Second Retaining Wall Completed

Another marathon week of construction has come to a close with fantastic results.
Happily, we discovered that below 60 cm of earth, the mountainside was in plain view. This allowed for our foundation to be smaller than the previous wall, saving time and materials.



Our second massive retaining wall needed a sturdy concrete footing for its corner pillar. We utilized the ample stones on our land in conjuntion with concrete to build up a low spot in the natural stone foundation.



We also added a 'deadman' midway through the wall to farther strengthen the central pillar and add weight into the mountainside to overcome a potential tip over during our rainy season.



We backfilled the wall with tons of stone to allow the water to pass through the many drain holes we placed strategically along the wall.



This wall ended up being slightly taller than the first since we had the option to add a fifth course of concrete block.



Here is our home, with both retaining walls seen behind the house and below the grade of the roadway. Soon we will be planting these new terraces with all manner of sun lovers.

Retaining Wall Completed

This retaining wall is located directly above and behind our house.

View last years post about the project here, http://magnusandkonswan.blogspot.com/2010/10/wall-building-to-retain-new-road.html
We began last September, but had to wait for the wet weather to end before moving forward.

We needed to be sure this wall cannot fall, especialy after moving the mountainside and altering millions of years of soil and rock sedimentation.



We dug a 40 cm deep by 70 cm wide trench and then filled it with stones and concrete, in order to provide a stable foundation.



Next, we used 30cm concrete block reiniforced with iron and poured concrete.



In order to transport the concrete to the site we used a high density polyethelene tube.



We hired two local workers to help with the project. Below you can see the three man team making progress.



The finished wall meets the approval of the boss and baby boy.



Next we will add manure to the soil and plant the garden with sun loving tomatoes. This location is completely protected from the wind and gets twelve hours of direct sun in the summer.