Question
Hi from Sydney Australia,

We are looking at replacing an existing timber retaining
wall (made of coppers logs) which is situated around a
number of big old trees. The trees are approximately 20
metres high with very large canopies (& root systems). The
existing wall ranges in height from 350mm to 1500mm and is
approximately 120 metres long and is between 2 metres to 3
metres away from the trees.

We wanted to simply reinstate the retaining in the same
location and same height but wanted to use an alternative
material/construction method or design which would last
longer than timber. Do you have any suggestions (we can't
use chemically treated timber)?

cheers
Mick


(sorry for the metric measures).

Answer
Hey, Mick.

I've always liked the interlocking bricks because they leave room for me to plan stuff in them. I've never liked bare retaining walls. They are called "living walls" in some areas. See the main picture here:

http://www.mlive.com/homeandgarden/index.ssf/2008/07/liging_walls_blend_bricks_p...

If you don't like that, though, there are lots of interlocking block retaining walls that you can build yourself very easily. See here:

http://www.redi-rock.com/

Hope that helps.

Russel