Optera have been engaged by our insurer client following storms which caused the existing dry stone retaining wall to collapse into the adjacent highway. It is important in this historic part of Bristol to re-create the aesthetics and appearance of the wall whilst providing an engineered solution to the problem at hand.
With a road closure negotiated with the local authority, Optera commenced works by underpinning the rear right hand corner of the property to stabilise the most vulnerable part of the property and take it beyond the slip plain failure. The wall was taken down and the slope enveloped with Macmat R and secured with dywidag anchors grouted in secure ground behind the failure.
The anchors have been incorporated into the wall which is now being faced with natural local stone by our craftsmen to replicate the characteristics of the original stone wall. Working in lime and replicating traditional build methods, Optera have created a wall which will last for decades more whilst appearing to be decades old. The wall has been backfilled with free draining stone and conveys water through the wall via weepholes at it base, preventing a build up of hydrostatic pressure and future failure.