# retaining wall help



## RCE (Sep 14, 2009)

I am building a retainling wall out of cedar pickets about 4" high and 8 ' long. Should I drive the posts in the ground a foot or more and or use a "dead man" on each end and one in the middle? Any ideas would be helpfull.

Richard


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## altterrain (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Richard, 

I am not sure what the design of your retaining wall is (how tall?, how long?, etc.) but while cedar is rot resistant, it is not rot proof. Cedar will rot out with ground contact in a few years depending on ground moisture. Lumber pressure treated for ground contact will typically last 20 years or more. 

-Brian


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## Dave F (Jan 2, 2008)

With regards to post and deadmen, that is really going to be dependent on the height of the retaining wall. If it were me, I'd be putting post in if the wall is over 2' tall and deadmen every 3' of height. If you've got a lot of height to deal with, I'd also consider setbacks every 4'.


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