I'm planning on building a 45' long retaining wall. My local Home Depot tells me that as long as the wall is under three feet, I can build it without a permit. The stone that I want to use is Anchor Windsor Stone=AE but both the website and the brochure indicate that I can only make this wall 24" high--not three feet. So who's right? Bottom line is that I need to make it as high as I can without a permit but 24" is too low for my project.
Thanks.
alex,
I'm planning on building a 45' long retaining wall. My local Home Depot tells me that as long as the wall is under three feet, I can build it without a permit.
I'd check this with the building inspectors.
The stone that I want to use is Anchor Windsor Stone® but both the website and the brochure indicate that I can only make this wall 24" high--not three feet. So who's right?
What do you mean? Both authorities advise a 2 ft. maximum.
Bottom line is that I need to make it as high as I can without a permit but 24" is too low for my project.
You must be leaving something out since you aren't making any sense. The building permit question has nothing to do with the choice of material. It sounds as if the stone you wish to use is not a good choice since you want a wall taller than 2 ft.
Dave M.
The only person who can answer that is your local zoning board, or building inspector. Call them and ask- or read the zoning law. [often online]
Maybe both. You might be allowed to make a wall 3feet high without a permit-- but that stone is only for walls 2 feet high. Go to a real landscape stone dealer and look at the stone with provisions to tie the courses together. [anchor makes several- see their website]
Jim
On Apr 29, 8:08=EF=BF=BDam, "David L. Martel" wrote= :
ng any sense. The
your far better off to taper the hill and plant groundcover. ALL WALLS FAIL sooner or later, a properly graded slope is stable forever.
after rebuilding walls near my entire life, i slope everything i can and this summer a big chunk of a low wall is coming out.......
another one never need rebuilding again.
now i do have a short 6 foot high one, thats necessary.
but low walls just make more work.........
all my neighbors who rebuilt walls twice over the last 20 years are going to rebuild them again.
havent had to do a thing to the slopes over that time........
if you like hard grueling work build a wall, it will be a lifetime project....
Why is a permit the primary concern? That makes no sense at all for a project of this magnitude. My city has plans online for it's own building requirements; good ones for retaining walls. Your city or county might have the same or be able to direct you.
You can build up to three feet without a permit. You just can't use this stuff to do it.
Compromise: Build a one foot base out of concrete and put the stone on top.
My first choice was not to use Home Depot. I checked with RCP Block first--a local stone distributor in town. But RCP wanted $850 to deliver the stones to my property--they didn't even blink when they quoted me that ridiculous figure. Home Depot will deliver the same amount of stones for $65--period. The choice was simple. I don't have a disposible budget and I see these retaining walls all over town. The only wall that I noticed coming down was just crammed into the soil without a base, this is not what I'm doing.
I checked PAVESTONE.COM after I talked to Home Depot and that's where I found the conflicting information. Home Depot says, "build it up to three feet and don't sweat it". PAVESTONE.COM says, "Max is 24". --I'm confused.
Mine is only 5 yrs old but I'm willing to bet that when I die in 20-30 it will not have moved yet. I'm encouraged by the 130 yr old wall on the old railroad bed, and the nearby Erie Canal has sections of dry stacked rock wall that are intact nearly 200 years later.
OTOH- My neighbor's is 3 yrs old and has been reworked twice.
So I guess all walls aren't created equal.
Jim
the 130 yr old wall
your wall is still new, give it another 5.
railroads only built walls where they had no other choice, prefering slopes at the angle of natural repose........
basically gradual enough it wouldnt move.
but railroads built wonderful walls when they had to, not wanting a landslide to stop the trains. good foundations well under frost depth, usually on bedrock, high strength concrete with steel reinforcement.
go right ahead and build a wall to their specs, likely ccost more than house:(
i stand by my position the best wall is one that was never built........
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