Help with retaining wall and raised bed render

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Bigstevemac

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Hi, I’m not a plasterer so please bare with me. I am going to employ a plasterer to do the rendering job once the wall is complete. And my landscaper is building the walls.

I’m looking for a belt and braces solution to last as long as possible.

I am having some retaining and raised planters built in my garden. They are gonna be built in block and have the following structure:-

Damp proof course
Block laid sideways (to create wide wall)
Bitumen paint at soil side
Damp proof membrane on top (laped into block)
Land drain (to avoid weep holes)
Render on top
No coping

Please see diagram

My questions are:-

Should I put some waterproof slurry on the non soil side that will sit under the render?

Does there need to be a gap between render and ground flags?

can you render over the DPC?

Without coping stone should the render be angled to drain water?

Which render will be the best for the job in hand. I’ve seen people recommend sand and cement, one coat and others - is there a bullet proof solution here? Ideally I want it to last as long as possible with minimum maintenance.

Is there anything else I can do or change to do this right?

I appreciate that the firm I employ to do the render will give me some of my answers but obviously the wall is about to be built and I’d like to be straight in my head what needs to happen so I don’t get a s**t job.

Cheers
 

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Get a good local plasterer and pay him well,you’ll be dealing face to face with someone who can put your mind at ease.
 
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Get a good local plasterer and pay him well,you’ll be dealing face to face with someone who can put your mind at ease.

That’s what I’ll be doing, but the wall is about to be built and by the time the plasterer sees it it will be too late to make changes. Also I want to make sure when I speak to the plasterer that I know which product is best.
 
I appreciate it might be a bit question heavy, but I just want to make sure it’s right.

I’ve read every post on here about retaining or garden walls being rendered and failing. All suggest that “things should have been done” prior to rendering or “x solution should have been used”. Now is my chance to get it done right. Obviously some last and I want mine to.

Thanks
 
Well the stereotype of cockneys must be true? :D.......................Raised beds are growing flowers and veg. They contain soil which is wet. Raised bed spec has dpc, waterproofer etc.
 
Well the stereotype of cockneys must be true? :D.......................Raised beds are growing flowers and veg. They contain soil which is wet. Raised bed spec has dpc, waterproofer etc.
Shutter and cast ( fibre mix with colours added ) remove when set and still green, rub or carve desired texture , could scratch and use coloured lime render ( no beads )
 
Shutter and cast ( fibre mix with colours added ) remove when set and still green, rub or carve desired texture , could scratch and use coloured lime render ( no beads )
No blocks are better cus they release the excess water slowly so no need for drainage or render or bitumen and a dpc is basically useless in this situation.
 
No blocks are better cus they release the excess water slowly so no need for drainage or render or bitumen and a dpc is basically useless in this situation.
Cast hole to land drain , fill bottom 8" loose stone
Long term their are several weak points to the proposed plan, its also more expensive in time and materials
 
So are saying to build shuttering a poor a concrete wall?
An example of fibre concrete
10 years old , its supposed to be rustic didn't want a square blue blob in my field, the shaped holes are for fire barbeque when the pony moves on and will be an enclosed sandpit garden , no fuss , scraped the topsoil , 8" thick at bottom 6" at top approx , left for 24 hr , shuttering removed , scratched, plastic sheet and sun protection , left for a week or two in case of shrinkage cracks , dampened and floated floated with 3 to 1 lime , washed Sharpe sponge finished the pony tested it but I backfilled with 6 ton jcb driving up to the top
 
An example of fibre concrete
10 years old , its supposed to be rustic didn't want a square blue blob in my field, the shaped holes are for fire barbeque when the pony moves on and will be an enclosed sandpit garden , no fuss , scraped the topsoil , 8" thick at bottom 6" at top approx , left for 24 hr , shuttering removed , scratched, plastic sheet and sun protection , left for a week or two in case of shrinkage cracks , dampened and floated floated with 3 to 1 lime , washed Sharpe sponge finished the pony tested it but I backfilled with 6 ton jcb driving up to the top

Thanks for the advice. We’re going for a bit of a more modern look
 
Thanks for the advice. We’re going for a bit of a more modern look
Appreciate that , my point was ease of construction and it's resistance to cracks , it could have been square and pink , my other concern is your construction relying on damp membranes , block joints and inconsistent layering of different materials with damp and forces will long term develop cracks , probably not with a good "experienced builder " but I would be p155ed at a crack in 5 years time
 
It’s a mix
What are you using the raised bed for...........vegies or flowers?
it’s a mixture, one large raised be for plants, the others are walls to manage a change in heights, so like a mini retaining wall. Patio one side and a wall separating a lawn about 50cm higher.
 
Appreciate that , my point was ease of construction and it's resistance to cracks , it could have been square and pink , my other concern is your construction relying on damp membranes , block joints and inconsistent layering of different materials with damp and forces will long term develop cracks , probably not with a good "experienced builder " but I would be p155ed at a crack in 5 years time

Yeah I see what you’re saying, but I’m sort of stuck with the block wall method and wouldn’t really expect my landscaper to know how to shutter and pour 30 linear meters of wall - it’s not his area of expertise.

I think I might have to go with some stone slips instead
 
It’s a mix
it’s a mixture, one large raised be for plants, the others are walls to manage a change in heights, so like a mini retaining wall. Patio one side and a wall separating a lawn about 50cm higher.
Do them like this but obviously with blocks in the construction. You can make them higher which is much better and fill the base with rock and timber like in video. Simple drainage. Instead of render you could clad them in stone which is just render with stone pressed into it. Cheap and better looking.

But the way this fella fills the beds is the best way especially if growing your own veg.

 
Hi, I’m not a plasterer so please bare with me. I am going to employ a plasterer to do the rendering job once the wall is complete. And my landscaper is building the walls.

I’m looking for a belt and braces solution to last as long as possible.

I am having some retaining and raised planters built in my garden. They are gonna be built in block and have the following structure:-

Damp proof course
Block laid sideways (to create wide wall)
Bitumen paint at soil side
Damp proof membrane on top (laped into block)
Land drain (to avoid weep holes)
Render on top
No coping

Please see diagram

My questions are:-

Should I put some waterproof slurry on the non soil side that will sit under the render?

Does there need to be a gap between render and ground flags?

can you render over the DPC?

Without coping stone should the render be angled to drain water?

Which render will be the best for the job in hand. I’ve seen people recommend sand and cement, one coat and others - is there a bullet proof solution here? Ideally I want it to last as long as possible with minimum maintenance.

Is there anything else I can do or change to do this right?

I appreciate that the firm I employ to do the render will give me some of my answers but obviously the wall is about to be built and I’d like to be straight in my head what needs to happen so I don’t get a s**t job.

Cheers
forget the dpc,its a weak point.Best to cast a concrete base with L shaped bars in the bottom set in a straight line and use hollow congrete blocks to build,fillig up with concrete as you build.I would personally mesh the whole wall,stainless fixings and beads,then render,you could also put in some fibres in the render.I would use some kind of coping stone as it creates a drip,so you havent constantly got water running own the face when its raining.
 
Ideally I’d like the render to be as close to the ground as possible. Some people have mentioned sand and cement, others fancier stuff - what product do you reckon?
 
What's on the house? We dash garden walls mostly it tends to weather a lot better than render in my experience, even acrylic render.
 
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