retaining wall permits

Hi all,
starting the planning of the backyard. it is a sloped yard at about 35 degrees, a drop of about 8' from a concrete pool deck to the top.
I am thinking of building some retaining walls 4' +, and am wondering about the permits. will they re-evaluate the land value and therefore affect my property taxes? also, do i have to worry about them forcing a soil engineer and/or a structural engineer on the job causing the price to skyrocket?
thanks

 

hi
check you local building inspector
not sure if a permit is needed

cheers

pg

 

As a general rule, walls over 4 feet tall require some sort of engineering design. Terraces of several walls with an aggregate height of over 4 feet would not. Walls constructed of these interlocking, dry-stack blocks such as are commonly found at home depot or lowes can be used to build walls that require neither footers nor mortar.

Permits are the province of the building department as it may be called in your municipality. Check with someone there to see if one is required. If one is required and you build without it, you could be fined and required to demolish the structure.

It is hard to say that a retaining wall would affect the overall value of your property.

Hope this helps.