I have been working on a very interesting retaining wall scheme for a while now, one that proposed the use sheet piling, as a hybrid king post with steel tubes.

The job hit a snag when the question was asked that due to the need to support the narrow brick fascia off the sheet piling.

It is a system that combines short plastic sheet piling with either timber posts or steel tubes.

The appeal of the system, includes improved:

1. Aesthetics
2. Cost, especially when combined with softwood
3. Speed of installation - shallow penentration of sheet piling, combined with a much 4. easier to install tube or post
5. Carbon footprint - allows a combination of recycled with sustainably sourced timber or bamboo

The system offers a much more rapid installation, with a space saving shallow footprint and no requirements for foundations or soil preparation.

Sheet piling is extremely long lasting and maintenance free, the hybrid concept uses timber in a most efficient way, relying on it solely where it is stable in the long term - beneath the ground.

For those contracts that want a timber appearance, then it makes sense to limit that to an easily replaced fascia.

So returning to my opening how would the system work with a more rigid fascia, such as masonry? From the title photo it is clearly an interesting proposition. However, the thin brick fascia needs supporting and hence attaching to the sheet piling or steel tube or post.

This article comes from linkedin edit released