IT HAPPENED! MY NEW BACKYARD TRAILS ARE HUGE!! 

Have you ever thought of mixing dry hay into your clay when building your jumps (like cob)? It would act more like a composite material and would resist crumbling much better

Having watched 1 minute, I can see you've deffo learned from mistakes. That's an insane handrail, always knew you weren't a complete lunatic

For the cracks, look into how to make a clay plaster. Fill in the cracks, and then do a thin layer all over the surface to create a barrier to water getting in. It's a mix of clay, sand, and straw (not hay). You can probably just add sand to the clay you have and that will be good enough. Do a few test batches with different ratios of sand to clay, slap them on the side of the jump, and see if/how they crack. The clay you have is "expansive" meaning that it expands when wet, so when it dries out it contracts and that's why you get cracks. You need to add enough sand so that the clay just fills the spaces between the sand particles, then it won't have room to expand or contract and you won't get cracks. Adding chopped up straw to the mix will act as reinforcement to make the plaster stronger, but isn't totally necessary. Use a weed whacker inside a trash can ( a weed whip in a rubbish bin?) to chop up the straw. If you are feeling adventurous, dried horse manure is already pre-chopped and works better than straw. I'm a natural builder and have done whole buildings with clay plaster, it will last for years without cracks if done right.

Ain't NO WAY he started ANOTHER build area

Cheers for mentioning So Solid Crew Matt, I've had 21 Seconds stuck in my head since I watched this video

Just walked in from the garden building my own trails and now I get to see what you did. Perfect timing. Keep it up it's a pretty good inspiration.

Ben is going to need some kind of filming tower because these jumps are so big now!

6:10 make the sides of the jump less steep and plant grass, the roots will hold the dirt or cover it with a tarp

Jamie just carrying the dirt AND the channel. What a BOSS hitting that massive jump!

Best strat i found with the big cracks in the side was wetting the whole thing a lot, then making wet clay in a barrow with the consistency of wet cement then just filling it. When it dries and cracks again, keep repeating

Matt, you need a RENDER SPRAYER. Fill it with a mixture of clay/soil/water and spray it into the cracks

For the cracks mix hay or leaves with the clay also after that jump it would be amazing to see a miniture pumo track into more jumps

To fix the cracks in the side I usually get a clay paste and fill them in with a trowel and then wait a bit and put dry dirt on top then brush it all with dry dirt later until it’s smooth

Love your work always. You may wish to look into the removal of the asbestos roof cladding on the shed that is used for the roll in.

New Build Series…LETS GO. I’ve loved the complexity and creativity, of your past trails. A clean line though, with consistent jumps like this, that meanders along your property, bringing you back to the roll-in, would be timeless, epic fun.

From a civil engineering/land development perspective your bank cut that you're excavating with your digger probably has many voids. When you compact it into forming the jump you are removing all those voids and ultimately you get shrinkage. So the amount of cut you take out of your huge hole is going to seem like much more than the final compacted product. To get more information you would want to research civil earthwork and geotechnical engineering.

i normally take a trowel and a patio pointer and treat the clay like its cement. mix it in a bucket until its got a decent slump (when you take a scoop of it, drop it on the ground gently and watch to see if it stays still or begins to drop down, you want it to sag about a quarter) this is so its hard enough to maintain shape but wet enough to work deep into cracks. its a slower process but it does help. also id suggest planting wildflower in there and some sort of heather covering as the root systems bind the clay together creating a more hard wearing outer surface although wait until the sides stabilise or else the growing plants will kick off the top layer

So happy the backyard trail builds are back!

Once you’re done with the hole line it and make it a massive pool!

Just a thought regarding cracks in sides, The reason it is cracking is that it is losing volume through evaporation so a solution if this is a permanent feature would be to sow grass or small schrubs on the sides. This would help to retain water and bind the mix. Used to ride bmx on our home made bush tracks when all this first started out in the seventies, dunny door over a creek sort of thing. Has come a long way since then. Outstanding skills there blokes.

Yup. Use chopped up straw. Its what we use to build straw bale houses. We mix an earth plaster to cover the bales. Our mix is 1 part clay 1 part chopped straw and 1 part crushed sand to make a base coat. Mixed with water of course. The straw acts as reinforcing to prevent cracking, the sand just adds bulk and the clay the glue. For what you're doing wont need sand, just straw clay and water. Hack would be to not make the mix too wet and use an old concrete mixer to mix it all up. Could even chuck the straw on an old tarp and chop it up with a lawn mover. Its actually ridiculously simple. Promise. Any straw will do, but not hay. Hay will be full of seeds and will grow weeds, the roots expand and blowout the jumps. They do eventually die when the mix dries but the damage will already be done.

To fill in the cracks on the side you need to mix clay and water and fill it in. Then you can take a sponge, wet it and smoothen everything up. It takes a while, but the surface gets really smooth

What a view! Looks amazing.

The build lapses will be scrumptious.

seeing the progression of your builds over the last 3 years has been absolutely wild to follow. Stoked to see how sick it is for you! Always inspired to build watching your videos 🥰

On the sides mix straw or hay into to mud and slap it on the sides it will help bond it together

Ref cracks in the side - if you are going steeper than the angle of repose for the material you are using it will always tend to slump. It's how landslips form. Shallower angles on the sides and back to make your life easier.

Peacocks are screaming for more build videos much like the rest of us viewers!!! Bring it on MATHEW...

Cheap spray foam from the cans with a skinny straw for the large gaps will expand and fill the area and you can trim off what hangs out once dried and use spray glue on top and sprinkle the dust on to completely hide the look. Quick easy cheap cosmetic fix.

sick bro loved watching your backyard vids during lockdown 👏🏻

U need to decide where u want a pond and get ur dirt there! Then fill the hole back up where u dug! That way u won't just have a random hole and u can get all the clay u want and have a beautiful pond as well! If u have a river or springs to fill it on ur property I can't imagine u do not as much farm ground as it is!

get well soon Ben ❤

Loving the peacocks. Sick jump too.

For the sides, makes a clay mixtures and trowel it on the sides to fill the gaps and smooth it out.

Back in the day, when I used to build trails, we used to fill the centre of the jumps with either logs tyres or anything to help with less dirt movement, and for the final layers of dirt and mix in a little bit of concrete mix if you don’t plan on changing them like 1 20kg bag to 1m3 of dirt slightly wet and pack it then water and smooth out

Jones Bone yard (or something catchy) in the making!!!! That'll be sick to watch competitions held there with pros and everyone!

For building jumps, build a temporary mold out of scrap lumber/plywood, leaves almost perfect sides/edges. Pour water on the dirt to turn it to clay like and sun bake it harden. To patch, make mud and apply to area, wet area first, build a mold if big area.

Let’s go Matt. This jump is by far the best one ever built. So happy you building stuff again! Best series ever Ben j’espère ça va le ventre. La bouffe anglaise aussi 😂

You should get a post hole digger attachment for the digger so you make wooden walls to keep all the dirt together for a long time. You can also use the walls to make two lines side by side so it’ll fit in that small line down the field. Imagine the options if each line was on alternating rhythms up and down just super smooth

Hey Matt the cracks are from the jump washing away/ compacting it's self. To stop this id mix the material (add water and get it nice) Then build the jump larger than planned Do it in 300mm layers Wet or rough the surface in-between layers Track roll, legram or roll Once the size you want Trim it with digger And shape by hand This should also stop the jumps getting destroyed in winter

I haven’t watched the video yet but I already know I’m going to see Matt knocking on some jumps to show how hard the dirt is 😂

Did you know ? Can i give you a tip ? The best flowy line building is when you make rollin after dirt jump, n always have rollin between two dirt jumps, because on bike you make push push pull and this is so satisfaying

This series is gunna be sick, Thank you for this Teaser/Trailer/Pilot. Love you guys youre going to make my summer epic!!

Build a line of perfect straight jumps, then build the extras later 👍

Thanks for tips gents x

wow this is the first video in a year that youtube suggested to me I'm excited to see all the changes

Hi Matt on thing I would say you need is a quad bike with car tyers on the front to roll and pack the trails you build because tia is what I do and it works a treat

Make a slurry with a bunch of clumps and mix until slightly runny. Pour it from the top down and try to lightly pack into the cracks? I used to pour my clay like concrete over fill dirt in the path.

Leave the fence in and jump over it, great start to a new series, look forward to new eps ,yew

Well that’s got to be the name of the new line / series “the corridor” 👌👌👌

With this being a new garden build area, I can really see the potential for some big trickable jumps or chill ones defiantly looks good, Jamie’s gonna have to step up his tricks to take over the channel

Straight line of jumps, a proper whale tail at some point (big and of wood like at comps, Ben needs redemption anyway), and with that, you can have that criss-crossy line that you started talking about interweaving through it, sometimes using the same take offs but different landings!

In my experience with building with clay and sand, and any crappy dirt in between, the best way to get rid of the deeper cracks in the sides of jumps is to slightly compact the feature as you stack it up rather than all at once after it's shape is finished. I've only had luck fixing it after the fact shoving dirt either by hand or by throwing it with the shovel into the cracks after watering it. Then slap the living daylight out of it. Let me know if that helps at all, cheers Matt! 🙌

Yeeeeess this is the series i been waiting for :) defo space for 2 lines there but focus on one at a time with the second in mind.. look at villa road for inspiration!!

What you have there with your chalk ground is an artesian basin... the water level is just there cos the chalk holds it. (You met my mates son at hadleigh bike park with 1 leg a few weeks ago, I saw a great pic you with him) 👍👍

I think if there is a roller that splits into two exits that go both left and right. Both lines go into berms which connects the two lines into almost a square of take offs and landings. This would allow you to make the option of a 90 degree hip or a straight jump. After the jumps I think berms that go back into a roller that connects both lines back into one going straight down the hill. Just an idea and might be hard to understand but in my head it sounds good.

To fill in the cracks on the side I usually hold a shovel just under where I want to fill it in then put dust on the top to fall then the exess stuff I drag up then I wet it I works decent

Geo-Netting or Geomat is a plastic nonwoven or grid netting that's used to prevent soil erosion on steep embankments. You would build the dirt mound in layers dirt net dirt net every foot or so, the nonwoven mesh is anchored to the sides with stakes then packed with more clay and finished. That would hold up fairly well with minimal touchup work needed each year.

On our spot we fill the holes and cracks in sides of jumps by hand. Bassicaly, you take a wheelbarrow of fine clay, show it in the previously watered crak and slap it with shovel. It’s a lot of work but only solution to this that I know

So stoked for more of THIS

build two hips left and right after so you can over take when you do trains but that jump is butter. making me wanna go find a digging spot and build trails again keen as for the eps for the mattrails.

What's funny about building jumps is how satisfying it is when you finally get to ride it. Let's be honest we've all ridden jumps exactly like that but it's the fact that you built it and then get to ride it that just makes the whole process that much more fun than going to your normal trails or track. I love my local track but my fondest moments were always building jumps and riding them.

To prevent big cracks from forming in clay, chalk, or mud when building dirt jumps, there are several things you can do: 1. Add water: Adding water to the soil can help to make it more pliable and reduce the likelihood of it cracking. Try to find the right balance between adding enough water to make the soil pliable, but not so much that it becomes too muddy. 2. Compacting: Compacting the soil before building on it can help to create a more stable base and reduce the likelihood of cracking. Use a roller or compactor to press the soil down evenly. 3. Mix with sand: Mixing soil with sand can help to improve drainage and reduce the likelihood of cracking. Aim for a mix ratio of approximately 70% soil and 30% sand. 4. Use a stabilising material: Using a stabilising material such as cement, lime, or rock dust can help to reinforce the soil and make it more resistant to cracking. 5. Avoid building during hot weather: Hot, dry weather can cause soil to dry out and crack more easily, so it's best to avoid building during these conditions if possible. By taking these steps, you can help to prevent big cracks from forming in the soil when building dirt jumps.

you should build a quarter pipe next and to the side of it another dirt jump, so you have an option to stop right after first jump or continue the line.

In desert areas where they build with clay, they still use wooden framework and anchoring. Another solid side would be to use sand bags, also like sandbag houses where they tamper down the clay in the bags on top of each other with barbed wire in between each layer to keep it all together

Matt: we've taking everything we know and put it into this build Also matt: still doesn't have a handrail on the drop in

Yesss Sashhhh!! So buzzing seeing everyone get behind him! in the anticipation, it's not always about watching people fail and that's something the world should understand! Gwon lads

Sick matt can't wait for more

its amazing your one good builder

Great video! Awesome stuff! Every build series has led us here! In it to the end! So excited!

Cove has the best playground at his house

we built many jumps in similar conditions but what you need to do to run the rollers under ground level is supply a place for the water dig it out a foot extra and put down at least 8 inches of 6 or 7 inch minus stones and cover with stone dust and then pile the dirt up, you will have to dig up a good amount and the sides of the trails as well to help, at least were the whole is. you can fix all your other jumps that way. the water will just sit underground instead of puddling.

Incredible work guys - by far the most exciting build project

Imagine the line with the camera positioned at the roll in and 20 riders sending it hipping left and right and getting some epic air. It would look so cool! 🔥

You add straw to your clay and it holds together much better. You could make clay and straw bricks with a simple mold made from 2" by 4"s. Then stack them along the side of the jumps to hold the sides in and prevent erosion and the cracks.

I don't know if there's a limit to how much clay you'll be using, but it'd be cool to see a dirt half pipe that you can use like a snowboarder would use. Build it long enough so you could get two or three airs. Then maybe a small dirt lip to a long wooden manual box somewhere in the line would be cool 😎

Try a plasterer's hawk & trowel for the sides & use a plasterer's technique to adhere it.

Hey Matt I think I have a great idea u could pin and use I reckon as I used to ride trails you could do a double long on the 2 sides of the fence down the long strip and then make a singe pump line down the middle to make it back also burms for the turn around at the end 👍🏽👍🏽 great content have watched all playground eps.

That is siiiiiick. Can’t wait to see how this build will evolve!! I’ve been thinking about getting a bike myself. Plan is to ride mtb trails, forest and maybe some dirtjumps. I have basically no experience. Do anyone have good suggestions for a hardtail mtb? I’ve been looking at the Cube Analog. Would this be a good starter?

You can use a Trowel and or a pipe bag of muddy clay to squeeze into the Cracks, next time use a binder like straw and sticks to mix with your mud to build your structure with, it makes it stronger against cracking.

for solving the problem of the cracks in the side of the jump, I haven't used this and I don't know much about it, but it would make sense to me that I would just buy a big chunk of clay and then fill in the cracks, then every time it cracks fill it in

Use the first jump as set up and then split and have a line down the left and another down the right... and then both turn back into one line down the middle

excellent :) Maybe have a series of jumps which cross over the hedge (don't remove the hedge of course!) will be interesting. Maybe a water feature to act as a drain for the course and an obstacle to jump over and a source of more clay.

Dude! Forget screws, you need a nail gun, screws snap very quickly with movement in timber, while nails will bend with the movement! Nail the main frames and screw the ramp facings, wooden houses are built with nails for one reason only. Screws are brittle and nails flex 🤙

Best way I know to fill cracks in the side of jumps is wet the sides, mix dirt and water in a barrow so it’s not too wet then throw it in with a shovel and slap it in. It works better on a hot day so the mud dries fast

You should make a mini track next to it for cove that’s such a good idea

The mans just a pure legend.

You know you've built your deck on what looks like ASBESTOS!!

I think you need to build the base of the jump out of loam, finish with clay. Loam will compact properly whereas clay pumps. It won’t crack as much as it drys out, should help avoid the large structural cracks

For cracks in clay: spray jumps with water as often as you can(daily if possible)

Once you’re done digging the hole you could always try build a dirt half pipe 🤟🏻

Really amazing

mix some dry straw (corn, bamboo...) to the mix and it will not crack. we do it in mud huts in the woods here in brazil and they last 20 some years with almost no maintance

for the cracks, you need to let the jumps dry out slower by using tarps as if they dry to rapid the will just split apart. also try use less moisture in the soil to make it less like mud and more like a moist cat litter consistency hope that helps xoxo

the air time on that looks sick. cant wait for another series of building dirty jumps

Nice handrail! Definitely not a maniac!

You should call the series spaced out! Because the jumps are gonna be big, send you to space, and literally be spaced out compared to normal

I’d recommend getting a massive piece of tarp or something for the chasm of a hole lol. Looks sick man!

Build 3 straight lines all the way down but align it all for tons of transfers in and out. Will make 3 lines into infinite lines

Ben sounded so off the weather I feel bad for him 😕 But the jump is so cool!! Good job guys 💪