F23 Stone/Soil/Turf/ Hedging Hedge Bank Walling
About:
Index:
Problems:
- In places where there hedge bank walls exist and have fallen into disrepair LA engineers don’t always understand them and they are infilled with an off the peg detail of raised soil and turf, which fails on just about every count: break in wall, widening of the space occupied, no enclosure, easy passage, visual discontinuity, audio discontinuity, bat echo location and route finding discontinuity, wildlife corridor discontinuity, etc.
Misunderstandings:
- It may be assumed that they are only for free standing walls in landscape, but they are also used for retaining walls, enclosing walls of wind shelters, hides, public convenience and even as an outer leaf of buildings
Solutions:
- Update the standard details and standard specifications to include hedge bank walling and use them to repair as well as recreate new ones
Consider:
- Locally sourced stones from the region the hedge bank wall is created in
- All soil, sand and turf to be lifted from the site of the wall
- Wild turf from locality
- Indigenous drought tolerant hedging
Avoid:
- Using them in locations where the stones are not available locally and would need to be imported to the area
- Using imported turf with imported biodiversity
Minimise:
- Sending excavated materials to landfill
Substitute:
- With or without hedging on top
- With normal turf in place of wild turf if none available,
Health:
Wellbeing:
- Don’t underestimate the feel good factor of natural materials used in a local traditional manor
- Don’t underestimate the feel good factor of providing for biodiversity on your site
Biodiversity:
- ‘Wild turf’ is perfect, ‘bowls turf’ is not for this task, See Q30
- Using turf from the site of the wall and other parts of the site ensures the biodiversity is kept where is belongs
- Importing more turf should ideally be locally sourced and as wild as the rest of the turf from the site
- Much of the soil and turf will bring its own biodiversity
- Nature will turn up and inhabit the wall
- Bird boxes may be built in
- Bat boxes will be too close to the ground for use by bats, but birds may occupy them
Safety:
- Boulders can be large heavy and potentially dangerous
Precautionary principle:
Resource Efficiency Issues:
- The great thing about these walls is much of the accessory materials come from the site of the wall stones are likely to have been dug up from the fields or reclaimed
Reduce:
- Imported materials reuse from site where possible
Reclaim:
- Turf from site of wall, top up from site alterations, use as mortar between stones in wall face
- Top soil from site of wall, top up from site stockpile
- Subsoil from site of wall, top up from site stockpile
- Well rounded stones
Reuse:
- All reclaimed materials from site
Recycle:
Recover:
- At end of life recover nutrients via composting of turf and hedging
Waste Issues:
- There should be no waste from this method of construction
Hazardous waste & Deleterious Substances
- Don’t use imported polluted soil
- Don’t reuse existing polluted soil
Waste Statistics
Waste Minimisation
End of Life options
- Dismantle and return to ground or compost hedging and turf
Appropriateness:
- Only use if it’s a local tradition (West country and Pembrokeshire Wales)
Competence:
- Use local craftsmen with prior know how
Effectiveness:
Yardstick:
Maintenance issue:
- Once constructed, water with harvested rainwater, leave to enliven, trim excess grass if required, trim hedging if required
Industry/Sector Initiatives:
Information sources:
© GBE NGS ASWS BrianMurphy
aka BrianSpecMan
16th December 2012 – 21st November 2018
F23 Stone/Soil/Turf/ Hedging Hedge Bank Walling
Images:
Smith Roberts Associates Architects
St David’s Visitors Centre, Pembrokeshire Coast
Smith Roberts Associates Architects
Castell Henllys, Iron Age hill fort, visitors centre Pembrokeshire Coast
GBE CPD
If you wish to reproduce images, feel free, but please acknowledge the source.
© GBE NGS ASWS BrianMurphy
aka BrianSpecMan
4th August 2014 – 21st November 2018
F23 Stone/Soil/Turf/ Hedging Hedge Bank Walling
See Also:
GBE JARGON BUSTER
- Bowles Turf
- Hedge
- Hedge bank walling
- Normal Turf
- Sub Soil
- Top Soil
- Wild turf
GBE CPD
Seminar
- F23 Hedge Bank Walling
GBE CHECKLIST
- F20 Natural Stone Rubble Walling
- F23 Hedge Bank Walling (This page)
- F23 Hedge bank Walling (this page)
GBE MATERIALS
- Boulders
- Hedging
- Top Soil
- Sub Soil
- Wild Turf
GBE SYSTEMS
- Hedge Bank Wall
GBE ELEMENTAL ASSEMBLIES
- GBE BEACON:
- F23 Hedge Bank Walling:
- 93_f20_f23_f20_01
- F23 Hedge Bank Walling:
GBE GREEN BUILDING SPECIFICATION (GBS)
GBE ROBUST SPECIFICATION
- Robust Specification Clause
- Robust Specification Work Section
- F23 Boulder and Turf hedge bank walling
GBE PROJECTS
- St David’s Pembrokeshire Coast Visitors Centre
© GBE NGS ASWS BrianMurphy
aka BrianSpecMan
4th August 2014 – 21st November 2018
