Start to finish we build a retaining wall that you can do yourself! How to Dig for a wall, How to Base a retaining wall, how to backfill, and MORE!. #retainingwall #diy
I’m in excavation too and the amount of time customers want to build a block wall with absolutely no drainage and to gravel back fill for drainage is mind blowing
We built a 40ft retaining wall fully engineered at our park. No drain rock used. 3/4 minus with 95% compaction and lots of geogrid is all engineering called for. 15yrs later still amazing. One thing though we do not get a lot of rain in the region. We live in a almost desert area. The toe in is a great principle, for a wall this small, one block buried is overkill.
Just finished a 3 summer patio project here in the mtns of Colorado. OMG. This Colorado Clay I swear is tougher than concrete. (Side note-I moved here from Brooklyn Park 4.5 years ago). Anyway, the overall project was built on a (somewhat) gentle slope that had a 4 foot drop from one end to the other on an area of 35' x 45'. Main area was 15x45 with pavers and retaining wall and steps up to the ''upper level'' that had a 10x14 pergola put on it. Again, pavers and retaining wall that was 2 foot tall. A labor of love, and a sense of humor, along with lots of ibuprofen. Came out way better than expected. This was a once in a lifetime project, but I did have fun. It was a gift to the Mrs. All she wanted was a little paver patio...and I was a guy with a vision, and a rough idea of how to (sorta) go about it. A little over $8,000 in pavers, bricks, quickcrete, pergola, road base, and rental of a compactor and mini ex (neighbor owns a skidsteer which was free-thanks Kentucky). Minimum weight of everything brought in is at about 105,000 lbs. 75,000 lbs was road base that was all hand shoveled from my utility trailer, and you know that the pavers and bricks and quickcrete was all moved at least 3 to 5 times from the first time of setting eyes on it. Now that the project is done, I'm finely actually looking at videos such as yours and thinking ''Well, some things I seemed to get kind of right, other things I could have maybe done better or a bit different. But, the Mrs is happy, I'm happy, the early part of the project has not come apart after the first couple of years, and the HOA did not complain. Thanks for your time and effort with these videos.
Thanks for the info. I get to redo my retaining wall at my house. The previous owners did not put any drainage rock on the backside of the wall. Needless to say, the wall is pushing out. At least now you have given me a starting point for info.
i definitely want to make more terraces on my property. i want to minimize the slope and maximize the "usable" flat space. also, terraces look amazing! but a lot of work for a very small crew. also other projects have delayed the main project, so we hope to get it done next year. im still looking for a thick adhesive i can use to bond slate to slate for initial holding before the main concrete pours.its a labor of love and art though, but im ready to start the next significant project of mine haha... i just need an engineer and designer and larger contractor to do the major bits, while i take care of the artistic side of the slate wall look. so i plan to have concrete retaining walls poured professionally, with a 6 inch or so lip from the foundation up, for placing the slate to mortar in place. and i hope to have the drainage be professionally engineered into the design, since solid concrete has its own issues with drainage on slopes i suppose, and i want these to last for ten thousand years at least haha...
Great video, I appreciate all the knowledge that you share, I have had learn alot from your videos it has help in my business, I watch your videos from Iowa
I NEED a retaining wall - almost EXACTLY like this. Necessary due to a 'downhill' next-door neighbor. His lot was stepped down about 24 - 30" below mine. All I have now on the west side of my lot is about 8' of flat dirt, then a slope down to the wood fence.
Very good information in this video Stan. Wish I could’ve met you and picked your brain at the recent trade show in Louisville. I started my landscape company, basically a one man show 6 years ago and have slowly been transforming the type of work I’m getting into. Your videos and content has inspired me and I’ve learned a lot from it. One question though, should you not make sure your wall footing gets below the frost line to help with winter heaving?
Great update I'll look to see if you have a vid on small rounded retaining wall ( 9' diameter) on on a slightly slanted yard that will run into th slope. (From front to back is 18" to 2'.)
Hi Stanley, Love all your retaining wall videos. I’m planning to diy my backyard to remove a slope and add to my usable space. My question is how to I divide the slope from my neighbor’s yard and transition to mine? Our properties are both 63 x 111 ft. But the slope takes up about 18 ft of my backyard and my neighbor.
I need creative ideas to keep for my guys busy in the winter time. We live in Montana. Any videos on that? We do snow management but what do you do in between storms when “shop cleanup” has been over done.
I have a construction crew going full time. We amp that up in the winter. Im currently building an Air BnB on a lakeshore and also building an off grid place
What is the minimum radius for a trapezoid block corner like you built, for excavation layout? Also, when is geotextile fabric used under the angular aggregate and is #57 or #67 best? I did not see a 12" width of trench or gravel behind those blocks so does that vary with each job? And finally, why did you step up turning into corners? Did that not re-introduce surcharge going to less than a 2' base on a slope? Otherwise, a very informative video for my forthcoming long retaining wall with two curved ends. Thanks.
Just my opinions here... First, I love the way you guys build 'em, getting everything right before the first block even goes down, and making the first course as perfect as possible. That said... People should ALWAYS use geogrid, and for one simple reason: Stabilizing a WALL is only ONE benefit of the grid, and obviously, isn't really a concern with a knee-high wall. However, the SOIL stabilization it creates is the other major benefit. You go in and do any sort of excavation in dirt that has stabilized over time, and the cohesion it built up disappears. Stabilizing any sort of granular material is exactly what the grid does. Personally, TX-130S was my go to material. I don't work for them, or get any money from them. Every time I've used it, I bought it at the local supply store, just like everyone else. I used a number of other materials as well, from multiple manufacturers, but I used to buy the TX-130S six rolls at a time. I kept that stuff on a rack, to make cutting easier, and I used it like hot sauce. I put that stuff on everything.
Geogrid is cheap insurance for sure. It helps on big or little projects. BUT that doesn't mean its required. The way I built the wall in this video will outlast me.
This was like a masterclass in retaining wall building - gives me the confidence to build a few small ones around my home! For some reason I'm still slightly stuck on the calculation of buried block + base when planning step-ups on a slope - is there an email I can send you a very basic/rough picture of my slope and the wall I plan to build so you can advise where I should stop and start each step-up and the material depth? I think my slope is about 3:1 or 4:1. Thank you!!
At the end of the retaining wall ( at the .14 second mark) do you backfill the side with 12 inches of 3/4 clean or does that simply die into the dirt? I know there is a minimum of 12 inches of 3/4 clean behind the wall but what about the side? Thank you for all your videos. They have been extremely helpful!
Are the pins only used on the curves? Is there a situation every block would need to be pinned? Do you prefer to secure the cap stones with mortar or adhesive?
Have you got any videos on railway sleeper retaining walls? I see these quite often but noone seems to go into any sort of detail about the weight of the soil. Is it a different ball game because the sleepers are usually pushed up against posts, or are the posts still likely to be pushed out by the soil? Thanks
Can I send you a short video or some pictures. I need some advice on an area in my yard that I want to level out. I was thinking about a retaing wall but I just don't know.
Very nicely explained! If you ran 12" of gravel behind the retaining wall and drainage pipe, would that not take the pressure of the earth pushing the wall over?
3/4 clear underneath the wall well you haven't built on super clayfield soils like where I live it is straight clay no sand no nothing just clay and sometimes Rock. The clay will hold water let's just put it this way when you plant a tree you want to leave it up just a little bit otherwise it will drown in the hole you dug for it. Because you put it in the clay pot. We use a 5/8 crushed rock with fines in it. Seems to work where I'm from.
Anyway you do it,it's back breaking work!! That's why you want to do it right the first time you do a job like this.I have great respect for poeple who do this kind of work.Thanks 😅.
Be it walls or interlock when it comes to base depth I always feel more comfortable just going a little thicker than I know I need to, I use 3/4 clear as a base and then an inch or less of hpb/1/4 chip clear as a screed layer. I go through the same freeze thaw as you do so it always gives me peace of mind doing 8-10 inches of base and screed and just leaves a lot more room for any water that comes out of the ground or makes it way into the base to settle without ever coming close to making an issue for me. I know 6 inches would be perfectly fine but I am definitely an over do it type of guy I guess
😮😮 thst was wayyy wrong. if it’s gonna have a concrete footing the footing has to be below the frost line.. thst wall is 100% gonna move cause it’s rigid.. the whole point of retaining wall block is that it isn’t rigid if ur using mortar and concrete.. has to be below frost line period !!
When you’re talking about 1:1, 2:1 3:1 slopes are you referring to in roofing terms 1:1 being a 12/12 pitch 12 inch rise over 12 inch run, 2:1 being 6/12 pitch, 3:1 being a 4/12 so on and so forth?
Great video Great information. I still haven't done a full retaining wall yet. I have a former property that needed a retaining wall, but the customer was too cheap to even think about paying for that. He was a cheap customer and a former customer. But you gave a lot of good info in this video.
So I have a little retaining wall which looks like it's just big pieces of stone on their side that were concreted together (like natural looking stone, not stone blocks like in this video). Behind that wall is a small garden and surrounding it is lawn, so basically if I want to build a new retaining wall there properly, I'm going to have to remove that entire garden to fill it with aggregate? Then do I need a perforated pipe at the bottom of the aggregate or is the aggregate what allows it to drain properly?
I wish my boss cared this much not only for our customers sake, but personally i like understanding the whys of how things are done what they prevent or intended purpose. Cant teach us what he doesnt know or care about though.
I just have to say that after watching these guys for years they really don’t know what there doing. No geo textile underneath, to small of a plate compactor and the 4 foot rule for grid isn’t used by real professionals anymore
That mulch strip in front of the wall makes no sense... Why not put the wall directly against the walkway or back a bit further and plant a small hedgerow?... I personally would have used stone instead of mulch in a situation like this because of wash out and maintenance
