Pea Gravel Retaining Wall Base

Dig a base trench 24 in.

Pea gravel retaining wall base.

Choose a paver base with landscape rocks between 1 2 inch and 3 4 inch in size. Similar to gravel paver base is a form of construction aggregate that contains crushed rocks such as limestone. Retaining wall base trench. Pea gravel is a common landscaping material because it is easy to with and cheap.

To keep the blocks on your retaining wall level and structurally sound you need a base layer of several inches of well compacted sharp gravel. If grade changes along base of the wall create a stepped leveling pad as required. A handheld tamping tool can really help in getting the gravel level but you re right one stray stone can throw off the entire operation. Retaining walls can be constructed using a variety of materials from poured concrete and large timbers to natural stones even bricks.

More information on retaining walls where the base trench steps up a slope. Do not use pea gravel. Round rocks such as pea gravel rolls and dislodge under pressure resulting in failure of the retaining wall. Fill the trench with a 2 to 3 inch layer of paver base.

A retaining wall must have the strength to hold back the weight of the soil plants and sometimes small structures behind it. Due to soil erosion your retaining wall should be built on a solid foundation made from paver base. If the soil in your area is a hard clay soil it may support the pea gravel on its own. When building a retaining wall or garden border or setting fence posts backfilling with pea gravel instead of.

Always start wall at lowest elevation working to highest. 150 mm plus an additional 1 in. Literally the size of green peas this gravel is self compacting meaning it presses together to form a nearly solid mass. The wall gets its strength from a sturdy base consisting of gravel.

Thoroughly compact and level the gravel to create your leveling pad. 25 mm for each 1 ft 300 mm of wall height for the amount or buried block that is needed. Also called drain tile at the base of the wall. 600 mm wide the length of the wall the depth of the trench will be 6 in.

You may just need to dig out and tamp down the area and add 2 to 3 inches of pea gravel over landscape fabric. However a base layer is still a good idea for hard soil since it ll give the patio more structure support and allow for better drainage. Next compact it and level it using either a hand or mechanical compactor. Fill the prepared trench with a 6 base off granular fill.

I would not recommend using stabilized soil under pavers or segmental retaining walls. The design of the product is such that movement is allowable and none of the manufacturers will suggest the use of anything other than compacted road base sharp gravel.