Strength of cornish bank

message from Victoria Clare on 24 May 2004

My driveway & garage is raised: at the front there's a retaining stone
wall, facing a sunken road and at the side there's a cornish bank
(unmortared stone & soil) facing a private lane (about 10-12 feet lower
than the drive).

Around the driveway there's bit of space filled with odds and sods -
shrubs, the gas-tank on a concrete plinth, and a small (oddly-placed &
leaking) pond.

Now, I have a plan to move things about a bit - pave part of the lawn to
allow a bit more parking space, move the gas-tank a bit, convert that space
to parking, etc.

However, I am very aware that I have no idea how much weight the cornish
bank can take, how much space I should leave around the parking bit to be
sure it's not at risk, whether taking some height off the top would make
things more stable (and thus allow an increase in the parking space) and so
on.

I'm not even sure who to ask about this. A builder ? A surveyor? a
landscaper? Someone else?

I'd like to take professional advice. The private lane is the only access
to the outside world for several houses, so I want to be quite sure I'm not
going to risk trapping all of the residents.

Victoria

BigWallop replied to Victoria Clare on 24 May 2004

Start by having a read through this site:

http://www.pavingexpert.com/features.htm

The hints, tips and advice are all from the experts so they know how way and
what way these things need to be like. Lots of great help.

Victoria Clare replied to BigWallop on 24 May 2004

Thanks, but already read pavingexpert - I suspect from his past usenet
posts that Tony would consider the whole thing even as it is now a rather
unprofessional construction (walls of mud & stones held together with
roots!), but that seems to be how things are done round here.

I really want someone who's done this kind of thing before to come and
look at the bank and give an opinion (which I'm prepared to pay for).

I'm hoping someone here will be able to suggest which is the appropriate
section of the Yellow Pages.

Victoria

BigWallop replied to Victoria Clare on 24 May 2004

There are a good few links on the paving expert web site to people around the
country who trade in these sorts of things. So it might be a good idea to have
a look at some of them.

Nick Brooks replied to Victoria Clare on 24 May 2004

I sympathise. At the end of my garden is a 6ft drystone retaining wall
that is at leat 100 years old. It's very bulgy and full of roots from
nearby trees.

Your problem is that nobody with any sense will tell you it's OK to park
a car near the top of a structure like this. A structural engineer will
be able to design a wall that will be strong enough BUT it will probably
have to have a base as wide as one third of it's height.

Building such a wall is obviously a non trivial job. If the existing
wall is in good condition I'd be inclined to go ahead with your plans
anyway BUT keep a very careful eye on the wall. If there are any signs
of movement you'll have to take evasive action which could be
expensive/time consuming.

HTH

Nick Brooks

Archived message: Strength of cornish bank (UK DIY House Improvement)