My Poor Wall

Part of my garden wall has fallen away - the middle part!

It is a natural stone retaining wall, on my garden side about 18" high - on the road about 6'.

Questions
Can I patch it up?
Can a professional patch it up?
Does the wall have to come down?

If I can do something - anything - what can I do?

The first picture is from the garden side - the rest from the road.

It is a quiet cul de sac with just 3 houses lower than me.

 

I'm no expert on this kind of thing, but if it was me I'd be thinking that if this bit has fallen out the rest will soon follow.

It could be expensive to repair professionally, it doesnt seem to be that strong bearing in mind its a retaining wall.
It looks more ornamental to me.

 

It's been there for 60 years and done a sterling job so far.

 

yep, so perhaps its had its day.
60yrs ago was a long time and its done well.

I think a retaining wall of 6ft would be built a bit differently these days.

 

The problem with repairing walls, is that you often have to remove more of it before you can start to repair it, then it tends to "unravel."
If it's a retaining wall you might have to relieve the pressure first by removing whatever caused it to collapse.
My experience of trying to repair that sort of wall, by dismantling part of it, is that in never goes back as it was and you end up short of material. It might be best to just do a "patch job" as and when necessary. It's a bit difficult to see, but it might be a week's work there for a builder to completely re-build it.

 

I think the reason for the collapse is a combination of old age and frost getting into the mortar that was left. If I get rid of as much of the mess as possible, then cram some new mortar in and push the stone back in - then repoint the rest of it - might that work.

Not that I'd know where to start doing that BUT getting someone else to do it is not a financial option.

 

Well I'd give it a go, it cant hurt.

How long it lasts is any body s guess.

 

Hi Hec ,have a go .i think the collapse of the bottom section of the wall has been caused by the severe weather conditions/extreme low temps/frost.your mortar on the wall looks a bit makeshift ,the mortar has broken up with the weather and hence the collapse of the lower section . your photo, is that a road? if so that has expanded adding pressure to your retaining wall. when the temperatures get back to some normality things will settle back.
up here in Scotland ,this year is the worst weather conditions i can remember for a long time.
i purchased a lovely grecian garden ornament 4 foot high (very heavy) i set it on a plinth in the middle of the garden. with the extreme weather we have had ,the ornament was split from the neck to the waist with a huge crack,with the severe weather conditions. the best of luck
on your venture. music:thumb:

 

If you aren't experienced at "brickying" or if you are, but others reading this are not. The most common mistake we amateurs make is not mixing the mortar thoroughly enough before adding water. It must be "sharp" sand if you aren't using "readymix." Also, remember to add some "Febmix" or similar to prevent further frost damage.

 

Thanks everyone. I will give it a go - I just hope no more comes down before the weather warms up enough to do it. I don't think that there is a great deal of pressure from behind as it has been there so long. On the retained side there is a small hedge and then a concrete path and there is no sign of the path having shifted at all. On the road side there is about a 4" verge, then a curb and then a tarmac road - which is quite broken up with weeds coming through at the edges.

I'll bear that in mind about the mortar Riley. I know someone locally with a mini cement mixer so I may ask him if I can borrow it. If I'm lucky, I may get to borrow him with it too!! :flag:

 

Hec,

does the wall abut a public road, if so I expect you need to take suitable precautions, which might mean talking to your highway authoritiy.

If its a private road speak to the users.

From my total ignorance the wall doesn't appear to have any bulges or lean so looks safe. Those stones look pretty heavy to mean. I would call in someone who deals with stone walls - must be lots in Yorkshire

Have a look at your insurance policy

 

Looking at the pictures again it looks like the wall was probably layed dry, I cant see any mortar actually between the stones.

It looks almost like a facing of stone with a mixture of earth and stone behind.
It was probably built in some traditional way local to the area maybe.
Maybe at a later date somebody decided to point it.

I've always used Soft sand, ie building sand for brick laying.
I'd hope to wait until you get a frost free time.
Clean out the hole as best as you can without causing too much more to fall, before bedding back in the old stones.

 

That sounds about right to me Pete.

It is a public highway - but not throughway. Only people who drive down there are neighbours (3 have their access down there) but I guess it still means talking with someone official.

 

Personally I would not bother if its your wall.
If its not yours, then you would need to contact the owner and it would then be their problem.

I guess judging by the construction of the wall that there is free drainage at the bottom, you would need this to allow any build up of water behind the wall to escape.

 

It's definitely my wall and I doubt I'll go looking to talk to anyone about it
BUT
I wouldn't be surprised if someone else who walks past sees fit to report is as dangerous. So I have to be prepared at least to talk about it.