Would you mind elaborating on why you would use CMU if you could do it again? Do the pallets move? Give? Bow? I'm looking to do a kind of deadman cantilever wall with pallets. I'm wondering how they'll do over time.
I think the block or CMU approach is more solid. The pallets actually have held up quite well so far and I’ve had it in operation for 2 years. However, I got some very heavy duty pallets. Just keep in mind 1 yard of gravel or dirt is roughly 3,000 pounds of weight. That is a tremendous amount of material to hold back. Behind the liner it’s find because the water mostly balances it out. Let me put it this way. If I were to do it again out of an abundance of caution I would go with blocks.
Oak at the threshold , Doug fir for the stringer that runs the pallet wall and redwood for the dock. Selected those based on application. If wood stays submerged it lasts a long time. Stuff that gets wet then dries out is prone to deterioration which is why I went redwood for the dock.
