Bricks, Masonry, Asphalt and Concrete - advice on building a low retaining wall

first: what am i building?

i put in an inground pool last summer and now i want to pour the deck. the deep end of the pool sits about 2' above grade. i need to build a retaining wall.

the nearby patio area has brick divider walls that i would like to replicate in the retaining wall.

here is what i have planned:

1) dig footing about 25' long.
2) use cement block (normal size 12"?) from footing to grade
3) switch to 8" half block and put brick veneer on side facing away from pool (the exposed side of the wall)
4) when i get up the 2' to even with the top of the pool, stop with 8" block and go with 2 withes of brick with until i match the approx height of the other brick walls around the patio area (approx 3' high walls).

does that sound right?

if you answer, i would like to ask you about the drain that i plan to put in behind the cement block and how to "exit" that drain.

thanks in advance

bob smith
indiana

What have sounds reasonable for a rigid retaining wall. This type of wall is very difficult to build because of the soil conditions and the ultimate cracks that will occur. The only other choice would be a segmental block wall which will have a different appearance and will not march your brick. It is, however, more economical and easier to build a durable wall.

For your proposed wall:

1. Make sure your footings are below the frost level for your area.

2. 12" block will work fine for the details. Use vertical steel reinforcement and fill the core that have steel in them with grout. Keep toward the soil side of the cores.

3. Use horizontal joint reinforcement in every other horizontal mortar joint.

4. The vertical steel should be continuous from the footing to near the top of the brcik wall.

5. Backfill with granular material (sand and rock). A perforated drain tile behind the wall at the ground level can carry the water out to discharge at the end of the wall. If you cannot exit at the end, you can leave open vertical joints at the lower ground level to let the water drain out of the backfill.

Dick

I am a big fan of the pre-cast concrete retaining wall blocks that get dry stacked. Not the small blocks you find at your local home center but the structural/engineered type (Keystone, Diamond Pro...). Since the blocks are dry stacked they can move a little to accommodate settling without cracking and they do not require any masonry/mortar skills.

What size is your brick, and do you want to maintain 12" of width to the top of the wall?

I'm in total agreement with Pilot Dane. The complete list of products is Allan Block, Anchor Wall, Keystone, and Versalok. They all make similar products for many different applications from 2' to 45' high. Many colors, textures and face shapes.

These products are why many municipalities and governmental groups are going away from the rigid poured wall concept for cost and durability.

At least one of the lines if not all are available anywhere in the U.S. and internationally. All have good web sites and great support.

The only problem is whether they are visually compatible with what you will be using them with.

Dick

thanks for the info.

i too like the dry stacked blocks but they would completely clash with the surrounding areas. that is why i want the top of the wall (the exposed faces) to be brick, to match the surrounding walls.

also, i am not married to having the top width be 12" but it will probably end up being 12" at the top.

thanks

the more i think about it, i am wondering if i should go with a dry stack wall instead.

the major problem that this could present is that i still would like to build a low brick wall to match the surrounding patio areas.

i am going to pour a 6" concrete apron around the pool (on the other side of the retaining wall), could i build a 2 whythe brick wall using the 6" slab as the base (there would be no footing)?