Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

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teralin
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Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

Postby teralin » Sun Jan 18, 2009 8:46 am

Hi all, since we had the snow, I have a major problem with land slip and am going to need good strong retaining walls about 4 metres in height to hold back land that has sunk one and a half metres and pushed out towards my swimming pool. I have arranged for one of those Spanish land surveyors to come take a look next week and come up with some solutions but I would like to know in advance what the cost of the retaining walls would be just so I have a point of reference when he starts to quote zillions of euros.

Thanks

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hillybilly
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Re: Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

Postby hillybilly » Sun Jan 18, 2009 12:00 pm

Impossible to say but it WILL be expensive.
A 4m high retaining wall is a serious work of civil engineering. It MUST be designed by a qualified structural engineer or architect. Before it can be designed they will need to ascertain the soil conditions below and behind the wall in order to determine the type of foundations needed and the pressure that the wall will need to retain.
At that height you are really looking at a reinforced poured concrete wall (probably the cheapest option) or a modular (segmental) block system.
There may be temporary works required (eg sheet piling) to retain the land while the wall is built. There will have to be a land drainage system installed behind the wall.
You will probably want to face the wall with something more decorative than the concrete face e.g. dressed stone.
You might want to consider a "terrace" of retaining walls rather than one 4m high wall if you have the space.
Other factors to consider which will affect the price are the accessibility of the site and whether spoil can be disposed of on site or has to be taken away.
The longer the wall is of course the less the price per m. overall.

teralin
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Re: Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

Postby teralin » Sun Jan 18, 2009 12:13 pm

Thanks for that response Hillybilly, I'll come back to this thread when I have some further info about costs etc so that any other unfortunate person will be better informed than I am. Wish me luck.

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spanish_lad
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Re: Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

Postby spanish_lad » Sun Jan 18, 2009 3:50 pm

where are you, i can get a spanish guy to give you a quote - he works alone but worked for a concrete company for 30 years or so. i´ve laboured for him on 4 houses and 2 retaining walls.
Alhaurin el Grande since 99, working at the airport since 2011.

teralin
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Re: Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

Postby teralin » Thu Jan 22, 2009 8:29 am

Thanks spanish lad but we've got a stuctural engineer involved now so we will have to wait and see what he recommends.

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Re: Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

Postby spanish_lad » Fri Feb 06, 2009 10:54 pm

good luck :)
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country boy
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Re: Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

Postby country boy » Sat Feb 07, 2009 9:37 am

Gabions, I like gabions; they are versatile and easier to handle. They are self draining and you can always grow climbers over them. Best of all they are cheap and can be done by relatively small machinery and work force. Talk to your Engineer Image

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Re: Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

Postby teralin » Sat Feb 07, 2009 9:53 am

Country Boy, I like the sound of gabions. Do you know roughly what they cost and anyone east of Malaga who can supply and install these? Do they come pre-filled or do they have to be filled onsite?

Thanks for the heads up.

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murbisa
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Re: Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

Postby murbisa » Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:06 am

We had a reinforced concrete retaining wall built to support our land. 30 metres long and one and a half metres high a couple of years ago - cost 6000 euros. Dread to think what a 4 metre one is going to cost??? :( :(

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Re: Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

Postby julian » Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:10 am

I guess a seriously strong retaining wall is seriously expensive, the gabions look like a good system

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Re: Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

Postby country boy » Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:12 am

Hilly would be the best to give possible cost comparisons, I have never done anything like that in Spain. Suffice it to say that Gabions come 'flat pack' and are generally filled on site either in situ or at ground level and lifted into position with either a digger or if too high a small crane. I've used them on railway embankments with great success to stabilise slippage that had been going on for years. One of their great advantages is that you do not get Hydraulic Pressure building up behind them and they are foolproof. If you 'cant' the first course at say 5 degrees into the slope the wall will take that inclination, the only thing that can go wrong is if the operatives don't fill the cages fully, then you can get a bit of initial sagging which is usually only offensive to the eye and of no structural significance.

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Re: Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

Postby country boy » Sun Feb 08, 2009 10:51 am

Gabions in use retaining a landslip on Swanage Railway

Image
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hillybilly
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Re: Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

Postby hillybilly » Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:13 am

I've not used them nor come across them much in Spain either, though have used them on river bank stabilistation schemes in the UK. They are certainly quite foolproof which is one great advantage.
I can put you in touch with a civil engineer friend who is based in Malaga province (though he's in Estepona). He's Spanish but speaks perfect English as he worked in the UK for several years. Any help?

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Re: Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

Postby teralin » Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:21 am

Thanks Hilly, that would be a start. I am having great trouble finding info on a supplier of gabions in Spain. It sounds like a great business opportunity for someone :) . Goodness knows there has been enough land slippage round my part to keep a company in business for years. Perhaps you could PM me with his name and number.

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hillybilly
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Re: Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

Postby hillybilly » Mon Feb 09, 2009 7:00 pm

Sorry, Jose says it's not his field but has given me this link to pass on to you
http://www.construmatica.com/empresas/c ... BA/malaga/
Last edited by hillybilly on Mon Feb 09, 2009 7:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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country boy
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Re: Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

Postby country boy » Mon Feb 09, 2009 7:25 pm

It occurs to me that one thing the Spanish are good at is piling 'Blooming Great Boulders' on top of one another to make retaining Bunds, perhaps this could be a simpler option for you. It only takes a 360 degree Slew and a rock lorry, so must be quite cheap. The end result looks OK too if you use the right sort of rocks. Image

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Re: Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

Postby teralin » Sat Feb 14, 2009 7:12 am

Sorry I haven't been back to you, I've been away for a few days. Thanks to you all for your suggestions. I did have a contractor up to look at the problem (he is one of those "blooming great stones" men. The problem for me is that I live on the top of a hill and the cost of each lorry delivering from the Vinuela quarry is going to be €280 and I will need abour 20 lorries. Add to this a super JCB for digging and placing the stones (a week) plus removal of the earth and the bill will amount to around €10,000. That's a lot of money to find at the current exchange rate.

Before I make any decisions, I am going to investigate gabions further. I think that the final result will look better.

I will return to this thread later to share any further information that I get.

Thanks again.

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Re: Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

Postby El Cercardo » Tue Apr 14, 2009 9:06 pm

Teralin,

sounds like we have similar problems. Although ours isn't so urgent (yet!), it is something we will have to be looking at in the future. We keep getting landslips from a terrace of ours which all ends up on a track below. I like the sound of those gabion things, but don't think it would be possible at our place due to access and lay out. I would be interested to hear if you have any update.

Is there another way I could stabilise the hillside by any other method such as maybe spraying it with concrete over a mesh?

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hillybilly
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Re: Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

Postby hillybilly » Tue Apr 14, 2009 9:44 pm

Depends on the slope and height involved. If you have time on your side you could look at some form of planting, whereby the roots help to stabilise the hillside, maybe in conjunction with timber (railway sleepers eg) cribwalls at intervals up the slope. This site might give you some ideas http://www.fao.org/docrep/x0622e/x0622e0s.htm

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Re: Cost of seriously strong retaining walls

Postby El Cercardo » Tue Apr 14, 2009 10:03 pm

Cheers Hilly,

The drop is nigh on vertical and it must be upwards of 8 metres at its highest (if not more :shock: ). We already have some trees planted at the top and some trailing plants going over the edge. It only seems to subside when there is extreme torrential rain, which fortunately isn't that often. Luckily we don't get frosts either as I am sure that would make it even worse. This winter has seen the worst landslip we've had, but we have had a particularly bad rainy time. The local ayuntamiento were very good with us and sent a small bobcat to clear the track. I will see if I can manage to post a pic just to show you exactly the "tall" problem I face.


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