Retaining Walls in Dover, NH
If your wall is leaning or bulging, the block is usually not what failed. It is what went in behind it. Around Dover there is a reason water gets stuck back there.
He was able to utilize the boulders that were here to create a retaining wall that will blend with the landscape.
Under a Lot of Dover, There Is Clay
Clay this dense is the kind of material used to line landfills. Water does not get through it.
So rain soaks down, hits the clay and stops. Then it runs sideways until it finds something to push on. If that is the back of your wall with no way out, the wall is a dam now, and nobody built it to be one.
It is not under every property, and the depth changes street to street. Which is why two walls on the same road can behave completely differently.
Your Wall Goes Into Winter Already Soaked
Water expands when it freezes. Trapped behind a wall, it pushes out, a little at a time, every cycle. You never see it happening. You see it years later, when the wall is visibly leaning and somebody tells you it has to come out.
The Second Wall Usually Costs More Than the First
Because the second one includes taking the first one out. What decides which of those you end up with is buried behind the block: compacted base, drainage stone and pipe, backfill compacted in lifts, and somewhere for the water to leave.
A wall built right and a wall built cheap look identical the day the crew drives away. When you compare quotes, do not ask what block they are using. Ask what goes in behind it.
What a Failed Wall Looks Like
A wall that has moved this far does not get patched. It comes out and gets rebuilt. That is why what goes in behind the block matters on day one.
The replacement is two shorter walls stepped back rather than one tall one. Spreads the load and opens up planting space.
Wall Types for Dover Properties
Structural Block Walls
Engineered block with geogrid and correct batter, sized to the height and the load behind it.
Boulder and Natural Stone
Fieldstone and granite, suited to wooded lots and waterfront banks.
Tiered Wall Systems
Two or three shorter walls stepped back instead of one tall one.
Walls With Steps Built In
Granite treads run through the wall so a slope becomes a route.
Retaining Walls in Dover, Answered
Do I need a permit for a retaining wall in Dover, NH?
Dover requires a building permit once a wall goes over four feet. Under four feet and decorative, the city does not require one.
Why do retaining walls fail in Dover?
Water, not block. There is clay under a lot of Dover and water does not go through clay, so it runs sideways and pushes on the back of the wall. Without drainage stone and pipe behind the block, that pressure moves the wall a little every freeze.
What kind of retaining wall is best for a Dover property?
It depends on the height and what the wall is holding. Structural block with geogrid for real grade, boulder and natural stone on wooded and waterfront lots, and tiered systems where one tall wall would be more expensive than two short ones.
More on Retaining Walls
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