I need some advice on how to complete a garden wall/retaining wall.
I have the blocks currently stacked up until they are about 2, maybe 3 inches below the level of the turf at the top of the wall. If I add another layer to the wall the blocks will be about 5 inches above the turf. My question is what would be better, adding another layer and having the wall terminate above the turf, or letting the wall end 3 inches below the turf?
Providing you can still mow along top of the wall, and not fall off riding mower, etc., just let the sod be a little higher than the wall. You can pull back sod along the wall, dig out a little soil, lay the sod back down - that will slope the sod to the level of the wall and look nicer. If you just cut it off, it will probably level itself over time. You probably won't harm the sod, and will probably keep soil from washing down the face of your wall. If you move the sod, just water a little more often for a week or two.
I was leaning this way when I posted, I just wasn't sure if it was kosher or not.
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If it were my project I would have planned it so the top of the wall was an inch or so *above* the natural grade.
At this point, I would definitely add another course. Water, and mud, flow downhill. If you leave the top of the wall below grade it will always have a ragged appearance and never look quite right.
Add the course and then add some topsoil to slope the last couple feet of lawn above the wall away from the wall.
BTW- if there is a matching, thinner block, for the cap, they always make a wall look much better. Cap it with a 4" block that you hang over on the visible side by an inch or two and you solved your problem and made the wall more pleasing to look at.
Jim
I hadn't thought of a cap using the smaller version of the block. Actually looking at it closely last night I really think I can grade the soil to level off at the top of the wall - it slopes upward from a pit to the wall. It's not like my grass is in perfect condition, replanting it is gonna happen anyway. And we really are only talking about 2" differences at the most and that includes the height of the grass at that location. I have to be very careful though, my drain field happens to be in that general vincinity.
As to planning, well I'm no master architect and it's not as easy as it seems to build one of those things and with non-uniform block dimensions, soil compaction, and outright mistakes it's not difficult to come out 2" off.
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