garage on hill: retaining wall construction

[mouseandcat]

hi all, i'm planning on taking down my existing 1 car garage and building a 1.5 car garage. the main challenge is the fact that the existing garage sits on a 'above' (about 4 feet) above my back yard.

the backyard is flat and the hill that the garage currently sits on slopes upward for about 10 feet.

my problem is i need to use about 6 feet of that 10 feet of slope to have enough of a footprint for the new 1.5 car garage (i'm in the upper midwest).

i know i need to work with an engineer to draw the plans out but i want to conduct my own due diligence so i can have an semi-educated discussion with the engineers.

would a product like versalok be ok in the place of timber? i dug up an older thread that has a similar issue and looks they used timber walls. i dont want to eat up too much more of the yard for the timber infrastructure and seems like all other applications of versalok is a much smaller footprint.

thanks in advance

[can't post links yet]
garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=209725

 

[cvairwerks]

Height of the required wall, length, soil conditions and location are all going to come into play. Local regulations may also be involved. Haven’t worked with versalock before, so probably a good idea to read the installation guide before settling on it.

 

[mouseandcat]

Height of the required wall, length, soil conditions and location are all going to come into play. Local regulations may also be involved. Haven’t worked with versalock before, so probably a good idea to read the installation guide before settling on it.

thanks for the additional considerations. i will read up on the specifications and best practices soon. just thought i'd get a primer or use-case(s) close to mine before heading down that path.

i'll call a few local engineers here to see if its possible using these modular systems ( with proper drainage, compacting, etc) and not having to pour a large cantilevered retaining wall; i assumed the latter would be multiples the cost using the versalok-type products.

 

[cvairwerks]

Sometimes it might not be as expensive as you think. You will most likely have to pour a footer for the blocks if you are going over a couple of courses high anyway. Forming and pouring a wall doesn’t add that much more labor. Laying and bonding the block can be pretty time consuming depending on doing it yourself or if you are having it done.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Proper foundation, drainage and tie backs are all things your need to understand.

 

[Bent Handle]

Versalok makes a good product, it’s a solid block that uses pins. You’ll have to spec it out for height requirements and if the block fits perimeters. You also normally don’t pour any footers for this type of wall at the 4’ height. A compacted gravel base is what you need.

 

[mouseandcat]

Sometimes it might not be as expensive as you think. You will most likely have to pour a footer for the blocks if you are going over a couple of courses high anyway. Forming and pouring a wall doesn’t add that much more labor. Laying and bonding the block can be pretty time consuming depending on doing it yourself or if you are having it done.

i want to do as much of the work as possible. especially the breaking up, digging (i.e. labor) to save money. things generally relating to concrete i feel the risk of messing it up is much higher so i would leave that to professionals. if i can help to prep the site, i would consider that a win.

Proper foundation, drainage and tie backs are all things your need to understand.

yup, understood. i know nothing about the soil of our lot.

Versalok makes a good product, it’s a solid block that uses pins. You’ll have to spec it out for height requirements and if the block fits perimeters. You also normally don’t pour any footers for this type of wall at the 4’ height. A compacted gravel base is what you need.

i have seen videos of versalok-type product installs and people seem to be going about 4' high

youtube.com/watch?v=7bIdEXkJmOE&t=1m45s
youtube.com/watch?v=cWJmubenkI8

 

[jabelding]

I ended up building my own retaining wall used the keystone 2 blocks with the geogrid on every 2 layers. I am on pure gravel so it wont be going anywhere! Post 3 is the wall build
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=434831

 

[3onthetree]

Versalok is just one brand of block. Belgard is a big player, so they have details for you to build the retaining wall per the specific block. If the wall gets high, most AHJs require an engineer's design above a certain height. If this is the engineer you were talking about (not an engineer for the garage building, but the retaining wall) then your Belgard block supplier (again being huge) should be able to provide that for you. No need to cold call structural engineers.

Stay away from timber if it's a large or long wall, although some people just like wood. Depending on site layout and heights you're dealing with, you also have an option of the garage stem wall being the retaining wall.

 

[rburke65]

Hire an operator that knows what they are doing and it will be money well spent.

 

[Dustball]

i have seen videos of versalok-type product installs and people seem to be going about 4' high

youtube.com/watch?v=7bIdEXkJmOE&t=1m45s
youtube.com/watch?v=cWJmubenkI8

This is a newer video of his that's very good at explaining what goes into a wall.