I'm a civil engineer for 42 years. I've been designing these block walls since 1987. You do it correctly. The 3 foot rule for compaction is for large, ride on, vibratory compactors, doing 12 inch lifts at a time. It started out as a rule to keep compactors away from house foundations that had just been poured. And, they just apply it to everything. The small compactors you use a perfect for what you are doing. Small compactor, small lifts is exactly right. Getting up close to the wall with that compactor is fine, and won't damage the wall before it is fully done and geogridded.
i’m another civil engineer. really enjoy your content. and u given it 100-gotta have competency and successful experience designing walls on paper with consideration to actual constructabilty.
@@Dirtmonkey I'm not a PE, but I do have a Master's Degree in structural engineering worked in an engineer's office for a few years, and designed a few of those walls. Our specifications were like what Kurt Dietrich and Jeff C both said. What you are doing is fine. That said, your video title is ALL WRONG!! and is clickbait to boot. The proof that it is wrong is the number of engineers who have left comments here agreeing with your approach. So, please, in the future, consider not descending to clickbait titles that unjustifiably lambast an entire profession.
I remember my dad and I built a retaining wall for this one guy, and in the final stages of packing that backspace, he said he liked the other brick better, keep in mind we had already laid 3 tons of brick over two weeks around this guy’s plot. We (my dad) said if he wants another crew to rip out all of what we had done, they would spend 3 weeks removing, and replacing, retexturing, refilling, and resettling… he said he liked the rock we had up lol!
Stan, the main reason I really appreciate your content is not just showing your work, but the steps you take to educate people, regardless if they are a home owner, work in the trades or just enjoy the content. I know from some of the things you have said that we are about the same age and grew up in a similar setting. We didn't usually hire people to do work for us, we figured it out and usually did it ourselves.. The #1 way to figure out the right direction was to listen and learn from people that did know.....like you! Thank you for the service you are giving to your followers.
I work for an engineering firm here in Asheville, NC. I do compaction and inspecting for a lot of retaining walls. Thank you for understanding and caring about your product, guys like y'all who care about their product make my job almost routine. I wish everyone cared this way, I would feel like less of a cop on a job site and more like a verifier of product that I am supposed to be. I cannot tell you how difficult it is to inspect a wall where the workers and their superintendents really don't care, it just makes for a very long stressful day.
I still enjoy watching you build these walls my man. the small patio with a 18 foot retaining wall i built 2 years ago hasn't budged a millimeter using your advice and techniques. thanks!
Hey Stan, really have to complement you and your crew, very down to earth, knowledgeable, fantastic attitude towards doing not only a good job but caring about their work as well when you are not there to watch every second, after 31years myself, it's very important who represents you and if I was you I would be extremely proud of your entire crew!! Great job brother
Good ole Stan!!!! Always trying help his subs learn & understand important concepts in construction that usually they encounter one day. Great job Buddy!!! Thank you. Larry C
Great video as always, but what I appreciate the most is the attention to the details, good or bad and that is what separates the professionals(good guys) from the rest! Keep workin strong!
Plate compactors are area compactors, jumping jack compactors are semi point compactors, and vibrations roller type compactors are point compactors. Point compactors can compact the heavier lifts, next are semi point and last are area compactors. Wall Engineers also need to know soil types! Wall builders need to know soil types also. Permeable and non permeable soils and then there is select soils. Non Permeable soils are used to cap the wall preventing water from entering. Non Permeable can be used for backfill depending on surcharge type. For high surcharge walls select soils are used. Select soils are typically gravels as they allow higher compaction and can be compacted to 95% or better proctor.
Great video again Stan. Well edited and great information. I don't do walls much and small if I do, however you did an excellent job showing and explaining. Great work by those guys.
Nice video and I learned some things. I've only done walls and ground support with steel, concrete, and timbered cribbing. Also have done some rock Boulder walls and rock filled screen baskets for soil stabilizer. Even did some cribbing in underground mine ground support. Mine was more for just stability and heavy use and not aesthetic like the wall in this video. That wall in your video is very beautiful and I like that your crew looking at the block tolerances. Very nice job and video was good.
A trick we do is putting 2 x 10s on edge held up with 2 long concrete stakes right at the transition point from drain rock to native soils. After we put 6 to 8 inches of materials in we slide the boards up to the next lift. End up saving a bit of expensive rock over a build
On a wall like this why not just use all clean stone for the backfill area. I understand that on a large wall you need to use soil at some point along with drainage aggregate. However with this small of a cut we would have just filled back with all 3/4 clear, and it would have speed up the backfilling and compacting process way more.
Not sure if I miss it, but adding a layer of filter fabric between the stone and backfill soil is actually helpful to prevent fine migration into your drainage layer, particularly the backfill looks silty and clayey in this video. Overall, great clip!
I love these guys. we put a drainage chimney with a perf pipe and clean out to eliminate water pressure from pushing the wall over, and these guys have us seal it off with a barrier that silts up and holds the water back which eventually pushes the wall over. so when all that silt is stopped by the filter fabric how do I change the filter?
When I worked on large commercial walls, we backfilled and compacted in 8" lifts,and stacked no more than 4 courses at a time. Grid rows were backfilled,compacted,then sprinkled in minus to the elevation required to lay the geo grid flat. They were primarily versa lok and keystone walls. Myself I prefer working with Rockwood
Yes, the fishcars snips are the bomb. I've been installing retaining walls since 2005 and this info is bang on, as most walls fail due to the pressure of the fill used on the back of the wall. I also don't use the crappy big o drainage pipe, I just make sure I have the 2 feet of 3/4 clear crush behind the wall at least to the height of the block, then fill with soil to the top of the cap.
I may have told you this story before. My grandpa used to say it's easier to do it right the first time than explain why not later. Good to see the crew again. As always good luck and God Bless.
@@Dirtmonkey he was special WWII pow who came back and became a machinist shop foreman and at one point union steward worked for 1 company for 25yrs moved to more of supervisory position at a second company retired from both. He loved my grandma so much he bought her a farm and commuted for 12 yrs you would have liked him he'd have loved your uncle
Everytime I watch these videos, I remember a neighbor down the road from me did a short wall and that thing is doing the wave and I always, I mean always thanks to you, keep thinking that the base wasn't packed right and the first course wasn't leveled either.
You're right. Specially in terms of warranty, you don't want to screw it up. Just put a fabric between the compacted soil and the drain-pebbles. Keeps pebbles free from plant-roots.
I've been in construction since my families construction buissiness back in the 80d's and I've gotta say my father and grandfather you and I all have the same mindset ! Do it correct or don't do it at all ! I'm 3rd generation and proud of it , the people in our trade now days have no clue !
Great video as always. I love your guys attention to detail. Every wall I've built here in NJ always has fabric between the soil and stone. Why don't you use fabric. Also the architects here have us put the geogrid every two courses.
We often design these SRW (segmented retaining walls) for clients using software provided by the block manufacturer or commercially available design software. Remember that the components of a proper design is knowing the soil type (clay/sand/loam, etc.) and the height and surcharge factors. Most software will ask for these items along with some specifics of the wall units. Gravity walls (no reinforcement grid) can sometimes be constructed without high compaction to maintain drainage ability (hydrostatic pressure relief) and are limited to about 3-4 feet exposed height. When soils are questionable (high organic content, etc.) its best to get it evaluated by a geotechnical engineer (subset of civil engineering) that will often design the wall as well as certifying the backfill in-situ soils. Most municipalities will require a sealed plan set for the wall which will help cover the installer should a failure occur (design or install flaw). The mistake that some folks make is the backfill material (retained soil) is mostly topsoil and not structural backfill. Compaction to 95 to 98% standard proctor (adequate moisture content) is the key to stability and performance. This compaction should be maintained up to the drainage backfill to prevent settlement behind the wall, creating a low spot for drainage to settle then heave out the wall. Smaller lift compaction (4") is wise with the type of compactor shown in the video. Higher walls that are built usually use larger rollers (sheep's foot or vibratory) behind the installed course to keep things moving. If you choose to have software help with the design, make sure you know the soil phi angle (usually around 30 degrees), and select the Rankine theory for design criteria. That will get you close to the target before handing it over to a PE for final design and sealed plans.
All true- but I haven't talked to an engineer yet that will clarify the compaction within 3 feet of the wall. That means their is 2 feet of uncontrolled fill going in that in my opinion NEEDS to be compacted
@@Dirtmonkey In my opinion, the backfill should be compacted all the way to the wall including the drainage backfill. In my area, drainage backfill is about 1/2" screen with no fines that allows drainage even if compacted. Loose or placed backfill will settle and leave a depression behind the wall which could trap water within the soil increasing pressure and potentially causing failure.
I don’t know how some do it but for us we recommend any backfill behind retaining walls must be compacted with the exception of the drainage area, and the soil must meet a certain gradation which is why most of the time all stack block retaining walls that we over see get backfilled with rock screen
Apparently Stan only believes the reach of RU-vid to include his local county. Or (and this is possible) Stan believes that the laws of his local county apply to the entire United States. Or maybe the whole world?
Hey ey stan, hope all is well, another busy week done and over with, my birthday is next week, august 23rd, gonna be the big 19 this year, man time sure does fly by, where have lol he good years gone, oh well, we all gotta grow up sometime, hope you have a a fantastic weekend stan, god bless and go get em, your pal and freind Alexander costa
As a builder from Northern England with more than 40 years experience I find these methods great and generally something we don't do especially dry blockwork??? no cement ???
"...if i was a homeowner, saving up for a wall, all excited and shelled out a bunch of money for it.." I give you an incredible amount of credit for thinking like this. I just paid over 20K for a concrete job on a shop building I've been working on/planning/saving for for years now. It's a difficult amount of money to spend, but it makes you appreciate the results all the more. Then you end up with a lumpy floor and it kills the buzz real hard/fast.
We used to call it bridging when the first couple of inches of rock compacts and bridge is over uncompacted Rock, I always try to use water sparingly when compacting gravel
One thing that would make your videos is to use a gem Brel to keep your camera jerking around and seeing all the blur and causing dizziness. I saw this on Andrew Camatara in one of his B listed videos where he went in depth with one of these wonders. Just a suggestion to have a steady control of your camera at all times even while running no bouncing. Thanks and keep up the otherwise excellent work.
We are Geo-Technical, Structural and Civl engineers, as well as having a Geologist in house. You make many great points. Most jurisdictions do not require engineered walls that are 4' and under. Above that height, most jurisdictions require an engineered design or design, engineer inspections and engineeed stamped letter at the conclusion. I would add to your solid offering of knowledge, the base ground needs to be of good bearing capacity as you start to put in your #57 stone base and leveling pad (we use 24" wide and 8" thick). We always bury at least one block, which is needed for taller walls and even benched walls. The 4" perfed drainage pipe and the base is very important running parallel to the wall placed at the bottom in the #57 stone. The soil to be used to construct the wall is very important. It should not be organic (top) soil. No roots or stones in the backfill. It should be a compactable material. It MUST be dry. Wet clay soil will not compact. Sandy soils can be more wet as long as they are contained when compacting. A heavy plate compactor is best for sandy soils. A sheeps foot compactor is best for clay or weathered stone type of backfill. The shorter soil 'lifts' give the best compaction. Your points are right about only the top inches compact. The soil below will be loose. It should have a minimum of 12" of stone drainage field behind the block. You can also use massive amount of #57 stone where needed. Always begin the compaction starting 12" from the block and work away from the block. Starting at the opposite end of the grid and moving closer to the block with each pass both loosens the geo-grid and as the earth compacts it will put pressure on the stone and the block. A good rule of thumb for grid is one foot for one foot (a 4' wall uses 4' long grid (measured at the rear of the block not including what is in the block). With surcharges or benching, we extend the grid to assure holding power. The geo-grid MUST be pulled tight and stapled down with we suggest landscape staples. Walkng on the grid can loosen it if not careful. Never drive and turn a skid steer on the grid as it pulls it loose and can pull it out of the block. If the grid is loose, the wall can move. Weep holes (4" pipe should be placed every 20' approximately to assure no water building up behind he wall. Geo-grid comes in various weights. We recommend #3 grade as a base and go to #5 when the wall reaches over 8'. As conditions get more 'iffy', we might go to #8 grid. These are the basic rules of building these walls. Based on the video, I can see that Stanley and Company follow all of the content I just listed.
Another entertaining one! I think the compaction thing with the engineers is just caution because of the elastic compression of soils. Soils have lateral forces as depth increases. If you think of a dam or really big wall they even design those with a much wider base. The grid you put in helps mitigate some of those forces, holding the wall to the earth even as the earth is pushing the wall. But there are a lot of factors and force is even different for each type of soil. So the engineers likely err on the side of extreme caution in their calculations.
I've done construction engineering inspections on MSE walls and they're about 30 times the envelope you're dealing with. We don't allow heavy equipment, only plate tamps to compact #57 stone within 3' of the wall face. But, I suppose it's different on smaller walls
I'm glad it was said attention to detail is important. Way to many people and contractors say things like ( I can't see it from my house) or ( oh well who cares)
thank you for explaining the need for a civil engineer with the proper training. I had to explain this to my mother the other day, yes I have a degree in civil engineering, no i cannot design your retaining wall.
~~ 8 Years?!? That goes for every state? I wonder how many contractors/landscapers that don't know that? More so,wonder how many do&the % of those who actually inform customers of that as well? P.S. Looking good their Sir. Hope situation(s) w/thieves is settled&done too.
Near the end of the wall up by the house I notice there is a downspout. Take care to address that as that represents a relatively large point source of water and the drainage layer may not deal with that so well unless it was specifically considered in the design of the wall and drainage. Also, the retained soils look clayey and I would have expected a layer of fabric to be installed between the open drain aggregate and the soil backfill you were compacting to prevent migration of the clay soil fines into the drainage stone.
2:54 That is exactly how you use a skid steer to backfill, everyone one wants to jus dump it, you get too much over here or too little over there and you end up just shoveling it anyway, doing the correct way you get exactly what you need in the right place, and yes smaller lifts makes for better compaction, I spent 10 years learning to do it the correct way. I never failed a compaction test.
Dammm🤣🤣 at the 10:00 mark... We did this on a job the inspector dammmmm that's genius... I'm going every single day to this other job for every course... 😂 😂 😂.. I'll direct link you this job.. Everything you are saying is exactly what I be saying...
I learn important details and tips on how to make the work more efficient. Quick question, how many employees do you have? Ps, all your guys seem to be on top of their things - great team!
I really wish there was a Versalock plant somewhere even close to Wyoming. The only blocks that I can buy locally are hollow; there are no non-hollow blocks available. What would you suggest for me to do? Use the hollow ones but put large aggregate in them? What about filling with them with concrete (even tho that would be super expensive)?
If the structure of the retaining wall is concrete or masonry freshly built, the vibration of a big rammer will degrade the resistance streghth and weaken the wall. THAT IS WHY YOU DO NOT INCREMENT THE PASSIVE PUSH OF THE SOIL WITH EXCESIVE VIBRATION TO COMPACT THE SOIL.. One should compact it in small lifts and with low energy vibration. If one leaves the backfill soil without compaction, it will settle and erode in a short time.
Glad to see your crew do something that is not seen much in todays world. That is taking pride in your work. I do a lot of repairs in the irrigation industry and I see things that have been done sloppy or in a hurry every day! It floors me that people apparently aren’t teaching their kids to take the time and do things right. I like to look back at my work and be proud of what I did. I have found that customers will appreciate it and reward you handsomely for it.
Crazy... We specialize in retaining walls out here in the bay area.. I know exactly what you are talking about. We use to build and still do these versa lok blocks. I said the exact same thing.. It just doesn't make sense. I also, tell clients try to get someone that knows in the field building practices. Not just punching in numbers. I have had clients send me plans, I'll take a look at them send them back on my recommendation.. Save them thousands of dollars.. The structural engineer will be heated.😡😡 I just simply say will it work or not? It's always yes but.. I'm like we save the clients money why are you 😡. Just punch the numbers in and let's go.. Nice video #standaman👍🏼😡
I've never written NOT to compact the soil within the first four feet of material behind the face of the wall...We simply do NOT recommend heavy equipment trek near the face of the wall because it can cause the face to get damaged due to geogrid damage or from internal stability loss.
I'm a home owner DIY guy. I have a house with some structural issues and I need a retaining wall designed. You can't get an engineer of any kind to call back. You have to be a big contractor that has an engineer in house to do it all. So I just wing it after educating myself with vids like this. So far ok. Thanks!
If your city doesn't require permits and the wall isnt over 6 ft tall ,I would bypass the engineer. The wall system's are pre engineered anyway. As long as you follow the manufacturer's specifications you'll be ok
Stan, any chance you could work that movers and shakers song you used to use in your videos into a future video? It’s a jam and I can’t remember who sings it.
I’m assuming it’s from water filling soil pore spaces in the ‘no pack’ area. If it’s compacted heavily, the clay soil creates a perched water table and weight then pushes on the wall. Further, carbonates could build up via irrigation water and amplify the problem more. Now you build your walls the right way so I doubt this could ever happen. But maybe that’s why engineers say don’t pack.
Why doesnt the skid operator bring the block to the installer? If the skid operator kept the blocks close to the wall height and walked the skid with the installer it would save the arms and backs of the installers, right? Less L&I claims too over time...
Kurt is spot on, all of the fill should be compacted with an appropriate sized compactor, and it should be engineered fill, not topsoil. Second, you should absolutely have a filter fabric between the compacted fill and the drainage stone, if not it will likely clog the drainage stone over time and create hydrostatic pressure. There should also be sock pipe at the base of the drainage to provide a low head path for the water to exit, following the grade contour to the lowest point of the wall footing. Engineers are not always wrong, we just have specific design criteria for different types of projects and those details get re-used inappropriately. If your wall is over 3' with no surcharge or any height with significant surcharge you should have an engineer design it. Also, what hasn't been mentioned here is global stability. If you have a wall of significant height, say 8' or higher, and if the soil below and in front of the wall is weak, your design has to consider this or you will have a failure at the toe of the wall or an overturn failure. The pressures that exist inside a retaining wall are not to be taken lightly and can result in serious personal injury or property damage. I will agree, that not all Civil Engineers are experienced with designing SRW's, so you are best to use one who regularly does them.
Stan & Co.- Even though I am in the Roofing and Firewood business, I can tell you that these videos come in handy- I have 2 client-turned-friends that are dealing with retaining wall issues. ( one is adding the wall to an existing driveway to control flooding and mudslides, the other is in the process of building a home that is on the side of a hill) While I'm told that befriending clients is usually not such a wise business idea, I really like being able to call up my "friends" and recommend content like this for them to watch and learn from. Both guys have learned about the design and techniques of retaining wall construction, ( because of your video ) and both think I'm a fart smeller (smart feller) for having this info available... All hail RU-vid and lucky timing!!! ("GB&GG" is still the best advice of all!)
The wall tapers down to an end along the driveway. I would have though you need a 'tooth' well down into the ground at the end of the wall. With the long radius of the wall,, all or nearly all forces will be transmitted to that end of the wall. Conversely,,, you may not want to securely anchor that end to allow movement. ???? I am a builder,, so I have only constructed just a few retainer walls. AS a child (I started early) I was taught if you go 6 feet up,, the base is more than 6 feet back into the hill. My bases back into the hill have always been mass. The finished pretty stuff goes on the face,, often dry laid well selected and situated boulders,,, and what is behind if what ever rubble fill,, stone,, broken concrete, small crushed stone or concrete infill,, but total width at any height is greater than the height at that point. In 60 years, none of mine have moved
Have used Falco for years, buy different end up throwing away and go back to my Falcos have had forever, kep clean and sharped and maybe keep long enough change blade.
You need a respirator that you’ve been fit tested for. The silica dust you can’t see (microscopic) is what will kill you over the long run. That mask isn’t stopping anything. Furthermore, you could wet cut or use a vacuum. OSHA will fine you handsomely for letting the dust fly like that.
You guys really are the 1% when it comes to contractors paying attention to the details, I have yet to find that person living here in NOVA. A lot of good contractors but they just fall short to the end product and attention to details. Things that make you as the customer scratch your head and think why?
Just do what I do. I build it like it needs to be built and then I sketch it up and send it to them and tell them they need to change their drawings to match this and put your stamp on it. But be ready cause they're gonna get all pissy about it.
Is there any concern for ground water backing up and applying pressure to the back side of the compacted soil band, unable to get to and perk slowly through the rocks?
