Dave2007
Computer
- Jul 29, 2007
- 1
I'm not sure what to do here- I have a decent size retaining wall next to my house. its composed of 3footx3footx3foot concrete blocks with a few 4'x4'x3's also tossed in. it was made to 'flatten' my yard from its previous slope, so the wall at one end is 3 feet tall and as it progresses it gets to 15' about 52' farther down the yard. The Base blocks were all sunk about 2 feet below the surface on compacted soil and 'steps' down as the wall increases in height to compensate for the slope. This has been an excellent wall with no problems for 11 years.
I come home from work at 11pm yesterday and my wife tells me the neighbor has been out there with his tractor digging. I go out to check and find that at the start of the wall where its 15' tall he has dug down about 1 foot below the bottom of the base blocks, perfectly flush with edge of the blocks, it looks like its now built on earthen blocks for the base. this is for about a 20-25 foot long section.- the weight of each of these blocks is apx 2 ton for a 3x3x3 and 4 tons for a 4x4x3 then stack those up to 5 high, then add the weight of the earth behind them... the wall is right on the property line.
What can/should I do?? the neighbor is one of those that is 100% unapproachable.
Who should I contact?
Who is responsible for the walls integrity now?
what if he 'fixes' it by just tossing some dirt back against the wall? My thought is once its compromised it needs to be fixed better than that doesnt it?
Isnt there something about needing 45 degree slope away from the base to be stable? ( maybe I made that up, I'm not sure)
Where can I go to research what laws may apply to this situation?
sorry so many questions, but right now I am scared the wall may fall.(or am I worried about nothing?)
I come home from work at 11pm yesterday and my wife tells me the neighbor has been out there with his tractor digging. I go out to check and find that at the start of the wall where its 15' tall he has dug down about 1 foot below the bottom of the base blocks, perfectly flush with edge of the blocks, it looks like its now built on earthen blocks for the base. this is for about a 20-25 foot long section.- the weight of each of these blocks is apx 2 ton for a 3x3x3 and 4 tons for a 4x4x3 then stack those up to 5 high, then add the weight of the earth behind them... the wall is right on the property line.
What can/should I do?? the neighbor is one of those that is 100% unapproachable.
Who should I contact?
Who is responsible for the walls integrity now?
what if he 'fixes' it by just tossing some dirt back against the wall? My thought is once its compromised it needs to be fixed better than that doesnt it?
Isnt there something about needing 45 degree slope away from the base to be stable? ( maybe I made that up, I'm not sure)
Where can I go to research what laws may apply to this situation?
sorry so many questions, but right now I am scared the wall may fall.(or am I worried about nothing?)