There may be an interesting situation for making a decision - what to get for the organization of the garden: an absolutely flat or sloping summer cottage. The first option is more familiar and simple. The second option is cheaper in execution, because areas with a rough surface are not so valued among novice summer residents, who are afraid of possible difficulties. Let's try to understand the topic and understand its secrets and intricacies. Perhaps the cottage on the slope is not as bad as it seems at first glance.
- Advantages and disadvantages of the site with a slope
- What are retaining walls for?
- What and how to make a retaining wall at the dacha
- How to make a retaining wall of wood
- Stone retaining wall option
- Dry stone retaining wall
- Block retaining wall
- How to make a retaining wall of gabions
- Formation of a retaining wall of brick
- How to install a retaining wall of concrete
- Features of the device retaining wall: how to make it so that under the design does not accumulate water
Advantages and disadvantages of the site with a slope
If it is good to analyze the care and arrangement of the site under the slope, you can identify both positive and negative points.
The main disadvantages are:
- choose the location of the country house, other buildings and garden bookmarks should be based on the slope, and not only at the request of the owner;
- washing the soil down after precipitation and melting snow;
- constant opposition to landslides and soil erosion is necessary;
- Difficult movement of people in the area of the site, especially during ice and rain - the greater the angle of the slope, the greater the risk of falling;
- the irrigation process is complicated, there may be difficulties in providing water;
- air streams can drain the upper part of the site, the lower can be exposed to frost;
- be prepared for uneven illumination - excessive or insufficient;
- significant material costs for improvement of the sloping site.
- the cost of the sloping section is much lower than that of the flat;
- during the construction of a country house, excess land goes to level the plot;
- gorgeous view from the windows;
- the elevated part of the site is devoid of the problems of flooding with groundwater, the cellar and the ground floor will be dry;
- an opportunity to realize all your ideas and wishes, to show individuality and create not just a summer house, but a real subject of pride.
What are retaining walls for?
With the help of a retaining wall strengthen the cottage or garden area with a slope. The retaining wall is very functional, it strengthens the slope, prevents the destruction and leaching of the site, and can also become a highlight of the problem, zoning and decorating its territory.
For the qualitative performance of these functions, the following components are necessary - foundation for the foundation, directly the wall, one side of which holds the ground thickness, the second front side can be decorated, as well as drainage and drainage - for the outflow of water accumulating between the ground and the wall holding it. Low retaining walls look good in the design of the site with flower beds, flower beds, niches and wall benches.
What and how to make a retaining wall at the dacha
The retaining wall is a kind of wall that protects the unstable soil. The supporting wall can be built with your own hands. Concrete, stones, bricks, wood and other durable materials are used for its construction.Let's get acquainted with the technology of building retaining walls of different materials.
How to make a retaining wall of wood
For a wooden retaining wall, any logs with a diameter of up to 200 mm are suitable. The main condition for long-term preservation of such a wall - pretreatment by means of decay of wood, taking into account the duration of the coating. A retaining wall made of logs, built on a plot with a slope, is the most advantageous method of strengthening soil, which is applicable to both small and large slopes.
Logs can be mounted verticallyby driving them close together. This method of laying does not require a preliminary laying of the foundation. You need to dig in logs to a depth of at least half a meter, because the stability of the structure depends on the depth of the drop. Horizontal stacking of logs is also possible. A ditch is pulled out, rubble is poured to the bottom, the first log is laid, fixed in the ground with iron rods, then the other logs are alternately fastened together with nails or self-tapping screws.
The space from the wall to the ground should be filled with a mixture of sand and rubble or broken bricks. A good option would be to break a flower bed on such a retaining wall. This will provide vertical drainage, and the logs will become a beautiful frame of the planted plants.
Stone retaining wall option
Even a novice builder will be able to create a retaining wall of stone with his own hands. This option is beautiful in itself, and by greening the space between the stones, you will get a real decoration of your site. Before laying the stone you need to prepare the base of the future wall. A moat half a meter deep is dug, boards are laid along each side, the resulting formwork is filled with concrete - 1 part of concrete, 6 parts of sand and 6 parts of gravel. The mixture should harden for at least four days.
Frozen concrete is treated with lime mortar. After that, the most painstaking work on laying stones that have been washed with water beforehand begins. Each stone needs to find the most stable position in the laying. The laid row of stones is coated with a thin layer of cement mortar.
The retaining wall of boulders, built with your own hands, will delight you with a slightly rough, wildish look. Selected and securely laid boulders and stones look most harmonious and natural in the landscape design of any site.
Dry stone retaining wall
It is possible to build a wall of stones dry masonry, without the use of cement mortar. In this case, the space between the stones can be filled with soil for subsequent landscaping. To establish the wall, a wide trench is dug up to half a meter deep, filled up to half with a layer of gravel, on which the washed stones are laid one on one, maintaining a slight slope to the slope.
Block retaining wall
To install a wall of block stones, you need a trench wide in stone, gravel is poured and blocks are laid, which are held together with reinforcement. The laying of block stones is covered with finishing elements.
How to make a retaining wall of gabions
Gabions will allow not to spend a lot of time for selection and accurate laying of stones among themselves for a qualitative laying. To build them, you need a network — a container with larger cells than the stones that fill it. The grid is filled with natural stones and mounted to a vertical plane.
Gabions are connected by strong wire. Gabion height of 1 meter requires a foundation for installation. To reduce the cost of the wall, the front part can be decorated with a beautiful stone, and the hidden internal part can be filled with rubble. The retaining wall of gabions in the country is applicable both to strengthen the slope and for terracing.
Formation of a retaining wall of brick
For the construction of a retaining wall of brick, a foundation is laid, similar to the laying of a stone wall. For the supporting wall you need a brick with good moisture-proof and frost-resistant characteristics. Low walls up to 0.6 meters can be built with half a brick; if higher, then a brick wide.
In the second row of bricks you need to lay drainage tubes every five bricks of the masonry. Each layer of brick is smeared with cement mortar, and the next row of bricks is laid. It is recommended to equip the upper row of bricks with a rainwater discharge. The gap between the wall and the slope is covered with gravel or pebbles. Brick retaining wall will create a single ensemble with a brick house.
How to install a retaining wall of concrete
Concrete retaining wall is very durable. Pre-digging ditch, the bottom of which is filled with gravel or rubble, from iron rods need to weld the frame. These fittings are placed in a dug channel, the formwork is laid along the walls of the channel, a drainage pipe is laid across the formwork, and the concrete mix is poured in from above. The result of this work will be a strong, durable, concrete structure, stiffened with iron reinforcement. It is possible to decorate a concrete wall with a beautiful tile, an artificial stone, to entwine with the weaving plants.
Features of the device retaining wall: how to make it so that under the design does not accumulate water
The inner side of the retaining wall not only holds the soil of the site, but also is an obstacle to the natural flow of soil moisture, which is forced to accumulate along the wall. Having accumulated water will inevitably destroy the wall. To prevent the destruction of the wall, you can use a layer between the back side of the wall and the ground of rubble, broken brick or gravel. This layer filters water that drains into the drainage system.
Drainage holes up to 100 mm are foreseen in advance in the wall or inclined tubules 50 mm in diameter are placed in it through each running meter of the wall. It is possible to place a longitudinal drainage from a perforated pipe with a diameter of 10-15 cm, wrapped with geotextiles, in the ground along the foundation. The material will absorb water that will seep into the pipe and flow down it outside the retaining wall.
Terraces - the best solution when planning the various zones on the site with a slope. At the same time the site will resemble multi-level steps of various shapes and heights. Each of these steps will be an individual terrace, formed by its own supporting wall. The plot with an average slope will require strengthening of approximately four retaining walls of various materials.
In order to avoid the feeling of life on a huge staircase, it is better to place the terraces in cascades or ledges, perhaps a chaotic arrangement. This layout of the site will give it a very picturesque view. The upper and lower steps of the terraces are ideal for setting up a recreation area. You can arrange a gazebo or a viewing platform there. The winding ribbons of the tracks will decorate the design and make walking around the garden or cottage a pleasant entertainment.