# retaining wall help



## erbowman (Jul 27, 2015)

i have a retaining wall around the area where my pool is located. It varies from 3' to aprox 10' in height. It is block retaining wall hollow core. It was constructed 5 years ago. It had drains put along the base behind the wall and backfilled with gravel.
Since it was constructed, in various places, the wall has been pushed out from the top I assume from lack of drainage or just too much water for the drains to handle along with freezing temps in the winter.

I have been taking the tops off and inserting some rebar in the cores then filling them with concrete. While this has seemed to stop the progression I fear it may need more work. I notice the walls in certain areas stay wet days after a rain.

I was thinking about drilling some holes where the wet spots are to relieve the water from those spots and divert the water from behind the wall.

Does any of this sound like a good idea or what advice can anyone give. I will take some pics and post later. Thanks for any assistance


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## erbowman (Jul 27, 2015)

here is a a pic of most of wall It just rained here so never mind the wet blocks


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## erbowman (Jul 27, 2015)

here are just some other views


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## erbowman (Jul 27, 2015)

First one is an actual shift location. It did the shifting prior to me core filling the blocks with rebar and concrete.

The second pic is where I see water for days after a rain. Again, it just rained here so walls are wet. I tried inserting text in general location where it occurs but idk if it will show up


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## erbowman (Jul 27, 2015)

ttt anyone


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## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

Ayuh,..... Drive a 3/4" pin through the very bottom, where the wet spots are,....

If there's water behind it, it oughta flow out,....


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

The job wasn't engineered properly if the wall is moving this soon.
The filling and rebar are a stop gap measure. Unitizing the wall will probably mean it will fall in mass as opposed to breaking in sections.
You'll have to pull it down(or excavate behind it) and have someone who has a better idea of hydrostatic pressure, and how to compensate for it, do the repairs.


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## erbowman (Jul 27, 2015)

Ron6519 said:


> The job wasn't engineered properly if the wall is moving this soon.
> The filling and rebar are a stop gap measure. Unitizing the wall will probably mean it will fall in mass as opposed to breaking in sections.
> You'll have to pull it down(or excavate behind it) and have someone who has a better idea of hydrostatic pressure, and how to compensate for it, do the repairs.


That's what I was thinking but just grasping at straws for a fix. I think I will try and drill weep holes to at least prolong doing a major repair. due to water drainage on my lot, I am not sure how to repair fully but hopefully can avoid tearing down wall for a while. the core filling has stopped progression for now at least. hopefully the weep holes will prolong longer


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## ron45 (Feb 25, 2014)

Any of these.?


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## erbowman (Jul 27, 2015)

It does have a drain and is backfilled 100% with gravel but no deadman installed. The way the slope of the yard is I think weighs heavy on the problem and I found out when they dug the pool that there is a slab of limestone rock about 5 ft down from the floor of the wall so water has to go somewhere and I guess that its just an enormous amount for the way the wall was built to handle. IDk


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## bob22 (May 28, 2008)

You mentioned: "It had drains put along the base behind the wall and backfilled with gravel."

Where to the drains drain to?


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## erbowman (Jul 27, 2015)

bob22 said:


> You mentioned: "It had drains put along the base behind the wall and backfilled with gravel."
> 
> Where to the drains drain to?



If you look at the first pic, the drains go out in two places( not shown but will try to explain by looking at the pic). As the wall gets shorter on each side in pic, the drain runs behind them until they come out on ground. The wall gets about two foot off of ground eventually


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## ron45 (Feb 25, 2014)

Can you give a picture of the other side of wall.?
That's a nice area to spend some time...


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## erbowman (Jul 27, 2015)

ron45 said:


> Can you give a picture of the other side of wall.?
> That's a nice area to spend some time...


I can take one this weekend. basically it's gravel up to a foot or two to the top


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## bob22 (May 28, 2008)

erbowman said:


> If you look at the first pic, the drains go out in two places( not shown but will try to explain by looking at the pic). As the wall gets shorter on each side in pic, the drain runs behind them until they come out on ground. The wall gets about two foot off of ground eventually


Does any water come out during/after rain? It may not be groundwater pushing your wall over.


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## erbowman (Jul 27, 2015)

bob22 said:


> Does any water come out during/after rain? It may not be groundwater pushing your wall over.


some water comes out. not a huge amount
I do know the walls in that recessed place in pic does get wet after a rain and stays wet for days. Oddly enough the place where the walls have moved are not in that spot but farther along the "runs" of the wall. 

Thanks guys for all the info. Keep any advice comming


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