10.2 Drives, paths and landscaping

10.2.4 Freestanding walls and retaining structures

Freestanding walls and retaining structures shall be adequate for their intended purpose.

Freestanding walls should be in accordance with:

  • BS EN 1996-1 ‘Design of masonry structures’
  • PD 6697 Recommendations for the design of masonry structures.

Retaining structures should be in accordance with:

BS 8002‘Code of Practice for earth retaining structures’
BS EN 1992‘Design of concrete structures’.
BS EN 1996‘Design of masonry structures’
BS EN 1997-2‘Geotechnical design. Ground investigation and testing’
BRE Good Building Guide 27‘Building brickwork and blockwork retaining walls’

All retaining structures, more than 600mm high, should be designed by an engineer in accordance with Technical Requirement R5.

Where timber structures more than 600mm high are used for retaining ground in boundary situations, they should be designed with a desired service life of 60 years and have a satisfactory third-party certification from an approval body acceptable to NHBC.

Where planters are provided, they should be designed to support the volume of retained soil and the plant species.

Last updated: 2nd January 2024

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