Backfill with Structural Soil and Compact
At 14:53 in
How NOT to build a Retaining wall
What happens here
After placing the first course of blocks, fill the area behind the wall with structural soil, carefully sorting out any organic materials. A Kubota R30 loader is used to transport and dump the structural soil, which is then spread evenly by hand using shovels and rakes. Following spreading, a vibratory plate compactor (Wacker brand) is used to thoroughly compact the soil in 6-inch lifts. The 'Dirt Monkey' explains the importance of sorting structural soil (non-organic) from organic topsoil, as structural soil provides stability while organic material can decompose and cause settlement issues. This process of adding geo-grid, blocks, structural soil, and compaction is repeated for subsequent layers of the wall.
Goal: Stabilize the retaining wall by properly backfilling and compacting structural soil behind the blocks.
Tools and materials
- Kubota R30 Loader Kubota — Transporting and dumping structural soil
- Rakes — Evenly distributing structural soil
- Shovels — Spreading and leveling structural soil
- Vibratory Plate Compactor Wacker — Compacting structural soil
- Organic Topsoil — Material that needs to be sorted out and not used as backfill
- Structural Soil — Backfilling behind the retaining wall blocks