€2000 for garden wall?

My views are coloured by the reports in the press over here about the 3 year old girl killed by a wall falling on top of her.
 
Thanks BILLK and HOOP-

Hoopman -
Can't allow 4-6 inches past the end piers as the wall is going from concrete shed to house

All these figures and dimensions are hurting my little brain - on the upside
got a price of €180 for ready mixed concrete(1cu.m) delivered and €150 for the labour- everything has to be ready for him to just come in and lay the bricks

Also, a DIY book told me that if the trench gets flooded by rain I've to seek professional help- this has happened twice in a small section- What should I do

Don't worry about extending it past the end of the wall where its going to come up against another wall. Just extend it where you can.
For example the foundation for the middle pier/piers should extend to be 4 to 6 inches at both ends of the pier. I.e your pier will be 440mm or 400mm long depending on what blocks you are using and so your foundation will 740mm or700mm long. and the end piers that are coming up against another wall should extend 4 to 6 inches at one end only.

As for the flooding, for a trench that size and deep it should be possible to empty the trench of water using a bucket or small paint tin, an hour or so before you pour your concrete.

Good luck in pouring your foundation, did you double check them block sizes are they the metric size ones.

KOH

My views are coloured by the reports in the press over here about the 3 year old girl killed by a wall falling on top of her.

Billk I understand your concerns about walls falling over. and God knows there are enough cowboys getting away with building sub standard structures over the years.
But for a wall that is only 14 blocks long, one in the middle and one at both ends is sufficient enough, unless the building regulations and recomendations have changed since my building days.
Which they may well have as it is a long time since i have had to do it for a living, Thank God.
 
Haven't even had a chance to ring anywhere about the blocks yet-
things are going so slow at the moment due to work,kids,pregnant wife and not to mention our fantastic weather!

I understand now about the piers size- thanks

koh
 
For a wall 6ft high and 21 ft long I would have a pier at each end and two more piers equidistant between them. You don't want the wall blowing over!

BillK probably a stupid question but is it possible to add a pier after a wall is built? I built a similar garden wall to that discussed here and it is just over 7 meters long (1 meter high) but I have no pier in the middle - sounds like maybe I should have?
 
BillK probably a stupid question but is it possible to add a pier after a wall is built? I built a similar garden wall to that discussed here and it is just over 7 meters long (1 meter high) but I have no pier in the middle - sounds like maybe I should have?
If it's only 3 feet high the wind loads will be much less than a 6 foot wall (well under half the load as the lever effect of the load near the top of the wall is greatly diminished as the lever is halved). The house I grew up in (and all its neighbours) have long (easily 7m) 3 foot high boundary walls and they're all still standing without piers despite beling built directly atop the driveways in most cases.

Anyway, it is possible to add a pier after a wall is built if you want to. Just means knocking out a block or two and tying the pier into it using blocks on their sides.
 
If it's only 3 feet high the wind loads will be much less than a 6 foot wall (well under half the load as the lever effect of the load near the top of the wall is greatly diminished as the lever is halved). The house I grew up in (and all its neighbours) have long (easily 7m) 3 foot high boundary walls and they're all still standing without piers despite beling built directly atop the driveways in most cases.

Anyway, it is possible to add a pier after a wall is built if you want to. Just means knocking out a block or two and tying the pier into it using blocks on their sides.

Thanks for that murphaph, think I'll probably leave it as is.
 
Was that the homebond book ? Think it recommends to get a pump to empty the water out.

Best of luck Leukoshoopr & let us know how you get on.
 
It was the Collin's Complete DIY book- excellant book that's saved me a fortune on tiling,plumbing and more-

flooding not too bad- it dries up within a day or so- cheers
 
Had plenty Hoopman- didn't take it all actually-

I'm pleased to announce that the wall is finished at last

Foundation = €150
Blocks/Sand/Cement =€287
Builder = €150
Mixer Rental =€22

Total cost = €609

Personal injuries,sweat,back ache = Not covered in expences

So I managed to save nearly €1400 thanks to you all - cheers
KOH
 
Had plenty Hoopman- didn't take it all actually-

I'm pleased to announce that the wall is finished at last

Foundation = €150
Blocks/Sand/Cement =€287
Builder = €150
Mixer Rental =€22

Total cost = €609

Personal injuries,sweat,back ache = Not covered in expences

So I managed to save nearly €1400 thanks to you all - cheers
KOH

Great stuff,
You might be able to afford a season ticket for next year now.

KOH
 
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