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View Full Version : Old railroad tie retaining wall


lmor1234
Apr 18, 2009, 08:01 PM
There is a 15 foot railroad tie wall holding up my raspberry bed. The problem is it is starting to lean and the dirt is sinking on one side. Is there anything I can do to repair the wall without re-doing the whole thing? It is an old wall. Maybe 30 years or so.

21boat
Apr 18, 2009, 08:24 PM
How high is the wall? 15?

Or is that long

lmor1234
Apr 18, 2009, 09:07 PM
How high is the wall? 15?

Or is that long

It is 15 feet high and 30 feet long!

21boat
Apr 19, 2009, 01:14 AM
Ouch. I have seen to many of these fail in time because of not enough tie backs in the wall or none at all. Also they don't interlock the ties with round bar or slant them and backfill with crushed stone at an angle.

Can you post a picture? Is there room to work on it. How bad /rotted are the ties? There is also an environmental end here on disposing the ties and using another material.

Its been a while since I built a railroad tie wall. The last was 3 tiers and 800 ties.

A pic would help here at all angles and the top

Catsmine
Apr 19, 2009, 04:43 AM
Imor

Be very careful if you work on this thing during the spring/summer. I have seen bumblebees and wasps nesting in decaying ties numerous times. I don't know much about retaining walls, but I wanted to inject a caution. Don't get stung.