Great video! The name of a retaining wall engineer is typically known as a Geotechnical Engineer. As a geotechnical engineer myself, I have designed over 1000 retaining walls. Your videos show the correct ways to construct projects properly. As an engineer, I help my contractors understand the proper way to do these things and why to do it. That way they learn and can carry it on to other jobs that may not need engineering and continue the good habits. This is apparent that you and your crew do this in all your jobs. I greatly appreciate your videos showing the proper way to do things as many contractors don't understand and it leads to problems. To further help your audience with regard to the geogrid, there are 2 main types: Uni axial and Bi axial. Uni axial has strength in one direction and is installed perpendicular to the wall face. The stronger direction of the geogrid is typically the wider or thicker strands of the grid. In the video, you were using a uni axial grid. The biaxial grid has equal sized strands and has the same strength in both directions. I applaud your construction of the corner wall. Having that extra block tail extend out rather than cutting it off gives that corner additional structural integrity. I also want to mention to your viewers the importance of the drain section behind the walls. It is necessary to relieve the hydrostatic pressure (water) buildup behind the wall as it is the #1 reason for wall failure. The hydrostatic pressure is similar to a hydraulic jack that you use to change a tire but also acts horizontally, The groundwater builds up and pushes against the wall and can push it over. The drain section behind the wall pulls the groundwater away and relieves the pressure. This is similar to lowering a car after changing the tire with the hydraulic jack by turning the relief valve and letting the car down. The drain section acts as an open relief valve and drains the water away so the pressure can't build up and topple the wall. The backfield behind the wall also needs to be properly compacted as Stan shows in the video. If the backfill is put in loosely, water will settle it and you can have a large slump of soil shift and blow out the wall. I hope this is helpful and explains a few things that most people don't know. Keep up the great work on your projects and your videos. I look forward to watching more of them. Cheers!
I worked as a geotech engineer for a few years before transitioning over to structural. Both of you guys are correct that a lot of engineer just design it but may not have as much field construction experience to help when constructing the wall. I worked as an inspector for a 30 ft high retaining wall where the contractor didn’t know much behind the design so didn’t notice a mistake in the plans. Goes to show having experience in both phases design and construction helps build anything.
@@KRVKENx I think (but I'm not 100% positive on this) that engineers have to be licensed in the same state that their design will be used in. So you'll need to find an engineer licensed to do such work in your state.
You and your team are top notch. I’m a Carolina boy living in Los Angeles and I can’t for the life of me find a team, company or foreman that takes as much pride in their work as you all do. I’d nearly kill to have you guys in our area. Keep up the great work and videos. You guys give me enough knowledge to know when I’m dealing with unqualified people. THANKS!!
Nice level of detail - folks can always fast-forward past explanations they don't care about, but it's great to have for the people who DO care. Thanks for the quality vids.
@19:00, the reason we state not to compact within 3 feet at the top of the wall is to prevent any expansive material from causing excessive damage to the top of the wall. The structural fill is relatively isolated from the weather, and maintains the same soil moisture levels within a few percent all year round. The top few inches to a few feet depending on your region experiences wild variations in moisture content due to rain, humid weather, dry spells, baking sun, and the like. In northern climates, you get an added complication of frost heave. By leaving the top relatively loose (not so loose as to cause a person to sink in, but not packed solid either), natural settling will leave room for expansion and contraction of topsoil which tends to have higher expansion coefficients to boot. You have done a fantastic job sharing an often overlooked and underappreciated element of engineering. A stone wall will stand the test of time built right, easily into the generations, possibly centureies. "Modern" homes will rot or burn to the ground long before.
I'm a home inspector in Hawaii. I just want to say that i love your content. It is very entertaining and informative. Please continue to make more videos
I'm in the UK on lock down at the moment. Your videos have saved my sanity. Love them, you've got a great team. If you were in the UK you would be my go to builders. Everything on camera, nothing hidden. I wish you and your merry band of men all the best. Please keep posting.
You are better than a so called skilled Instructor. I appreciate your time, knowledge and efforts to show people like me how to build retainer walls the proper way and not any old kinda of way. Shalom to you.
Love it, it’s the difference between a penciled whipped engineer and a practical engineer. Just because you understand the physics of how to build a wall doesn’t mean you have the experience of working with the people on the ground who have to install it and the manufacturers who build the materials.
Yeah I think as an engineer or a contractor for that matter to get experience from the other side or at least learn some to where it makes their job easier. Glad I worked as a construction inspector behind designs I made to see how it’s constructed in person
Hands down the most informative video I've ever came across on the topic! You explained What, How, and Why all together in an integral way. Keep up the good work!
I've watched lots of your videos. Yours are the most detailed and educating of any I've found. You supply the needed and essential information that has guided me to build my wall correctly, the first time: and showed me the things to avoid! Good job!!! THANK YOU!
I was just flipping thru channels. After 10 of your videos, I want to build a retaining wall and redo my yard. Great explanations and looks like you have a great crew.
Impressive! I've been building walls for many years. I thought I tended to over-build my retaining walls. After watching this video I realize two things. One, you are a very knowledgable, experienced professional! Two, I could of done better on my jobs. Thanks for the education and motivation!
I'm a civil engineer doing a masters in Geotechnical Engineering, and there's a specific class for designing retaining walls. The class is called Earth Retaining Structures, and so far we've learned about 20 different types. Yes, soil type matters, the type of backfill, soil slope above the wall, construction method, space available for construction, typical groundwater elevation, and so forth and so on. Most retaining walls are either cut or fill walls, and either externally or internally stabilized. The type shown in the video is a fill wall with an internally stabilized mechanism. The type of facing is modular block, and the soil is retained using a geogrid or geotextile. Curious enough, the blocks are mostly aesthetics and do not function as an structural element for supporting the soil
Love the subject, Lots of so called contractors need to see you build a wall properly, Guys this is the RIGHT WAY!!!!!! Don't short change the client or your COMPANY'S Reputation. Back to the point Yes keep up the shows, Kevin Kevlar Construction Inc, Charlton Massachusetts
i saw this video a year ago and was blown away and lost. but after getting the concept down I can really understand it better. you do an excellent job of explaining everything. you actually MAKE people want to build it the right way by explaining in detail. im about to do my own sloped driveway retaining wall because the cinder block and mortar one from 1969 is leaning badly. but after rewinding this video a gabillion times and really taking in everything you said...I get it lol!! A1 video bro!!!
Thank you, this was incredibly helpful. The last time i built a retaining wall it was 20 years ago and the materials and my previously learned methods have definitely changed.
Always enjoy your videos and how straight up you are about doing it the right way. It's your name on line and the right way is selling yourself... I see so much crap out in the field
Stan, with regard to the formula for rock tonnage, you're making things more difficult than they need to be. sq.ft.X200/2000=sq.ft./10 Simplify and just divide your square footage of wall surface by ten and that gives you the needed tonnage of rock. that 64 tons or rock told me that the square footage of the wall in question is 640 square feet without calculator, or paper and pencil, simply because, mathematically, times 200 divided by 2000 equals divided by 10. Try it both ways and tell me I' wrong! I know you're here to help make things go as smoothly as possible for everyone in the business, so here's my contribution to that concept! I lone your channel, especially as a fellow native Twin-Citian myself, and I'm glad I subscribed! God bless!
The wall looks good. I like the finish look. I myself, am an old school mason that builds off your typical retaining wall with rebar and concrete. They are always overbuilt to me, but I build the way the detail shows. I have never had any of my walls fail in over 39 Years. I will say this though. I have seen one of these geo grid retaining walls fail in California. The wall was built by another Contractor and was approximately 20' high and was on the (South side of the property). . The block units looks similar to what you are doing. The wall was around 1500' long with about 20 homes above it. I built a 14" retaining wall with rebar and concrete with a 10' wide x 2' thick footing with #-9's @ 8" on center at the highest part of the wall. The footing also had a 6' deep key at the toe x 12" wide with rebar also. My wall was 330' long and was built on the (West side of the property) My wall was permitted and inspected throughout. The wall was 14' high down to 3.5' high. Anyways, the geo wall that was built by others on the ( South side) failed and started to slip out. All the new homeowners had issues with there backyards slipping outward towards the hillside. They were not permitted by the city to build any pools or structures like patios during this nightmare of a time. It turned into a big litigation and I was not held responsible myself for it. After doing a walk thru with all those involved who even touched the geo wall in any way, I inspected my wall from top to bottom and it was solid as a rock. No defects at all. My point is that I am skeptical for geo retaining walls in certain situations. I would recommend 100% that which ever wall a property owner decides to build, a geo wall or a rebar and concrete built wall, is to make sure its Engineered and is stamped for that job. That way, if there is ever "Liability" it goes back to the Engineer. If there isn't an Engineered detail with a stamp, the person doing the wall assumes all responsibility. Brian M.
We stay busy fixing improperly installed hardscaping. No geogrid, proper drainage, etc. You cannot cut any corners on installs if you want them to last. Great video Stan!
Much better video. Better job of discussing specifics and making sense. Wondering why that original wall material didn’t push into the block wall foundation on that house. I also like your comment that codes, inspectors, and permits don’t give a crap about keeping a wall from failing... good job!
I absolutely love this videos for the amount of detail you put into your explanations. So many people skim over important things or just don't use all of the proper techniques and science. By far the best retaining wall videos on youtube. Thanks so much and keep making them if there's somehow any way to add new information!
I'm considering doing a few retaining walls on my property (myself) and this video was great. Love your vids and enjoy watching them. As an amateur landscaper I enjoy them immensely!
Two quick questions - What is the max slope you can have at the top of a retaining wall? Also, how high are the compacted soil lifts, every two blocks? Thanks for the awesome video.
This was an excellent demonstration of an incredible retaining wall done in the most professional way imaginable. I’m fixing to erect a couple of retaining walls. One will be about 3 feet tall another approaching 6 feet. So your educating video is right on target for me! Thank you, Stan.
Better than the average bear! Good work. You are helping raise the standard. The transition compaction talk is good. I would suggest the backfill lifts keep up with the block lifts to assure good compacted stone fill between the block. Manufacturers typically recommend doing one entire lift at a time to get more consistent compaction without transition zones. Heavy compactors shouldn't be closer than 3 feet behind the wall. Most Manufacturers recommend a small walk-behind plate compactor in the drainage zone. You might add some advice about drainage. I saw it in the drawings. Also, talk about the footer. Good Job.
Great Video, the just of this piece is to use a Civil Engineer with a retaining Wall specialty. Surcharge as explained: Any elevated load that is level with the top of retaining wall. I am pretty sure this question will be on the Landscaping Contractor Exam.
Your wall should never be angled it should be completely level... If you put lean on it it will just be exagerated in the finish product specially the higher you go. So the proper way would be to step back
Perfect video. More info the better. I didn’t know how to compact and prep for rain. This caused destruction on a wall(base became soup and had to be redone) I was doing last year(first one over 4’). I learned the hard way and got kicked off the property because the home owner lost faith in me(don’t blame him). The more technical info given visually the better.
You have made a fan of me with your details and explanations. A true craftman can and will explain everything, including do's and don'ts. I wish you where in Los Angeles for the project I have that is similar to this one. My double retailing wall holds up a higher elevated back yard to a house. I want a single retailing wall.
This is exactly what I'm repairing. Wall was too high. They stepped back way too little and went up more and none of it had drainage or geogrid. They just ran landscape fabric behind to hold back the fill sand and the whole hill was fill. I cut it down to 4' at it's highest point and built a new one 8'+ back that doubles as the perimeter of my paver patio so I back filled with compacted recycled class 5. Also, my new wall is only 21" including the buried course.
I enjoy your videos a lot, about everything. Around here we just don't see retaining walls, very rarely. The exception is some large commercial jobs here and there building on mountains to make a flat surface. On the residential side we may see some 2-3' high retaining walls only a dozen feet long. Not sure why, I live in Connecticut and the terrain is far from flat.
Great video. I built a few small retaining walls in college for my employer at the time, who didn’t teach me (and likely didn’t know) any of this information. The walls still stand today, but I wish I knew this information then.
i know all of those things you talked about but i never went to college or any engineer class. i learn by applying Experience and a lot of common sense.
I had an excavating contractor building my large, three car garage up to grade. Pre-cast concrete walls up to the sill and he needed to put in FOUR FEET of fill. He put it all in at once and when I pulled onto the job site he had just started compacting it with a small plate compactor. I told him to take out all the fill, put it back in 6" lifts and compact thoroughly between lifts. He told me that it would settle on its own - absolutely right and as it would settle my garage floor would have cracked into big chunks of rubble - just like every house near me. I insisted and he complied. I then told him that I had owned a large sand and gravel operation for 15 years and knew a little bit about soil and compaction. From then on, I had to sit there and baby sit this PIG because he couldn't be trusted to skip proper compaction because he wanted to do what most PIG contractors do - cut corners to make more money and the hell with the person whom they're working for. It was this job that gave me a different perspective on many contractors - they are pond scum and either don't know how to do things correctly or don't wish to do things correctly. If I ever build another house, I'll be the GC and will carry a whip and a gun!
I like the way that inside corner turned out. Its always better to build out a little more like you did. You have a good worker there. Hold on to him. Brian M.
What are your opinons on soil separation between the drainage aggregate and the soil behind it? Obviously, it is not possible in this application because of the geogrid. TLDR: Will the dirt migrate over time and fill the gravel with dirt?
Your videos are very informative and very useful for those of us new to this area. The information you have shared is so valuable for us to understand the process, the amount of work, and material that goes into retaining walls done right. I highly recommend your videos and appreciate you sharing this information. Thank you.
I learn a LOT from your videos so _Thank_ _You_ @19:38 if someone on your crew had Carpenter experience then prior to building the retaining wall that holds the car, the vertical trim of the corner of the house could have been widened so that the slope of the retaining wall would still show only the house corner trim for the entire height instead of exposing the house wall with a slim triangle.
Thank you for your detail explaination. I am in the process of getting ready to build my wall and all your wisdom is really appreciated. I am from Trinidad WI.
How critical is the need for the 4 inch perforated drainage piping? From what I have heard, it is only a last resort for water to exit... But if there is more than enough drainage aggregate behind the wall, there should be no water in the pipe ever. Great videos as always Stan
Love the video! Great seeing folks that take pride in what they do, do it right and align to a system. Wish we had more of.this showing the youth of today what it means to be a blue collar professional. Inspiring.
First, I live in NE Ohio where the weather has an impact on everything. I moved into a my current home in 2015. The house is 65 years old and I have a garage that was built 63 years ago. It is similar to a bank barn in that there is a upper 2 car garage and a lower storage room roughly half the size of the garage. My problem is that the retaining wall that is on the north side of the driveway that leads into the garage has bowed outward. This wall goes from 1ft to roughly 8-9 feet and is around 30ft long. The concrete pad in front of the garage began cracking pretty severely and tilted toward the wall and the ne corner of the garage. My sons rented a mini excavator to remove the concrete and I had them trench around 5ft depth on both the wall and the front of the garage. The fill that was used towards that depth was all kinds of junk concrete, blocks, rocks dirt and top soil. There was no geo-grid used. But that may be because of the age. My dilemma is this, after the trenching was done I discovered that some of the cinder block foundation on the garage by the wall was quite deteriorated meaning that 4 of the top course and 3-4 second and third course. I also discovered that there is a void under the garaged floor of about 3-4 inches due to the ground foundation settling. I contacted a couple of companies who came and looked at the void, who suggested different methods to fill it. One was using foam and the other using a mixture of sand rock and lime. I haven't decided which I will do for the void but as for the wall, do I try to pull the wall back which consists of cinder block, with a red brick face, motor and rebar reinforced, using GeoLock Anchors or tear it down and have a new one built. I am retired, on a fixed income and I can't qualify for a loan to pay for an exorbitant amount to re do the wall. Any suggestion on what I have mentioned, the void under the floor and the wall would be appreciated. Thanks....
Great video - I thought the level of detail was great. If you ever have a project where you are building a new concrete retaining wall a few feet behind an existing modular retaining wall, I’d love to see the video in that. Thanks!
Instantly my favorite video I've watched from you so far. Please, more of these technically oriented videos would be great! Also, the new video camera is fantastic! Great video!
I love ya man but I have one critique and its the biggest pet peeve I have...... Flex pipe for the wall drain my brotha!!! Yes solid is a bit of a pain but its so much more durable and it dont get clogged with sludge like the flex don't know how much of that flex I've replaced and everything failed cause the bottom drain was clogged
Awesome work man ! I do retaining walls and pavers ! I just recently started tuning my own crew .. we re building a sea wall now in Florida on a golf course and it’s new experience even for my company .
I really like watching your vids. I will be building or having a wall built next year I hope. Need a 10ft by 100ft wall built so its going to need to be engineered for sure. So I appreciate these vids. Very informative.
Stan, Could you go over building a retaining wall on a slope? Specifically on the construction of the base, and what the method behind stepping up and down is? Say I want a flat, even top, but the ground is sloping downwards. How do I step the base up/down? How low do I go? Etc
Stanley, I really appreciate all the videos you have put on here! Wish I could see one with an outside 90 degree corner with the Versa Lok Blocks to see the step by step how you do it. Doing my wall now here in Nova Scotia, near Halifax, and find that the advice I got from the company who sold me the blocks leaves me with alternating half blocks to glue together, without the possibility of putting the pins in. Hope it works well. Have lots of drainage stone (the 3/4 clear that you praise). Thanks again for these videos! Mike
Excellent video.... more like it would be greatly appreciated. For example... what do you do for different soil types like mostly clay in a moderate climate with frequent rain and snow....
Great video! Im new to landscape install work and that was very helpful. Going to be installing a new retaining wall here shortly. Looking forward to using your tips and tricks for the job. Keep up the good work! Thank you
Love your videos, you give it straight with no bs! I would love to see more on the base layer French drain. Do you have to run it off somewhere? Also a time lapse of the build up behind a wall would be killer!
Very nice job. I wish you were in my area of NC. I need three good size retaining walls constructed. You did a very through job of explaining the retaining wall process. Thanks for the video. Take care and God bless.
Excellent content and production. Please do one on residential driveway culvert retaining walls; specifically cover drainage, dynamic load, and how to do the base.
I got one question. Why are there no geotextile to separate the drain rock from the soil? So the rock don't mix with soil over time. This is to keep the rock from free from the smallest particles so you keep the drainage as effective as possible. It's all about the capillary effect :)
fabrics "absorb" soil over the years preventing rainwater from flowing through and into the rock backfill quick enough resulting in a muddy mess for days after the rain pases...also the only way dirt could leach into the drain rock backfill is for the rock to be displaced to make room for it. Sharp rock locks together resulting in higher lateral strength,compacted soil has alot lower lateral strength meaning the soil would displace long before the backfill rock.
You literally cannot have a cross-section of geogrid going back 9 feet with geotextile fabric running up vertically. He's got 2 feet (at least) of drainage field behind the wall. I think that's enough room for future contamination.
He explains this in other videos. He never uses Geotextile or other fabrics in a retaining walls because they will always eventually clog. Once clogged the water can buildup as mud behind the fabric and blowout the wall. At least that’s the way I understand it.
Full of good info. Very nice video. I never thought about not compacting the 3ft where you put the stone. I didn't know you weren't supposed to do that.
Hi Stan. I have a homeowner question for you. Best way to deal with leafs ? When they all fall down, before the rain, wait until before the snow & its all dry ? Are lawn sweepers worth buying ? Do they actually work like as seen on videos
Great video, loved the content. Need more info on next video on how to put together pricing for the wall and how to determine how much material will be needed
I would love to see the full process of one of our retaining wall jobs from start to finish and that was a bad ass vid you covered a lot of info I think when I try to get into landscaping this summer I'm gunna have a pretty good bank of knowledge goin it to the feild
Great video! The name of a retaining wall engineer is typically known as a Geotechnical Engineer. As a geotechnical engineer myself, I have designed over 1000 retaining walls. Your videos show the correct ways to construct projects properly. As an engineer, I help my contractors understand the proper way to do these things and why to do it. That way they learn and can carry it on to other jobs that may not need engineering and continue the good habits. This is apparent that you and your crew do this in all your jobs. I greatly appreciate your videos showing the proper way to do things as many contractors don't understand and it leads to problems.
To further help your audience with regard to the geogrid, there are 2 main types: Uni axial and Bi axial. Uni axial has strength in one direction and is installed perpendicular to the wall face. The stronger direction of the geogrid is typically the wider or thicker strands of the grid. In the video, you were using a uni axial grid. The biaxial grid has equal sized strands and has the same strength in both directions.
I applaud your construction of the corner wall. Having that extra block tail extend out rather than cutting it off gives that corner additional structural integrity.
I also want to mention to your viewers the importance of the drain section behind the walls. It is necessary to relieve the hydrostatic pressure (water) buildup behind the wall as it is the #1 reason for wall failure. The hydrostatic pressure is similar to a hydraulic jack that you use to change a tire but also acts horizontally, The groundwater builds up and pushes against the wall and can push it over. The drain section behind the wall pulls the groundwater away and relieves the pressure. This is similar to lowering a car after changing the tire with the hydraulic jack by turning the relief valve and letting the car down. The drain section acts as an open relief valve and drains the water away so the pressure can't build up and topple the wall.
The backfield behind the wall also needs to be properly compacted as Stan shows in the video. If the backfill is put in loosely, water will settle it and you can have a large slump of soil shift and blow out the wall.
I hope this is helpful and explains a few things that most people don't know. Keep up the great work on your projects and your videos. I look forward to watching more of them. Cheers!
I worked as a geotech engineer for a few years before transitioning over to structural. Both of you guys are correct that a lot of engineer just design it but may not have as much field construction experience to help when constructing the wall.
I worked as an inspector for a 30 ft high retaining wall where the contractor didn’t know much behind the design so didn’t notice a mistake in the plans. Goes to show having experience in both phases design and construction helps build anything.
Very valuable information Greg thanks
Could I pay you to design me a wall?
@@KRVKENx I think (but I'm not 100% positive on this) that engineers have to be licensed in the same state that their design will be used in. So you'll need to find an engineer licensed to do such work in your state.
Does the 3/4 clear and soil need filter cloth between it ? Won’t the soil migrate thru the 3/4 clear over time if there is no filter cloth ?
You and your team are top notch. I’m a Carolina boy living in Los Angeles and I can’t for the life of me find a team, company or foreman that takes as much pride in their work as you all do. I’d nearly kill to have you guys in our area. Keep up the great work and videos. You guys give me enough knowledge to know when I’m dealing with unqualified people. THANKS!!
Nice level of detail - folks can always fast-forward past explanations they don't care about, but it's great to have for the people who DO care. Thanks for the quality vids.
Thanks! 👍 I appreciate the input !
Love it! There's alot of retaining wall "experts" here on the youtube, but you guys are the gold standard
Wow super appreciate that 🙏👊
@19:00, the reason we state not to compact within 3 feet at the top of the wall is to prevent any expansive material from causing excessive damage to the top of the wall.
The structural fill is relatively isolated from the weather, and maintains the same soil moisture levels within a few percent all year round. The top few inches to a few feet depending on your region experiences wild variations in moisture content due to rain, humid weather, dry spells, baking sun, and the like. In northern climates, you get an added complication of frost heave. By leaving the top relatively loose (not so loose as to cause a person to sink in, but not packed solid either), natural settling will leave room for expansion and contraction of topsoil which tends to have higher expansion coefficients to boot.
You have done a fantastic job sharing an often overlooked and underappreciated element of engineering. A stone wall will stand the test of time built right, easily into the generations, possibly centureies. "Modern" homes will rot or burn to the ground long before.
Excellent public service that you provide, educating everyone about this!
I'm a home inspector in Hawaii. I just want to say that i love your content. It is very entertaining and informative. Please continue to make more videos
More to come Hanaro, thanks for all the support!
I'm in the UK on lock down at the moment. Your videos have saved my sanity. Love them, you've got a great team. If you were in the UK you would be my go to builders. Everything on camera, nothing hidden. I wish you and your merry band of men all the best. Please keep posting.
Thanks so much Ethan, all the best to you too!
You are better than a so called skilled Instructor. I appreciate your time, knowledge and efforts to show people like me how to build retainer walls the proper way and not any old kinda of way. Shalom to you.
Love it, it’s the difference between a penciled whipped engineer and a practical engineer. Just because you understand the physics of how to build a wall doesn’t mean you have the experience of working with the people on the ground who have to install it and the manufacturers who build the materials.
Thanks William !
Yeah I think as an engineer or a contractor for that matter to get experience from the other side or at least learn some to where it makes their job easier. Glad I worked as a construction inspector behind designs I made to see how it’s constructed in person
Been a mason my whole life, good to see contractors who care about their work and their customers.
Thanks for watching!
Do it once, do it right, no callbacks, get referrals! Win win!
I've been building Versa-Lok walls over 20 years for the best instructional videos I've ever scene thank you
Your channel should get a TH-cam public service award. TH-cam make this happen and make it be given to all TH-camrs doing something good for people.
Appreciate the great comments , thank you !
No such thing as "too much detail". Well done. Thanks.
No problem 👍 Thanks for watching !
this is definitely the type of video I want to see
Thanks, glad you liked it!
Hands down the most informative video I've ever came across on the topic! You explained What, How, and Why all together in an integral way. Keep up the good work!
I've watched lots of your videos. Yours are the most detailed and educating of any I've found. You supply the needed and essential information that has guided me to build my wall correctly, the first time: and showed me the things to avoid! Good job!!!
THANK YOU!
I have watched 3 segments and have learned so much. KEEP showing the details!!
Will do, thanks a lot !
I was just flipping thru channels.
After 10 of your videos, I want to build a retaining wall and redo my yard.
Great explanations and looks like you have a great crew.
Impressive! I've been building walls for many years. I thought I tended to over-build my retaining walls. After watching this video I realize two things. One, you are a very knowledgable, experienced professional! Two, I could of done better on my jobs. Thanks for the education and motivation!
You're welcome David, thanks !
I'm a civil engineer doing a masters in Geotechnical Engineering, and there's a specific class for designing retaining walls. The class is called Earth Retaining Structures, and so far we've learned about 20 different types. Yes, soil type matters, the type of backfill, soil slope above the wall, construction method, space available for construction, typical groundwater elevation, and so forth and so on. Most retaining walls are either cut or fill walls, and either externally or internally stabilized. The type shown in the video is a fill wall with an internally stabilized mechanism. The type of facing is modular block, and the soil is retained using a geogrid or geotextile. Curious enough, the blocks are mostly aesthetics and do not function as an structural element for supporting the soil
1) how do you start base of wall? 2) how do you determine placement of geo grid? 3) What block do I need?
watch his other videos.
Love the subject, Lots of so called contractors need to see you build a wall properly, Guys this is the RIGHT WAY!!!!!! Don't short change the client or your COMPANY'S Reputation. Back to the point Yes keep up the shows, Kevin Kevlar Construction Inc, Charlton Massachusetts
Appreciate the comments. Thanks !
i saw this video a year ago and was blown away and lost. but after getting the concept down I can really understand it better. you do an excellent job of explaining everything. you actually MAKE people want to build it the right way by explaining in detail. im about to do my own sloped driveway retaining wall because the cinder block and mortar one from 1969 is leaning badly. but after rewinding this video a gabillion times and really taking in everything you said...I get it lol!! A1 video bro!!!
The shirt you're wearing is perfect. You're building a retaining wall; no one expects you to be in a tux! : ) Great video, thank you!
Thank you, this was incredibly helpful. The last time i built a retaining wall it was 20 years ago and the materials and my previously learned methods have definitely changed.
For sure, glad to help Adam!
Everyone loves it when their boss shows up in sandals and a salmon colored shirt unexpectedly
This is great content. Never too much detail when you are talking about building an expensive wall for a customer. Thank you and amazing work.
Always enjoy your videos and how straight up you are about doing it the right way. It's your name on line and the right way is selling yourself... I see so much crap out in the field
Stan, with regard to the formula for rock tonnage, you're making things more difficult than they need to be.
sq.ft.X200/2000=sq.ft./10
Simplify and just divide your square footage of wall surface by ten and that gives you the needed tonnage of rock.
that 64 tons or rock told me that the square footage of the wall in question is 640 square feet without calculator, or paper and pencil, simply because, mathematically, times 200 divided by 2000 equals divided by 10.
Try it both ways and tell me I' wrong!
I know you're here to help make things go as smoothly as possible for everyone in the business, so here's my contribution to that concept!
I lone your channel, especially as a fellow native Twin-Citian myself, and I'm glad I subscribed!
God bless!
I came here to say this :)
Dave Lindstrom your right on!
X 200 isn't that a coefficient of the thickness of the granite/ gravel fill. 🤔
The wall looks good. I like the finish look. I myself, am an old school mason that builds off your typical retaining wall with rebar and concrete. They are always overbuilt to me, but I build the way the detail shows. I have never had any of my walls fail in over 39 Years. I will say this though. I have seen one of these geo grid retaining walls fail in California. The wall was built by another Contractor and was approximately 20' high and was on the (South side of the property). . The block units looks similar to what you are doing. The wall was around 1500' long with about 20 homes above it. I built a 14" retaining wall with rebar and concrete with a 10' wide x 2' thick footing with #-9's @ 8" on center at the highest part of the wall. The footing also had a 6' deep key at the toe x 12" wide with rebar also. My wall was 330' long and was built on the (West side of the property) My wall was permitted and inspected throughout. The wall was 14' high down to 3.5' high. Anyways, the geo wall that was built by others on the ( South side) failed and started to slip out. All the new homeowners had issues with there backyards slipping outward towards the hillside. They were not permitted by the city to build any pools or structures like patios during this nightmare of a time. It turned into a big litigation and I was not held responsible myself for it. After doing a walk thru with all those involved who even touched the geo wall in any way, I inspected my wall from top to bottom and it was solid as a rock. No defects at all. My point is that I am skeptical for geo retaining walls in certain situations. I would recommend 100% that which ever wall a property owner decides to build, a geo wall or a rebar and concrete built wall, is to make sure its Engineered and is stamped for that job. That way, if there is ever "Liability" it goes back to the Engineer. If there isn't an Engineered detail with a stamp, the person doing the wall assumes all responsibility. Brian M.
Include a little detail about the footing construction of this retaining wall, and drainage set up.
We stay busy fixing improperly installed hardscaping. No geogrid, proper drainage, etc. You cannot cut any corners on installs if you want them to last. Great video Stan!
Much better video. Better job of discussing specifics and making sense. Wondering why that original wall material didn’t push into the block wall foundation on that house. I also like your comment that codes, inspectors, and permits don’t give a crap about keeping a wall from failing... good job!
I absolutely love this videos for the amount of detail you put into your explanations. So many people skim over important things or just don't use all of the proper techniques and science. By far the best retaining wall videos on youtube. Thanks so much and keep making them if there's somehow any way to add new information!
I'm considering doing a few retaining walls on my property (myself) and this video was great. Love your vids and enjoy watching them. As an amateur landscaper I enjoy them immensely!
Thanks Joey, I am glad that you enjoy them, hope your walls turn out great!
Two quick questions - What is the max slope you can have at the top of a retaining wall? Also, how high are the compacted soil lifts, every two blocks?
Thanks for the awesome video.
This has been super helpful stan, I'm more of a paver guy, so to see and hear technicalities of retaining walls is awesome
Best retaining wall video on youtube. I've seen a lot of your stuff before but this one got so detailed it really helped me understand. Thanks!
This was an excellent demonstration of an incredible retaining wall done in the most professional way imaginable. I’m fixing to erect a couple of retaining walls. One will be about 3 feet tall another approaching 6 feet. So your educating video is right on target for me! Thank you, Stan.
Better than the average bear! Good work. You are helping raise the standard.
The transition compaction talk is good. I would suggest the backfill lifts keep up with the block lifts to assure good compacted stone fill between the block. Manufacturers typically recommend doing one entire lift at a time to get more consistent compaction without transition zones. Heavy compactors shouldn't be closer than 3 feet behind the wall. Most Manufacturers recommend a small walk-behind plate compactor in the drainage zone. You might add some advice about drainage. I saw it in the drawings. Also, talk about the footer. Good Job.
Setup a camera in the corner and do a timelapse throughout the whole process
im with you on that, but i love this types of videos helloworld!!!
Stan, your integrity and work ethic are apparent in the work you do. I loved the video. Thank you.
Great Video, the just of this piece is to use a Civil Engineer with a retaining Wall specialty. Surcharge as explained: Any elevated load that is level with the top of retaining wall. I am pretty sure this question will be on the Landscaping Contractor Exam.
Thanks for the input and thanks for watching !
Details about the angle of your base block to prevent lean in higher walls is what I would like to see in a retaining wall video. Thanks Stan!
Your wall should never be angled it should be completely level... If you put lean on it it will just be exagerated in the finish product specially the higher you go. So the proper way would be to step back
Perfect video. More info the better. I didn’t know how to compact and prep for rain. This caused destruction on a wall(base became soup and had to be redone) I was doing last year(first one over 4’). I learned the hard way and got kicked off the property because the home owner lost faith in me(don’t blame him). The more technical info given visually the better.
Thank you and thanks for watching
You are an excellent instructor!! Thanks for the no nonsense, experience based, and scientific approach! Your humor is good too.
Thanks a lot Walton, appreciate it !
You have made a fan of me with your details and explanations. A true craftman can and will explain everything, including do's and don'ts. I wish you where in Los Angeles for the project I have that is similar to this one. My double retailing wall holds up a higher elevated back yard to a house. I want a single retailing wall.
This is exactly what I'm repairing. Wall was too high. They stepped back way too little and went up more and none of it had drainage or geogrid. They just ran landscape fabric behind to hold back the fill sand and the whole hill was fill. I cut it down to 4' at it's highest point and built a new one 8'+ back that doubles as the perimeter of my paver patio so I back filled with compacted recycled class 5. Also, my new wall is only 21" including the buried course.
More specifics about draining.
I enjoy your videos a lot, about everything. Around here we just don't see retaining walls, very rarely. The exception is some large commercial jobs here and there building on mountains to make a flat surface. On the residential side we may see some 2-3' high retaining walls only a dozen feet long. Not sure why, I live in Connecticut and the terrain is far from flat.
Thanks Rob !
Great video. I built a few small retaining walls in college for my employer at the time, who didn’t teach me (and likely didn’t know) any of this information. The walls still stand today, but I wish I knew this information then.
i know all of those things you talked about but i never went to college or any engineer class. i learn by applying Experience and a lot of common sense.
Awesome Eduardo, thanks !
I had an excavating contractor building my large, three car garage up to grade. Pre-cast concrete walls up to the sill and he needed to put in FOUR FEET of fill. He put it all in at once and when I pulled onto the job site he had just started compacting it with a small plate compactor. I told him to take out all the fill, put it back in 6" lifts and compact thoroughly between lifts. He told me that it would settle on its own - absolutely right and as it would settle my garage floor would have cracked into big chunks of rubble - just like every house near me. I insisted and he complied. I then told him that I had owned a large sand and gravel operation for 15 years and knew a little bit about soil and compaction. From then on, I had to sit there and baby sit this PIG because he couldn't be trusted to skip proper compaction because he wanted to do what most PIG contractors do - cut corners to make more money and the hell with the person whom they're working for. It was this job that gave me a different perspective on many contractors - they are pond scum and either don't know how to do things correctly or don't wish to do things correctly. If I ever build another house, I'll be the GC and will carry a whip and a gun!
i want longer videos of your jobs like you waking up loading up the tractors and like some of the driving there and unloading the machines
He doesn’t believe in doing that, he actually made a video of “Most common mistakes people make building retaining walls”
I like the way that inside corner turned out. Its always better to build out a little more like you did. You have a good worker there. Hold on to him. Brian M.
What are your opinons on soil separation between the drainage aggregate and the soil behind it? Obviously, it is not possible in this application because of the geogrid.
TLDR: Will the dirt migrate over time and fill the gravel with dirt?
Matt's Shop Eventually yes it will. Some people wrap the backfill with filter fabric to stop it. But this walls can last a long time.
Your videos are very informative and very useful for those of us new to this area. The information you have shared is so valuable for us to understand the process, the amount of work, and material that goes into retaining walls done right. I highly recommend your videos and appreciate you sharing this information. Thank you.
I learn a LOT from your videos so _Thank_ _You_
@19:38 if someone on your crew had Carpenter experience then prior to building the retaining wall that holds the car, the vertical trim of the corner of the house could have been widened so that the slope of the retaining wall would still show only the house corner trim for the entire height instead of exposing the house wall with a slim triangle.
Thank you for your detail explaination. I am in the process of getting ready to build my wall and all your wisdom is really appreciated.
I am from Trinidad WI.
I really appreciate your videos. I'm a new contractor and this is invaluable info. Thank you sir and God bless!
Happy to hear that they help you out, thank you !
This guy is my inspiration. Thanks for the shows.
How critical is the need for the 4 inch perforated drainage piping? From what I have heard, it is only a last resort for water to exit... But if there is more than enough drainage aggregate behind the wall, there should be no water in the pipe ever. Great videos as always Stan
Excellent! I watch these because of the detail so I can learn.
Love the video! Great seeing folks that take pride in what they do, do it right and align to a system. Wish we had more of.this showing the youth of today what it means to be a blue collar professional. Inspiring.
Great video and great tips man. Thanks for all the information before I take on my own retaining wall project. Keep up the great content.
Glad it was helpful!
First, I live in NE Ohio where the weather has an impact on everything. I moved into a my current home in 2015. The house is 65 years old and I have a garage that was built 63 years ago. It is similar to a bank barn in that there is a upper 2 car garage and a lower storage room roughly half the size of the garage. My problem is that the retaining wall that is on the north side of the driveway that leads into the garage has bowed outward. This wall goes from 1ft to roughly 8-9 feet and is around 30ft long. The concrete pad in front of the garage began cracking pretty severely and tilted toward the wall and the ne corner of the garage. My sons rented a mini excavator to remove the concrete and I had them trench around 5ft depth on both the wall and the front of the garage. The fill that was used towards that depth was all kinds of junk concrete, blocks, rocks dirt and top soil. There was no geo-grid used. But that may be because of the age. My dilemma is this, after the trenching was done I discovered that some of the cinder block foundation on the garage by the wall was quite deteriorated meaning that 4 of the top course and 3-4 second and third course. I also discovered that there is a void under the garaged floor of about 3-4 inches due to the ground foundation settling. I contacted a couple of companies who came and looked at the void, who suggested different methods to fill it. One was using foam and the other using a mixture of sand rock and lime. I haven't decided which I will do for the void but as for the wall, do I try to pull the wall back which consists of cinder block, with a red brick face, motor and rebar reinforced, using GeoLock Anchors or tear it down and have a new one built. I am retired, on a fixed income and I can't qualify for a loan to pay for an exorbitant amount to re do the wall. Any suggestion on what I have mentioned, the void under the floor and the wall would be appreciated. Thanks....
Great video - I thought the level of detail was great. If you ever have a project where you are building a new concrete retaining wall a few feet behind an existing modular retaining wall, I’d love to see the video in that. Thanks!
Instantly my favorite video I've watched from you so far. Please, more of these technically oriented videos would be great! Also, the new video camera is fantastic! Great video!
Thank you and appreciate you watching !!
I love ya man but I have one critique and its the biggest pet peeve I have...... Flex pipe for the wall drain my brotha!!! Yes solid is a bit of a pain but its so much more durable and it dont get clogged with sludge like the flex don't know how much of that flex I've replaced and everything failed cause the bottom drain was clogged
Thanks Mike for the input and thanks for watching !
Really I'm just busting your chops man I love your channel man thanks for the content
Awesome work man ! I do retaining walls and pavers ! I just recently started tuning my own crew .. we re building a sea wall now in Florida on a golf course and it’s new experience even for my company .
This guy knows what he's talking about!
I really like watching your vids. I will be building or having a wall built next year I hope. Need a 10ft by 100ft wall built so its going to need to be engineered for sure. So I appreciate these vids. Very informative.
Very happy that the video will help ! Good luck with the wall!
Stanley , you seem very passionate about walls. Love the channel. Keep it up.
Glad you like the channel and thanks for watching !
Great video lots of behind the scenes information for a homeowner having a retaining wall built. Keep up the great work Stan
Thank so much George, happy you like the video
Stan,
Could you go over building a retaining wall on a slope? Specifically on the construction of the base, and what the method behind stepping up and down is?
Say I want a flat, even top, but the ground is sloping downwards. How do I step the base up/down? How low do I go? Etc
Stanley, I really appreciate all the videos you have put on here! Wish I could see one with an outside 90 degree corner with the Versa Lok Blocks to see the step by step how you do it.
Doing my wall now here in Nova Scotia, near Halifax, and find that the advice I got from the company who sold me the blocks leaves me with alternating half blocks to glue together, without the possibility of putting the pins in. Hope it works well. Have lots of drainage stone (the 3/4 clear that you praise).
Thanks again for these videos!
Mike
Not sure when the new intro started but its cool! I really like these type of videos, I get some entertainment and learning at the same time.
Excellent video.... more like it would be greatly appreciated. For example... what do you do for different soil types like mostly clay in a moderate climate with frequent rain and snow....
Great suggestion and thanks for watching !
Amazing presentation. Held my attention making learning easier.
That's great, I really appreciate that Clare!
Great video! Im new to landscape install work and that was very helpful. Going to be installing a new retaining wall here shortly. Looking forward to using your tips and tricks for the job. Keep up the good work! Thank you
Love your videos, you give it straight with no bs! I would love to see more on the base layer French drain. Do you have to run it off somewhere? Also a time lapse of the build up behind a wall would be killer!
Love all your videos , has helped me stay focused at work .
Very nice job. I wish you were in my area of NC. I need three good size retaining walls constructed. You did a very through job of explaining the retaining wall process. Thanks for the video. Take care and God bless.
you KNOW YOUR TASK , love your videos , ONELOVE.
Nice work and Stan you explained it perfectly understanding the dynamics of the environment and product to hold the load into place
Thank you !!
Excellent content and production. Please do one on residential driveway culvert retaining walls; specifically cover drainage, dynamic load, and how to do the base.
Yes, that would be great. Drove by one the other day and wondered how it will hold up, ie. how was the base done?
I got one question. Why are there no geotextile to separate the drain rock from the soil? So the rock don't mix with soil over time. This is to keep the rock from free from the smallest particles so you keep the drainage as effective as possible. It's all about the capillary effect :)
NeuPluppy the mesh wouldn’t work then, but it’s a good concern, at least the tile was in a sock.
fabrics "absorb" soil over the years preventing rainwater from flowing through and into the rock backfill quick enough resulting in a muddy mess for days after the rain pases...also the only way dirt could leach into the drain rock backfill is for the rock to be displaced to make room for it. Sharp rock locks together resulting in higher lateral strength,compacted soil has alot lower lateral strength meaning the soil would displace long before the backfill rock.
You literally cannot have a cross-section of geogrid going back 9 feet with geotextile fabric running up vertically. He's got 2 feet (at least) of drainage field behind the wall. I think that's enough room for future contamination.
He explains this in other videos. He never uses Geotextile or other fabrics in a retaining walls because they will always eventually clog. Once clogged the water can buildup as mud behind the fabric and blowout the wall. At least that’s the way I understand it.
it's not good job
I love all the detail you provide. Please, keep it up.
Thank you Ronald, will do .
I love these videos, I wanted to see you start the tiebacks from the start.
Interesting point about terraced walls - I see these all the time and almost never see the step be twice as wide as the height.
Great video I learned a lot so that way if I ever get this done I will know what they're doing. Watched it all the way till the end.
Thank you Ty, so glad that it may help you out sometime !
Full of good info. Very nice video. I never thought about not compacting the 3ft where you put the stone. I didn't know you weren't supposed to do that.
Thanks! Glad the video was helpful.
Hi Stan. I have a homeowner question for you. Best way to deal with leafs ? When they all fall down, before the rain, wait until before the snow & its all dry ? Are lawn sweepers worth buying ? Do they actually work like as seen on videos
Great video, loved the content. Need more info on next video on how to put together pricing for the wall and how to determine how much material will be needed
Thanks Michael, appreciate the suggestion !
Very good info. Thanks.
You bet, thanks for watching David !
Learned a lot. I think this video will help both the contractors and consumers. 👍
Great info. Info in bidding engineered walls would be a huge help
Thanks Eric !
I would love to see the full process of one of our retaining wall jobs from start to finish and that was a bad ass vid you covered a lot of info I think when I try to get into landscaping this summer I'm gunna have a pretty good bank of knowledge goin it to the feild
Thank you Ryan !
Geogrid as a shim at 15:30 Learned something today.