Old tyres for retaining wall

[Dan_574]

just an update, experimented with 9 tyres 3 rows of 3, i think i will be waiting till i can afford sleepers. Not only is it hard yakka digging a flat base but its just as hard fillin them with dirt and I didnt even wire them together. And you have to find the fill as well. No I think I know why they are not widely used

[Don Nethercott]

I have a retaining wall of tyres. It is only 4 tyres high at this stage but will be adding another row shortly. I drilled 4 holes in the top side of each tyre to let out any air or water that might build up. I put a galvanised star picket in the space in the middle, but touching the tyres at the back, to give some added stability. You could still do this with staggered tryes. Run a galvanised wire through the tyres - one side to the other through the star picket - this will help keep them together. Mine I filled with rubble (brick, etc) and eventually will pour a little concrete in each for extra stability - don't think you need to do this as mine is holding back a river - it is covered with water when the tides are extra high.
Don

[wombat47]

You don't say why you are building this retaining wall (to retain something) but, as you don't mention the need for footings, I'm guessing this is a landscape thing.

There are a number of plants which do a fantastic job of holding soil together on banks. The day lily is just one example - tough as old boots and drought resistant. Common ivy is also a suitable groundcover and will prevent soil loss during rain. If you are into native plants, there are a number of ornamental native grasses which would also do the job.

While you are saving up for your sleepers, you might consider planting up the area.

[griffo]

My old man (RIP) built a number of walls in our back yard when I was younger, back in the seventies anyway. As far as I know they still standing and doing what they were intended to do (hold the dirt back).
They are a bugger to lay though. It's really hard yakka filling them properly as well as digging a wide enough flat footing for the first row. I see it has caught on as an enviromentally friendly thing to do. He was doing it cause the tyres were free.

P