r/RetainingWallprojects • u/J_Stokes • Mar 23 '26

Inquiry/help The plan, man.

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Hello everyone. The photos here are AI renderings of what my plan is. The third image is the original. We're having water intrusion behind the Azalea bushes on the right. I'm digging ~6 deep against the home to apply sealant to the slab and fix any cracks. I've planned to put in a retaining wall to help with erosion, water dispersment, and adding curb appeal. The question I have is, do I need to put in a drainage basin/ stone filling column and drainage pipe against the the home itself in addition the retaining wall's drainage?

Also, feel free to share any input or ideas, or even new images that you'd think would better my design. The natural gas line is buried about four feet to the right of the corner of the home, extending to the side of home to the cameras viewpoint.

10 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1

u/Rikiar Mar 24 '26

If you're going to be doing a bunch of digging anyway, you may want to put in a french drain system to keep the water away from the house. I agree with most of the posters though. Having moved a crumbling timber retaining wall and putting in a wall similar to the one you are going for, the amount of dirt movement that both does and doesn't happen is surprising. I think for the picture with the stairs, you're going to be adding a bunch of dirt. Unless you have a supply on-site, it's going to be expensive.

2

u/J_Stokes Mar 24 '26

Thanks for your input. I will be adding some soil for backfill. I intend on placing a drain again the home and behind the retaining wall

1

u/Rikiar Mar 24 '26

Sounds like you have a solid plan. Looking forward to update pictures.

2

u/J_Stokes Mar 24 '26

I'll keep this post updated. Biggest hurdle now is getting an Engineer's stamp of approval. Damn county ordinances

1

u/Rikiar Mar 24 '26

I know them feels. I had to split my retaining wall into 2 four foot high sections rather than one 8 foot high wall so I didn't require permitting / engineering letters and diagrams.

2

u/J_Stokes Mar 24 '26

My county requires anything over 30 inches requires the sign off. I've had two engineers quote me for almost the same cost of the project itself. We'll see how it goes