UK Restoration Services were contracted by Wakefield Council to dismantle and rebuild a retaining wall in Broadmeadows, Wakefield. Located in a residential area, the wall spans 53 meters to the rear of residential properties. The wall had started to subside, causing a significant lean on the wall. There was also a significant amount of greenery retained behind the wall, that was overgrown.
The original wall was of a concrete block construction with a traditional brick outer leaf. Our team firstly removed all the greenery located directly behind the wall and removed this from site. The wall was then dismantled. Using an excavator approximately 180 tons of earth was removed from the banking behind the wall and the old wall foundations dug out.
New foundations were to be installed, incorporating a new concrete retainer. New footings were dug out and rebar installed. The concrete retainer would be 1400mm deep by 1200 mm tall, spanning the full 53 linear meters.
Due to the size of the new concrete retainer, it was installed in 7 separate pours, totalling approximately 90 cubic meters of concrete. Bespoke shuttering was manufactured by our joinery team and installed onsite.
The concrete retainer was then faced with a single layer of traditional brick incorporating a traditional header course in keeping with the original wall. Wall ties were used to secure the outer brick leaf to the concrete retainer.
Due to the subsidence that had occurred areas of the footpath had also started to sink and crack. The existing asphalt foot path was taken up and removed from site. A new substrate was laid to fill out and level the footpath before new asphalt was laid.
