Brick retaining wall that is curved?

Question

I'm building a retaining wall that well be about 4 feet high. I've built straight ones before and always used a string for a straight line. But with a curved wall what would be the best way to make sure it has a perfect curve to it? It will kind of be in the shape of a 6, but not as round or dramatic. So anyone have any ideas?

Answer 1

Buy some edging and use that as a guide. There are also things called "Bullet Edging" that is shaped like a bullet, those work well too.

Answer 2

Curved Brick Wall

Answer 3

Your responder with the stick and string had the right idea for determining the radius. What you need is to buy my curved string. Just kidding. Use that same stick and string to mark a piece of cardboard. Cut the radius and set the cardboard where you are starting and start your wall. If this is a brick wall you could use plywood instead of cardboard and use the plywood to align the brick after laying and leveling each course. On a small radius that might be a heavy piece of plywood! I recently worked on a four story brick veneered building with a very large radius and we used eight foot long 1 by 8 s cut to the radius. These were used to align the bricks after leveling. We used jack lines (verticle wires or strings) every 7ft 4

inches. This eliminated plumbing and also kept the head joints aligned. If you want to try the jack lines you could take the piece of plywood that is leftover and set it up on the dirt you are holding back and line it up with the form that is below. Lay a course or two of brick and attach jack lines near the ends of your form from bottom of brick to top piece of plywood. Good luck

Answer 4

Put a stake in the ground a few feet away from where the wall is going to be built. Make sure it's exactly in the middle of where you want the curve to be. Get some string and tie one end to the stake in the ground, then tie something like a stick or maybe a screwdriver to the other... Pull the string tight and "draw" with your stick/screwdriver" in the ground. You can adjust your string length etc. to get the radius you want.

Since you're doing this in the shape of a 6, you just repeat it for each curve. Should work fine!

Answer 5

Use SRW's, or segmental retaining wall blocks. There are many manufacturers and styles to suit your needs. I'm kinda biased because I work with Allan Block materials, but I think they are the best to use. Whichever brand you choose remember: the base is the most important part. The nicest thing about SRW's are that there is no need for a concrete footer or rebar.

Answer 6

Draw a line on your footer then just lay the brick as always following the line and use the level to keep it plumb.