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Stesso

Laying the First Course and Backfilling

1:15
14:39
161.3K views

At 1:15 in

Retaining walls- what 99% of people don't know

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What happens here

The first course of the retaining wall blocks is being laid. The blocks are placed directly on a base of gravel, ensuring they are perfectly level using a small spirit level. A rubber mallet is used to gently tap the blocks into position and adjust their level as needed. The crew uses string lines to maintain a straight and consistent line for the wall. The blocks are then 'toed in' by adding native soil in front of and behind them, which is gently compacted using feet or a hand tamper.

Goal: Establish a level and stable first course for the retaining wall.

Tools and materials

  • Gravel — Creating a level and stable base for the first course of blocks
  • Hand Tamper — Compacting the soil around the blocks
  • Retaining Wall Blocks Versa-Lok Standard — Constructing the wall itself
  • Rubber Mallet — Gently tapping blocks into position
  • Spirit Level — Ensuring the blocks are perfectly level
  • String Line — Maintaining straightness and alignment of the wall
  • Native Soil N/A — Backfilling and 'toeing in' the blocks

What they say

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holy crap they're so comfortable one of the critical elements to make sure that these blocks stay the way we put them is to tow them in and what we'll use is just some native soils in front and behind the wall and then gently compact them we'll either use a hand packer sometimes we'll just use our feet other times we'll use a 150 pound plate packer but we've got to lock those blocks in place and then set a second row of blocks and pin them down once that second row is set we can start to breathe a little easier around those blocks [Music]

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