slightly. Then
drill holes down through the ties and anchor them together with sections of
rebar. If the wall is very long, or the soil slopes uphill behind the wall,
you might want to install a "deadman" behind the wall every 8' or so. The
first row of ties should also be buried below ground level to prevent the
bottom from being pushed out (alternatively, you might be able to drill
holes into the old concrete from the 4x4's and anchor to those).

Good luck with your project!

Anthony Watson
www.mountainsoftware.com
www.watsondiy.com

"Walter E." wrote in message
...
I have a 2' tall retaining wall in my garden. It consists of 6x8 railroad
ties, set on edge. The rr-ties are laterally supported by treated 4x4
lumber posts, imbedded about 1' into concrete supports poured into the
soil on the low side of the wall. there is no concrete footing for the
RRties, they are set on the soil.

All this is now 30 years old. The RR ties are still in good shape but the
treated 4x4 have rotted/broken-off at the base of the wall. Therefore, the
RR ties are slowly being pushed downhill, collapsing the wall.

If I could replace the 4x4 posts in their cast concrete bases, I could
easily re-align the RR ties. How can I replace the 4x4 posts, set in
concrete? Do I need to dig out the concrete base and re-pour new concrete
around a new post? That's hard work for an 85 year old.

Thanks for any help

Walter

--

www.rationality.net

This is what one segment of the RR ties looks like. There are several more
that need repairs, maybe to a total of 20 (160')

http://postimg.org/image/834wlwkab/