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Retaining wall maintenance for garden office

5 months ago

Hello


I'm considering getting an office built in the garden. This space was landscaped by the previous owner for a trampoline, it's currently 255cm wide and 260cm deep. If I got rid of the 3 steps leading up to it then I could get an additional 82cm and (hopefully) get a long outdoor office in there.



My concern is around the retaining wall and what maintenance/access it might require in the future.

There is another retaining wall lower down the garden which seems to be failing already - looks like the sleepers are screwed into some now rotten timber. I wonder whether the wall near my proposed office location may suffer the same fate in a few years - if I have an office there then it would be challenging if not impossible to repair!


Any tips greatly appreciated, thanks!



Comments (5)

  • 5 months ago

    I would not place a garden office in the middle of the garden as it will disconnect the rest of the garden. Additionally, if you are considering a wooden garden room, it will need to be elevated from the ground and would not survive against a retaining wall. The alternative is a structure with foundations.

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    jamie windley thanked siobhanmcgee90
  • 5 months ago

    @siobhanmcgee90 This is actually at the very top of my garden. It's a steep garden with several terraces. I don't envision the garden room would at all sit directly against the retaining wall

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  • 5 months ago

    Thanks Sarah I think these have been here 8 years already. I imagine there is a DPM inbetween

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  • 5 months ago

    Problem with wood in the garden is it will eventually rot as moisture enters it. My decking only lasted 8 years until it started to rot around the edges. If you wish to add a cabin as an office it is best to lay it on a good base of concrete or paving or even a thick layer of gravel, but concrete is best. If that is the only place it can go then remove all of the wood, remove the grass and soil to level it and then lay a base, I know it’s a bit of an effort but preparation is always the key.

  • PRO
    2 months ago

    As Sonia mentioned, the solid concrete base, or a thick bed of gravel or even shingle will be best for supporting a cabin office. you might need to get rid of some soil there in order ot get the proper foundation for the cabin office in place, possibly using a skip hire service from a company such as JustHire https://justhire.com/c/waste/skip-hire where they even take care of road permits in your behalf, in case you cannot have the skip left in private land, would be the best option. They offer a nationwide cover, and a really easy to use booking platform 😉

    The wood sleepers in the second photo seem to be still pretty solid, the problem is really the internal structure that gave away. You can secure this easily with some metal galvanised l-shaped metal brackets either on the inside or the outside of the sleepers, something like this www.google.com/search?q=metal+bracket+l-shape+for+wood+slippers 


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