u/Ajay95A

Next years stuff going through the mill

Some splitting over the weekend.

Glad to say I collected this over many trips in my car, all free🤌

Hi all,

Looking for a second opinion before I start digging. Full DIY, no experience with retaining walls before this, so please be as blunt as needed.

The situation: existing sloped concrete driveway with a dip at one end. Plan is to build a retaining wall across the dip, fill behind it, and end up with a level parking platform for one small EV.

Photo of the actual site is attached, along with a section drawing I’ve put together showing the spec I’m planning.

Key numbers:
• Wall: 1,350mm total height (300mm below current slab level up to finished drive level), 6 courses of 215mm hollow concrete block
• Footing: 600mm wide x 300mm deep, dug to firm ground (~500mm below the old slab, which turned out to be a thin 100mm slab, not a proper foundation, so I’m breaking that section out and founding on the ground beneath)
• H12 rebar starters at 450mm centres, cast into the footing, cores filled solid
• Wall retains ~1m of compacted Type 1 fill, WITH a car parked on top (surcharge load)
• Drainage: perforated land drain + clean stone pocket + weep holes at the base
• Wall butts existing masonry walls at both ends
• 1.1m railing on top of the wall (there’s a further ~1m drop to a garden on the other side)
What I’m unsure about / would appreciate eyes on:
1. Is 215mm hollow block with H12 @ 450 actually adequate for 1.35m retained height plus a vehicle surcharge, or does that need thickening/more steel?
2. Footing size — 600x300 — enough given the surcharge, or should I be going wider/deeper?
3. Anything in the drainage detail that looks wrong or missing?
4. Am I right to be founding on natural ground rather than the old 100mm slab, or is there a case for using it?
I know the honest answer might be “get a structural engineer,” and I am budgeting for one to check the final design before I pour anything — this post is really to get a rough gut-check first so I go into that conversation with sensible questions, not to skip it. Everything above is still draft/preliminary.

Why do people physically nail plasterboard onto walls and ceilings, especially when they haven’t insulated (hence why I’m taking it off)?

Any hacks for taking it off more whole?

£30 for a BBQ cover? No thank you!

Any top tips before I make a good start?

Have taking a lot of roof plasterboard off, with a lot more to go, as it’s not insulated. Planning 50mm insulation there.

Once that’s done, and boarded up, I’m probably going to skip plastering to save time and money before the baby.

Then underlay and carpet last.

Any advice or insight would be great.

Just a starting point but need a toddler proof fence for a high wall in the garden.

Any thoughts?

Some of you may have seen this already so apologies.

Pretty proud of this one before baby #1!

Share your pictures below ⬇️

It’s not my list but it’s a start point!

I’d maybe take adjustable wrench from S tier and swap with screwdriver set with adjustable bits…

Curious to hear your thoughts.

Tempted to convert into a living space and rent out or an office space.

Roof to go on and needs jazzing up a little but haven’t spent a penny on anything yet

Not for the faint hearted.

Had to install an external flue due to not having a chimney but turned out pretty well imo.

Got the fire surround to go on and want to build in the cabinets each side.

Sure a few of you have come here from this post but getting as much in the thread as I can!