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Stesso

Install and Compact Base Material

2:20
4:22
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At 2:20 in

How to build a Retaining Wall

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What happens here

For the foundation of the new retaining wall, 3/4 inch clear angular stone is used as the base material. The video emphasizes that this type of stone is superior to rounded pea gravel or Class 5 aggregate. The angular nature of the stone allows it to interlock tightly when compacted, creating a very strong and stable base that resists shifting and rolling, even with significant water flow. This interlocking property is critical for preventing differential settlement in the retaining wall, which can lead to structural failure. After spreading the stone, a light compaction is performed to further lock the material in place. This same angular stone will also be used as drainage material behind the wall.

Goal: Create a strong, stable, and well-draining foundation for the new retaining wall sections.

Tools and materials

  • Plate Compactor — Compacting the angular stone base to create a dense, stable foundation
  • Rakes — Leveling the base material
  • Shovels — Spreading the base material evenly

What they say

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is the base since we're at this point I want to point out what we use for base material we use 3/4 clear uh angular Stone the reason we use 3/4 clear angular Stone over a p rock or a class 5 is for one simple fact strength when we put these Stones together what happens is their angular nature locks in place we then do a light pack over the top of it and then this rock can't go anywhere if we used the P rock or we use a different type of rock for the base material if we had a lot of water going through it what can happen is those P rocks or those circular Stones can tend to roll and shift and when those stones are moving they're loosening up all the soil around it that can create differential settlement in the retaining wall and that's something we want to avoid a simple trick to avoid that is to use the same material behind the wall for the drainage Zone as we do for the base zone so that's what we use for the base we have this all set up we're going to give it a light compaction and we're going to be ready to start basing onto the old wall we're back at the site and

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