I recently purchased a house, and during the inspection, my home inspector overlooked a lean in the retaining wall. I'm concerned about the costs involved and whether the wall is salvageable or if I should consider tearing it down entirely. It seems to have been this way for the three years I've lived here, and I suspect that the trees planted by the previous owner might be contributing to the problem. While the wall is upright for the most part, there's a noticeable lean near where the bushes are. I've included a link to some photos for reference.
2 Answers
If the wall is indeed about 3.5 feet tall, it might just be the soil pushing it, probably because it wasn't buried deep enough. If I were you and wanted it fixed, I’d give it a go myself!
It might just be frost heave causing the lean. Based on what I see, it’s not a total teardown situation. The wall doesn’t look overly tall—just about 2 feet? If that’s true, it's likely glued solidly, so it probably won't fall that easily.
It's actually closer to 3.5 feet tall. The wall's been here for around 20 years, and I have no clue how it was built. Do you think the roots from those trees are a factor?
The last picture is more revealing about the wall's actual lean. The first one makes it look a bit misleading!
Do you have a repair method in mind? I'm imagining I'll need a shovel and a bunch of bottle jacks, maybe even a long crowbar!