Curved rendered garden wall

Mark M

Mark M

Mark M

Soldato
Joined
6 Jan 2006
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Location
Newcastle upon Tyne
Im starting to plan my garen overhaul to commence in the Spring and I like those rendered walls that are all the fashion at the moment. Here is a one I found that I like with some lights in that I would like to end up with something similar to.

Im hoping to do most of the work myself so first off is this type of wall doable for a DIYer with moderate skills?

The rendered wall will replace a small stone wall that is approx 30cms high which is then grass above it.

For something such as this would you suggest going with concrete footings or just compacted hard core? Ive read mixed reports with some people leading to if you are doing it then do it properly with concrete.

Ive got plenty more questions but might as well start with the basics and go from there!
 
proper footings would be my advice if you want it to stand the test of time and I'd also have it rendered professionally an amateur job will look cheap and nasty unless your really good!
 
Mark; Im considering the same as you. From what I've seen there are 3 options for the colour:
Concrete scratch coat with K rend top coat(as per your link)
Concrete scratch with Snowcrete top layer (google for snowcrete photos)
Full concrete render as standard then painted. Note needs re painting often.

As for the walls, they can be block built nice and cheap and easy. Build some footings of course but not massive unless the ground is really unstable or there is a difference in levels.
 
Do all the donkey work yourself and get a specialist in. K rend is a good product and you could end up making it look awful.

You need to think how you will make a curve out of what I assume will be Blockwork. It'll be faceted and the render will need to take up the curve. Thin bed renders aren't very good for this.
 
Theres loads of different render options.

if you are going to get it rendered with a cementitious render then make sure you use a coating on it to stop efflorescence/chemical attack will help it keep its nice clean surface
 
Thanks for the responses so far.

Macca - I have seen a few examples that depending on the curve required you can use the block vertically to achieve the curve of half blocks. The other option is to put on a scratch coat and then the final render on top. I think either way I will get a pro in to do the final render as suggested.

With regards to the actual blocks required, am I looking at using Dense concrete blocks? I assume Aerated blocks are for internal house building etc?
 
Hang on, I thought we would be able to use medium density concrete blocks - are dense ones actually required? Unless holding back a huge amount of weight as in a wall retaining wall function, surely a medium will do fine.

They are very heavy and a hassle to work with.
 
Personally I'd be very hesitant to use K-rend as its prone to green mould growing on it near trees and shaded areas... they do sell a product to clean it though called Algae Clean.
 
I've also seen warnings of K rend going green, however I dont have K rend render on the house but it goes green on the north side. Also any wooden decking/paving slabs/brick walls/white upvc go green so I wouldnt be surprised that Krend goes green too. Is it really an issue? I mean, sure it will go green, but wont everything.

I prefer the idea of krend over plain painted concrete as krend will only need a clean, but painting will need to be re done periodically.
 
eniacs said:
Hang on, I thought we would be able to use medium density concrete blocks - are dense ones actually required? Unless holding back a huge amount of weight as in a wall retaining wall function, surely a medium will do fine.

They are very heavy and a hassle to work with.
Click to expand...

Arent medium density blocks still classed as "dense"? I assume that unless there is some serious load on the wall then you wouldnt need to use the heavier options?
 
They are yes. There's basically 7kn is refered to as medium dense and then a range of internal blocks which include thermalite aerated which was the original query. If you're worried about the weight of the blocks then there are midi blocks which are half size.
 
maccapacca said:
They are yes. There's basically 7kn is refered to as medium dense and then a range of internal blocks which include thermalite aerated which was the original query. If you're worried about the weight of the blocks then there are midi blocks which are half size.
Click to expand...

Thanks, will check out the midi blocks, may be useful for the curve depending on how the drawings come out.

Cosmic182 said:
Lay the blocks flat too. You'll get a solid 9" wall that way. 300mm footings would be more than substantial.
Click to expand...

Excuse my lack of knowledge here but when you say 300mm footings is that the width or the depth?
 
Ok thanks, seems quite a bit footing for a little wall but guess its worth doing properly.

Can you advise on how I can calculate the quantity of cement I will need to mix up so I can roughly work out the costs? I can work out the volume of the footings once I have the plans drawn so just need to know how much materials I would need to mix up that much concrete.
 
You never stated how high you were going with the wall? If it's only a couple of feet high, just dig it 450 wide X a spade depth deep. That's will be fine.
Again, how longs your wall?
 
I haven't finalised the dimensions in all fairness but they will only be a few feet high, maybe 3 feet high at the most Id imagine. I dont mind digging down a bit more to the 300mm mark if its going to help things to not crack etc. Length might be about 6 meters if I continue the wall the full length of the garden.

I was talking to my father in law earlier who is a bit of a know it all and he said that I should use hollow dense blocks and use rebar and fill with concrete for a more stable wall?
 
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