Dense concrete block wall - how high?

How thick are the blocks?

Aren't they standard at 100mm ?

Rob

You can, but over a few meters buttressing is not a bad idea.

My advice based on doing a soil retaining wall is to do it double skinned, and either use cross bonding or ties EVERYWHERE.

That at least makes it a unitary structure. Going to 200mm wide gives it a lot more 'pushover' stability.

If ts for a garage that may be used for working in, consider making it an insulated (rockwool batts) cavity wall with proper DPC and ties between.

No - that's why I asked!

You can get blocks up to nearly a foot thick. Obviously the thicker the wall the more stable it will be.

My advice would be to cast reinforced concrete to retain the soil and then face it with brick. I don't see how you are going to transfer the lateral force into the ground using bricks unless you like out of vertical walls. Concrete would be safer and probably cheaper.

Follow this link and download the building regulations part A

Read carefully then ring your building inspector with what you propos

- hes the one who will say 'yeh' or 'neh'! (assuming you need regs

-- Cameron

Trench blocks aren't.

^^^^^^ Gas, electric or water?

Nicely! :)

Essentially thats what I did. Lets say the blocks were juts precast,and the ties in the strong mortar made it fully reinforced.

Then I used a second skin of bricks.

The wall was in a curve anyay.

I used concrete blocks, faced with brck where visible..The soil is only about 800mm deep.

Backfilled with hardcore around the base

The wall is essentially U shaped, so the top layer is somewhat in tension. This keeps it vertical(enough).

If it had beem higher or straighter I would have run rods back into the soil area and tied them to concrete as an anchor.

American. I spend most of my time talking to US based people and thats their spelling.

Inexcusable in a UK NG. Sorry.