[chrisk0420]

I am putting a bid in on removing a rotting timber retaining wall and replacing with SRW... Probably Unilock Olde Quarry. I posted some pics because I have a few concerns.

Has anyone done a similar project? Do I need to find a way to tie this back to the driveway or is it ok being essentially free standing. Also concerned with base prep as some areas will be more narrow then standard width for walls. Drainage could be a factor too as the driveway is graded towards the walls.

Homeowner is also planning on replacing the driveway in a couple years so that concerns me as well.

I might be over complicating this one but any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Stonehenge]

Olde Quarry is nice, but IMHO it's too small for this kind of project. You need something bigger/deeper.

In looking at one of the pics, the timbers look more like curbing and less like a retaining wall - but if the client is thinking of replacing the driveway anyway, if there are spots where the "wall" stands 18" or more above the ground, since it's a driveway, I would suggest that the client have you install some geogrid, which would mean cutting into and removing some of the asphalt, so you can adequately tie the wall into the materials it is holding back. The driveway is garbage as it is now anyway, so they wouldn't be missing out on anything.

And build the wall according to where the final grade of the driveway will be when the new one is installed, not where this one is now.

Hope that helps.

[brooks]

Define a couple of years.

In my opinion, if the homeowner is replacing the drive in a year or two (even three), I'd wait and do the retaining walls at the same time. Chance are, if the base is being disturbed for the new drive, the new walls would be as well. Are they going to change the design of the drive at all? Maybe you could "redesign" the shape of the drive and design more astheticallly pleasing walls to match.

I'd definately look for a way to upsell this job- mostly because it seems like a big pain for a little project.

(BTW- The timbers along the wall seem unneccesary- maybe just remove them for now? )

[chrisk0420]

Definitely helps... For whatever reason I did not even think of cutting into the driveway.

Confirms my thoughts that it probably needs to be engineered correctly (half the wall is +18") and that cost will be prohibitive to getting the project off the ground.

I'll bid it right and see what happens... maybe I will be surprised.

[brooks]

We must have been typing at the same time...

[chrisk0420]

We must have been... Thanks for the info, I have an idea of what I need to do for this bid. Any suggestions for wall materials, I have used Pisa 2 before but not sure that is the best look for this project... Definitely open to products other than unilock.

[Stonehenge]

Rockwood offers some nice product that would probably hold up well, and Versa-Lok would probably do the trick, too. You could use tumbled Mosaic as it has a look similar to (if not better than) Olde Quarry.