Hi,

I have some time off this summer and I was thinking of replacing a rotted-out, railroad tie retaining wall we have in the front yard. I'd like to replace it with block. Here is the setup. From our driveway, there is a concrete path that curves to the front of our house (the driveway / garage is on the side). It is a very short path and, at the end, there is a set of 5 concrete steps that lead up to another path leading to the front door. There are 2 railroad tie retaining walls on either side of the staircase. Both are rotted considerablely. The one on the left side is small. It retains the yard that would otherwise erode over it. It only looks like there are a few railroad ties there. Would it (the rr ties) go all the way, straight down to the base of the staircase?

At any rate, since I'll be pulling out the old ties, can I use the base they were on and start laying the new block on it? Or do I have to set it up differently? IS the backfill on most retaining walls just gravel? Or is it a mixture of material? How much space between the back of the block and the soil should I allow to pour in the backfill?

Thanks
garrett

sandymc

garrett,

i was curious to see what you did with your railroad tie retaining wall. i have a similar issue. i just posted a question similar to yours.
thanks,

sandy

roadmanjim

Please see my answer to Hogan181 about the same issue.