retaining wall problem

[wortheverypenny]

I have a retaining wall in my backyard. The wall is double tiered. With both sections roughly 3 feet high. (first wall is 3 feet high, about 3 feet flat, then the second wall 3 feet high) The wall was constructed about 1 year ago. The bottom wall seems fine. However the top wall seems to be under enormous pressure. Each wall runs approximately 75 feet. For the top wall a section roughly 30 ft is tilting forward. (the top bricks are now angling down) The walls consist of heavy bricks/pavers that each weigh approx. 40 lbs. These bricks are held to together by some kind of adhesive. The slope of the earth above this troubled section is more pronounced then the other areas of the wall. I have called the contractor and he said that this was caused by the wall settling. (hopefully he is correct) Is there anything I can do to help alleviate the pressure on the wall? Can I attempt to flatten the slope above this section? (Granted a monumental task of manual labor, but willing to try) Or will this accomplish nothing accept some sore muscles? Any sugguestions will be appreciated. Can I brace or anchor the wall further using some kind of device?

[lefty]

wortheverypenny,

First, welcome to DoItYourself.com and the Fence forum.

A picture (or two) would be worth a million words. If you have a digicam and can post pictures on a site like photobucket, angelfire, etc. and post the URL, it would sure help!!

I'm guessing (since I can't see the wall) that the dirt (fill) under the upper wall wasn't tamped or compacted enough, allowing it to fall forward. If that's the case, you have a lot of hard work ahead of you. Dig the dirt behind the upper wall back to expose the wall, take it out and compact the dirt. I would go as far to pour a concrete footing with rebar in it for the upper wall, compacting the dirt below the footing. Then rebuild the upper wall.

The large garden wall blocks work well, but they HAVE to be on solid, compacted or native soil.

[homeowners2]

Your wall sounds almost exactly like what our contractor is getting ready to build for us! Did you get it fixed, and if so, how?

Our contractor is going to use cement "stones" on a cement footing, 57 rock (whatever that is) behind the wall (between the wall and the dirt), and geogrid installed, rather than adhesive. Our contractor said the stones will carry the water away, and the rest would dissipate out the wall without damaging it.

Could your problem be caused by tree roots, or has anyone driven on top of your retaining wall? We found these possible damaging conditions on the internet trying to research what we might be in for.