Selecting and Modifying Versa-Lok Standard Blocks

so here he's packing the reinforcement zone with our bigger packer you'll also notice that we typically use the same block on every one of our products and that's the versa lock standard and the reason we use that is simply put it is the only solid block on the market that is also pinned and that gives us just the confidence knowing that we're getting a good solid connection from one block to the next now you'll have options with blocks and i want you guys just to kind of put your just to put it on your radar screen to know how blocks actually physically connect together a lot of blocks don't have pins and what happens is they rely on gravity and weight to stick together and sometimes they'll have a little tiny lip that runs along the back side of those blocks you can go to any one of the big box stores and flip a block up and you'll see that little lip and what that lip does is that lip provides uh this the connection so that the block can't slide up and over so there'll be a if this is the the block and then there's a block underneath that this block will slide hit this block that lip will stop it but what happens if that lip comes off there's nothing so now these two blocks just are having a slip and slide over the top of each other and those lips do come off those lips come off with just nothing much heavier than something like this we call it a chipping hammer so when we want to knock that lip off intentionally when we got to use those blocks for base we take a little chip and hammer and we just go tap tap tap tap tap tap along the back of the block and the lip shatters right off and now we've got a flat block on the bottom that we can base with and it was when i came to the realization one day as i was tapping that back of that block off to base with them that this might not be the best connection method when i'm starting to build walls that are 9 11 15 25 feet tall and that's when i started to i first used the versa lock standard units and i've been sold ever since i it is in my book they have not improved upon the design and i've been using these same blocks for 20 some years but we've got a lot more video coming