How to fix bowing retaining wall sleepers?

honeybee

We bought a place couple of months ago. We started observing that our raised garden bed started bowing. I want to fix it on my own. It would be helpful if I know what tools are require and any article to provide an overview of how to fix it will be helpful.

Thanks in advance.

EricL

Hello @honeybee 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us and thanks for sharing your question about repairing your retaining wall.

One of the reasons that the post has started to lean is because of the pressure from the other side of the wall. To repair this the soil behind the wall must be dug out. This will allow you to push the sleeper back into its original position. The post will need to be replaced with something stronger. This would also be a good opportunity to assess if the sleeper is still in good condition or needs replacement.

Please note that the post might be concreted into place, so I suggest using a post breaker such as the Cyclone 1650 x 25mm Hex Fencing Bar. Once the old post is out you can then position the new post in and concrete it into place. Make sure that the sleepers are temporarily braced so that it does not put any pressure on the new post. The concrete needs to cure properly before putting any pressure on it. 

Once the concrete cures and you've screwed the post to the sleepers, you can then refill the soil back in. 

In regards to the sleepers, make sure to double check the size before purchasing what you need. I recommend having a look at the 200 x 50mm Sleeper H4 Sienna MicroPro 2.4m. The sleeper itself can be cut down and used as a post as well.

Here is a handy step-by-step guide: How to build a timber retaining wall

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric