Common Retaining wall mistakes & how to AVOID THEM, bad designs, bad base, wrong block....#2

Man, I'm seeing stuff for the first time that I've never seen before. All [Music] right. Well, welcome back, guys. Today we got a pretty packed show for you cuz we are going to walk you step by step how to base your own retaining wall block. We're going to take all the mystery out of what you do, why you do it, and how you do it. So get ready for that. Plus, we're going to talk in detail about why some landscaping companies like to offer tiered retaining walls. Now, I'm air quoting for a very specific reason because there's something that there's kind of a few red flags, I guess, would be the way I'd say if a landscape company is only offering you a tiered retaining wall, there's a reason and there's uh we want to make sure that you guys fully understand all of the benefits and all the bad things that go along with building a tiered retaining wall. Plus, then today we're going to talk in depth about why these systems are mortless. It's crazy, but there's a rhyme and a reason to that as well. So, without wasting any more time, well, let's start building some retaining walls. Find my fox. I still haven't put the collar on my fox from the last video. Yep. All right. So, we are 4 ft in the air. We're 4 ft up on this retaining wall. We're talking about base because it all starts right here. A a piece of equipment like this is absolutely fundamental to making sure that your base is done the right way because no matter what you do when you go to dig out that bottom of that retaining wall when you hit that raw soil, you're going to loosen it up. So before you do anything else, before you put in your base material, before you do anything, you take that raw soil and you compact it. A packer like this will pack down approximately 8 to 12 in. So, if you happen to make a mistake and dig deeper in a spot than 8 to 12 in, then you'll have to compact in lifts. And a lift basically means that you put in 8 to 12 in of material, compact that, and then come up the rest of your height and pack it. If you put in 2 or 3 ft of soil all at once, this thing won't compact it. It'll pack the top, but it won't leave anything down below compacted and leave it soft. So, let's go actually over to the base, and we're going to show you what we do. Here's actually, you know what? Before we go to the act, our actual base, here we go. This is great right here. This is actually class 5 material. This is recycled class 5. And a lot of guys use this for their base because it's inexpensive. I don't prefer to use this for the base because it's more difficult to work with. So, I want to actually demonstrate something here real quick. When we go to lay a block, we have to get this block perfectly level. We should probably base a block. Thinking we need to base the block. Do we got our basing material? Our our level here, Blaine. Thank Dan. You're not supposed to base blocks between the walls. You're supposed to base them on the walls. Hey Elliot, I mean Xander. All right. So, the reason I don't prefer class 5 is it doesn't have any give. Once it's compacted, you can't change anything. So, I the material that I use is that as the um 3/4 clear because there is enough give, but once it's locked in place, it's solid. But, let me show you some of the criteria we use for basing a block. So, this block is obviously not Wow, that's actually pretty damn close. All right, come on over here and check this out. So when we when we base a block, you got to have your your bubble perfectly in the middle under most situations. Now, it's okay. Now, in this case, if you look, the bubble leans towards the front. That's actually okay, guys. This is kind of odd that this block is actually that perfectly level or I'm just that damn good, which I'm actually not. So, um, a little bit of the bubble leading toward the front means that the block, if this is the face of the block, leans just slightly, just a titch inward. And the reason you want it to lay a titch inward is to compensate for the geog grid that goes on the back side of this block. So, as you lay that geogrid fabric right here, what happens is that typically tends to lift up the next course, kicks the tail end over. So, if you've got a four or an 8ft tall wall and you've got multiple layers of geog grid in there, you need to compensate at the bottom for how much of a forward elevation that geog grid's going to give it. Now, as you lay this block down, this one's going to be off. Okay, so come here. We had our We're perfectly level this way, but now side to side. This is where a lot of guys go wrong. You can see how far this is off. This block needs to come up. This side needs to come up this much to get to level. To do that, we take this is an eight lb dead blow hammer. Is this an eightb bla? I think he went to the gas station. See what happens. Yeah, there he is. Right there. There he is. There's Blaine. There's Blaine. It's an eight pounder. All right. So, to do it, now here's the thing. You don't you can't use a steel mallet on this because if I hit it hit this block with a steel mallet, I would tend to bust this block up pretty darn quick. If you don't have a dead blow hammer, which these costs about 70 bucks, you can use a piece of wood and a framing hammer. So, you put a big old 2x4 right here and then you hit the 2x4 on top of the block and that'll get it level. But really, what you're trying to do is you're trying to beat this down to the right elevation. And you can see the challenge that I'm facing already. I can't get anywhere. You basing this block on class 5. So, if we were going to go base this same block down in the trench on 3/4 clear, you're going to see how much easier it is. Let's do that. Now, I'm not trying to sell you guys on Is it rolling? Yeah. I'm not trying to sell you guys on these blocks, but a lot of you guys have asked what this is. This is called actually a versa lifter and it just creates a handle for the block. Do we need to actually go any further with this wall blade? Uh we're going up from there. We're stepping up there. Stepping up. Okay. So, I just want to demonstrate to these guys how we face a wall. All right. So, as we get down into the trench. Thanks, Bl. So, as we get down into the trench, technically this wall gets stepped up, but I just want to demonstrate how we base the block. Actually, this is going to throw it off. You can see where this grid would throw it off, but anyway, we lay the block in. Now, I'm not going to go through the whole process of basing this block cuz you guys get bored. But side to side, we're going to be level. And then we're actually going to level it to the block next to it. Once we're level, this block is perfectly level with this block and the both the front and the back. And it's level front to uh front to back this way. We're good to go. Onto the next course. Maybe I should just do it. These guys are going to want to see it. You got to give the people what they need. St. Well, they you know what? These guys are going to want to see it. They're going to This is going to help these guys figure out how to do it on their own job site. Just talking about it doesn't do it. Sometimes they just need to see it. All right. Okay. So, you what you guys see me doing is I'm digging this out. That's another reason why I like this 3/4 clear because I can dig this out like this. And if this was class five, this would be pretty tough to do. But because it's this material, I'm not worried about loosening this up because it locks. It's locked into place. It's not going to move. So, there is a a rhyme and a reason why we use this stuff. Okay. Flip this back. We typically wouldn't have geog grid in place already. Going to clean this block up. We don't want any any rocks whatsoever on the surface. Now, this block now is too low. Okay, this side is high. If we look at the level, this side is kicked up. So, this side needs to come down. This side needs to go up. We also got to level it here. You can see where I'm hitting right here. Meaning, my whole block is just a titch low where it marries up to the next block. So, let's actually raise this up. It won't hurt if we bury an extra block down here anyway. Okay. So, now we're the block is pretty level, but now we're just a titch high. Actually, it's it's going to be almost impossible for you guys to see, but this block is just a touch too high. And my level is saying that I'm going up at this angle, and we're definitely too high right here. So, you can see we're we're floating above. Now, the easiest way for me to do this is not to remove materials, but for me to settle this block into place. Now I've got solid contact with this block in the front. I've got solid contact. Nope. Doesn't take a whole lot. Especially with this material. I'm perfectly level side to side. Now come here. You see this? Pretty much level, but it's not perfect. Luckily, this block is not needed, but we might as well do this the right way. I'm going to titch titch off. So, here's at this point in the game, guys. This is going to seem tedious, but if you rush this part, your whole entire wall for the entire length of time you own it is going to be screwed up. This This is the part where I will tell you that basing this one single block will take you as long as building a two to threeft tall wall on top of it. Just putting this one block in. You should be able to stack the rest two to the next two to three feet up as fast as it takes you to get this one block in place the right way. All right. So, pretty much there. As I slide as I slide it across, I don't have any edges. It's not high. It's not low. As I slide it across, it's perfectly flush there. We also can go on the back side, which I'm running out of room. Go on the back side. Come here. Take a look at this real quick. Top down it. Now, do you see where I've got I'm tight here. I've got gap here and I'm tight there. That means this corner needs to be kicked back. And we use the back side of the block because the front side has a rough face to it. And you can't actually go off this and get accurate details. So, that's good enough. It gives you guys the general idea of what it takes to put this base block in, the type of material you use, and why. Um, I hope this is I hope this this level of detail helps you guys out. I'm going to need to know from you guys in the comments down below. You tell me. Is this overkill? Am I going way overboard for you guys losing you? Or is this good stuff for you guys to know? Because this is the stuff that nobody taught me when I was first starting out and I had to figure out over 20. It's also why I hurt every time I step up and down cuz these blocks are heavy. But um okay, so we've covered drainage, we've covered base material, we've covered retaining wall blocks, we've talked about geog grid. Let's let me let me I'm going to take you out. Oh, let's talk about why these things are mortarless. Heat. [Music] You can see right where the drain tile is in place. They've actually mortared this as a preventive maintenance, a preventive measure to try to hold these blocks in place. Man, I'm seeing stuff for the first time that I've never seen before. This whole wall has been mortared. And the reason you don't mortar a wall, a retaining wall like this, is because you want the water to pass through. When you mortar it, the water should flow freely through these holes and out. So, when you mortar it, like you're doing right here, you're stopping. You're blocking that water. And what happens is it it allows the whole wall to fail instead of the just an area behind it. Okay. These blocks are mortarless on purpose. And the reason they're mortarless is because they are designed to let the water flow freely through them through the entire course of the block. As we go behind this wall, if water passes through this drainage zone right here, it's going to it's going to funnel into this whole thing and it's going to weep evenly between every single block. If we had mortared the front face of this wall, what happens is as the water's front coming down and trying to get through, it's being blocked. That water gets trapped and then it can't get go anywhere but push the wall out. Worse yet, if you happen to be in the early spring or late fall where you get the freeze thaw cycles, that trapped water is going to expand and contract and you'll get seasonal movement that's that's almost equal to um anything else that you can experience. So, you've got to actually compensate for the concept if you live in an area where you have winters to to calculate for the seasonal movement that's going to be occurring in the retaining wall. You don't want water sitting in between the layers. You want the water to get in, to get out, to get away. You want the water gone. That's why the drainage zone is so absolutely important and fundamental to the overall success of your retaining wall because it really determines how fast you can get the water away. Water is not your friend in a retaining wall. Not at all. All right, so let's talk about a tiered retaining wall and why this should bring up an immediate red flag to you if you have a contractor that comes out to your site and only offers you a tiered retaining wall. The typical rule of thumb when you're building a retaining wall is that 4T is the maximum height that you can build a gravity wall without permits. And a lot of times what some con uh landscape contractors will do is they don't want to get an engineered retaining wall. And it could be because either they don't want to do the extra work or they're really not qualified to do it. Now I know a lot of guys are going to be screaming and yelling and jumping up and down at the top of the screen. I really don't care cuz the fact of the matter is an engineered retaining wall takes more steps, takes permitting. It takes actually having a certified engineer. And I don't know why I air quoted because you actually do need a certified engineer to design the wall for you in the first place. But here's the benefits of building a single wall versus a terrace wall. A single retaining wall optimizes the space on top and the space on the bottom. The danger with a single wall when you get with a taller wall that may be 6 7 8 ft tall is a trip hazard. So when you're actually building that wall as a contractor, you have to take that into consideration and put some kind of a safety or security measure at the top of that retaining wall, whether that's a fence or a hedro or something else. Now, there are times when a terrace wall is actually right, and that's if you have a customer that wants to have planting space. Now, I'm going to back up so you can see me, but when I'm referring to planting space, I'm talking about the space in between those walls has to be the ideal distance for planting materials. It should be no lower than waist height, and it shouldn't um it shouldn't be too deep that you can't reach and work that bed. Now, a lot of contractors when they're trying to skirt the system and build a terrace retaining wall to avoid the engineering, to avoid the permitting, to avoid all of those things will make the mistake of building a terrace retaining wall too close together. Here's a general rule of thumb. It's not adamant, but this will help guide you guys along the the way. When you build a 4-ft tall retaining wall, the distance from this retaining wall to the next retaining wall is double the height of the bottom wall. That means if you have a 4ft tall wall, you have to go 8 ft back before you can start the next retaining wall. That way, the top retaining wall doesn't put a search charge onto the bottom retaining wall. If you're not that distance apart, you're actually doing more damage by building a terrace retaining wall than if you are a single retaining wall. Here's why. This top retaining wall will eventually blow out and push out the bottom retaining wall. So when you shorten that distance between the two retaining walls, the bottom wall will actually need more geogrid, more fortification than a single retaining wall. Sounds kind of odd, but it's the truth. So, if you have a contractor come out to your site and only offers you terrace options, there may be a whole bunch of red flags that I want you to start to think about so that you guys can make the right decision on your project. There's advantages to terrace walls, there's advantages to single walls, but we but whatever fits your yard is going to be the best fit for you. Yeah. There you go. Now, here's the thing. acting as one unit is absolutely no problem as long as you design it and get the engineering and the permits for it. That's why a lot of times you'll see guys offer terracing as a viable option. It's not because it's better for your project. It's better for them to avoid scrutiny on their construction techniques. Now, in this situation and most retaining walls, I prefer one wall. I prefer to engineer it, build it as tall as we need to, and then put the safety guards in place on top of that wall to make sure that nothing happens to anybody falling over. The reason I like to do one wall whenever possible is because it optimizes the space on the top and it optimizes the space on the bottom and then you don't have this odd distance in between that's difficult for planting. It's difficult for maintenance. It's just becomes an unusable, difficult space. In fact, if you look at this, you can tell nobody's ever done anything with this space between these two walls. It's just wasted yard space.