18:38 you were very polite and calm, when explaining to Art about pinch points. That is very refreshing to see. I have worked for bosses who were considerably less than calm when mistakes happened.
@@Dirtmonkey When it comes to safety it does not bother me. In basic training you do not keep your weapon pointed up and down range at the range, the yelling is the not the worst thing that will happen to you. You will be taken down to the ground with a lot of force. If I am doing something dumb with a saw, where I could cut off my leg, little yelling in my book shows they care.
@@DubhghlasMacDubhghlas there is a fine line between being stern / keeping workers safe, and being a nitpicky A-hole. And at least to me, those are very important distinctions to make. Especially as a boss.
@@Dirtmonkey Oh I understand. From what I have seen you seem like a good boss to work for. I remember when you sent one of your worker home because he refused to do light duty with a messed up arm. I know you care about your guys. I do believe when it comes to safety it is about the only time it is somewhat acceptable to yell at people.
Pointing out the fact, that accidents are not always operator error…help force the operator to acknowledge he is in a bad spot…….pop goes a hose and boom your crushed
Just finished 545 ft of basing all by my lonesome. Took me almost a month and about 6 more days with my crew to build the wall to final height. I can say I would never have had the confidence to stick it out without your videos Stan. Thanks for the lessons, entertainment and new revenue stream brother!
I'm sure your back was happy after that run, long wall = tuff man. I did 8x8" drive way pavers, 8hrs a day for 16 days, it was something like 65 pallets/320 pavers a pallet, wore down some nice knee pads
Thank you on the mention of low psi concrete for the base. Installers have to know options when installing retaining walls. I love your crews, wish I could have had them when I was in business. With a couple of tools and attachments we could really make them fly! We had a metal rail system for installing walls with a steel grading blade and enough room to run the plate tamper between the rails. The blade was adjustable for pitch and the rail system was flexible to allow curves. We used what you call grade 5 we called CA-6 and FA-16 (stone dust for minor adjustments under 1/2"). Back fill was CA-7 or CA-11 for the 12+ inches behind the wall and CA-6 if it had to carry a load or impervious clay compacter in 6" lifts with a point producing compactor. Your guys did a great job on that wall, I love a well corradiated crew that is not limited to just one thing.
Thank you Paul, sounds like you were in the business. You know the termonilogy well. We have used class 5 as base in the past but its not our go to materials.
That’s how I am! The less I say I go back to work faster and get it done. Sometimes I say to much when I should just bite my tongue and shut my mouth. No matter what anyone says after my mind is ready to get back to work all I hear is Mahna Mahna Do doo be-do-do Mahna Mahna Do do-do do… I need to work!
This video definitely helps me to learn how to build a retaining wall. I love all your videos, Your videos are never boring and I can watch your videos all day long. keep up the great work🎉
What a cool 😎 video.That wall will last many many years. Mn can really get cold 🥶. The frost can make a wall like this fall. This one will take anything a good old Mn winter can throw at it. Learned a lot watching this. Thanks 😊.
Oh yea! It definitely helps. To me personally, basing seems like the hardest part of building a wall. I’ve actually build a wall before with a guy I used to work with. And I knew our wall sucked. It was curving in, it wasn’t level, etc. but the customer seemed happy lol. To be fair, we never did walls before and didn’t even know how to do them. We “winged it”. But since I’m starting my own landscaping company, I want to learn how to do these walls properly because im a perfectionist. Thanks for giving us a glimpse of what it truly takes.
I also want to say thank you. I had to fire my retaining wall contractor today. First time I've ever hired someone and your channel showed me how to spot poor quality work. -no gravel base for 50/65 feet of wall -no core fill -no drainage rock after the first two rows So now I'm tackling it myself with your help! Thanks again
Glad to see I use the same techniques, but im REALLY glad to see I'm not the only one to take 10minutes or more on one base block! 😅 so damn aggrevating
Blaine - clearly a man who takes pride in his work, taking the time to get those base blocks right, and not half @$$ing it as "good enough". He'll be able to go by that wall 20 years from now and it'll look as good then as the day he put it in.
Stan just saw you with victory and it directed me to your channel. Wow watched both of the series build. VERY informative! I learned a great deal thank you. Time lapse was great.
Ey hey stan, hope all s well, were getting some rain tonight, much needed, the weather is looking to get even worse this week, with temps in thee upper 90s, i think one day this week will hit 98 degrees, just nasty all around, and the humidity is awful, looks like the project is coming along nicely, and for dinner we went to a local bar and had bar food, i stuck with what i know is good,a nd that’s a bacon cheeseburger, and i got a bowl of soup, was excellent all around. Anyways, have a great night stan, god bless and go get em, your pal and friend Alexander costa
Hey buddy glad you’re doin good! A bacon cheeseburger would hit the spot right now. I’m trying to stay cool myself, pretty sure it was over 100 degrees in my neck of the woods today. Pretty brutal. Makes me miss the frozen temps a bit lol. Gotta stay hydrated out here! God Bless & go get em 👊
At lot easier and accurate to set the base blocks on a 1/4-1/2" leveling course (screeded washed sand) on top of your level base rock. You guys definitely do a great job.
Been in dirt work and hardscapes for better part of 30yrs, up here in Washington we use rock with fines, 3/8s minus for base, don't know what kind of clr base material you have in your state, but you can plate that stuff till the cows come home and I could kick a 3" deep hole with my steel toes, different states/materials/building practices but if it works for you (obviously I've seen many of the excellent big/tall/long walls your company have produced on the channel). With your quality finished product I'm sure you have work lined up for life. You have some good employees, all part of the foundation to success that you are at
Stan get a bunch of Class IV throwable PFDs for kneeling cushions for your guys. They are the best and the handles on the side make them easier to move down the row. I use them for so many uses. Jim Buoy brand are the best and last forever.
I appreciate these tutorial videos! We are finally getting a much needed shot of rain, which otta help the grass out a little, all though we are gonna be in the high 90s the rest of this week. I hope you are doing well on this beautiful monday! Keep up the great work!
Man I love your videos. I learn a ton from them. But this video left me with a bunch of questions. One was, when they were backfilling with rock, why was it tapered and how far should a person go out? How can you compact an angle like that? How far apart should a person put drains in the wall along with having the downspout draining through as well?
Probably too late to answer but depending upon the wall height and with the right soil & drainage conditions, and type of surcharge (any load from any angle) that will be on the wall, you can excavate as least as 12 to 18 inches at the base and up a couple of feet/rows to allow for proper drainage field, then ledge it excavating back to 4 feet from the face. The higher you go with the wall the further back you would excavate so that you can put in the necessary increasing depths of geogrid. This also helps prevent a landslide during construction. Walls over 4ft tall need reinforcement and/or engineering, and this wall appears to be tall enough to need 4 to 6 feet of grid starting at the middle to 3/4 height. There’s a formula to figure how much grid is needed based on wall face height and surcharges. This is general info, there are more caveats. Hope this helps.
@@Dirtmonkey I was a sub until you started doing more equipment reviews than actual job site work. I've always enjoyed the explanation part of the work being performed. I can't praise your enough! Quality 1#.. as far as changing anything, it's up to you and the analytics on your dashboard. I wouldnt want to take anything from you, if your headed in the direction you want then it's ALL GOOD!
Hey guys- Why arent you putting a string on the front of the blocks? I always do that and find it way easier. It is nice to see you work! Greeting from a fellow paver in Denmark.
17:35 Question is your steps attached to the wall on the left side? If not how do you treat the gap between? Very good job as always love watching your work.
I'm in Michigan never been to Wisconsin before never realized Wisconsin was so hilly in need of so many retaining walls. Is there a pin 📌 that locks the blocks into each other?
Lol, I have that same butt cushion I bought at Walmart for when we go to the racetrack and have to sit on them hard bleachers. That's what I used to install floors with. I hate knee pads so that's what I use.
I don't see where any strength comes from there...do they somehow interlock? And the drainage line only appeared to be run from the back---maybe primarily for the house gutters? I ask because it's clear that water is coming through the back and out the front. I'd be afraid of eventual washout failure. Another thing is how does something like that hold up over time with winters? I know from experience that eventually the constant expansion/contraction of ice crystals will play hell shifting rock walls etc. Otherwise beautiful looking work though.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that uses the hammer handle to jam material under the base block sometimes lol. also, do your guys ever use a string line in the back of the block?
@@Dirtmonkey I figured as much. Great video! Gotta say I love the look and install on those versa-step units. So much less time consuming than building up pyramids.
Hello Stan.....Love these videos and have learned so much!! DIY guy here. I have a couple questions.....I am going up about 12ft on a slight 4 to 1 base grade....should I do one wall or two tiers? I will have a patio on top. Going to geogrid per the manual. My Keystone Compac block is rated for up to 60ft if engineered? Also, do you always use rock base rather than pour a concrete footing? I think you just mentioned that in this video. The drainage makes sense as the concrete would hold back the water and the rock is more "adjustable" as you are laying the base. I am doing a 70ft wall with one radius to 90 around a back area patio on a high corner.
What's the long-term side of Versa-block look like? I'm in my late 40s and plan to live in my home for forever! I don't want to be replacing block after 20 or 30 years.
