Trying to get the tops on the retaining wall aligned properly but coming in straight from both sides it leaves a gap on the sides of the corner piece of a 90 degree turn. Is this how it normally looks? Or do I have to cut them? Maybe there’s a trick I’m not familiar with. Any experienced input would be helpful, thanks!
by BarelyExchange
47 Comments
Cutting them
Either is the angle provided. Or cut your own.
They’re upside down
A saw
cut some cardboard that matches a close fit and transfer those cut lines to your cap rock and cut or break on that line. easy easy, cardboard is free
Get stone cutting blade for your circular saw.
In these situations it’s best to cut all three stones. One cut each to the side stones and two to the centre stone.
The gap in the front is what you take off that back . From 0 in front to 1/4 or so off back edge.
Shouldn’t they over lap the seam below too?
grab a construction ruler and centre it on the seam. Mark a line on both sides of the ruler. Cut. Perfect seams
Well , the bottom components are poorly stacked and you haven’t used the right ones to make a radius in the tops have to be individually cut to match that radius
Cut with a diamond blade. Mind the dust.
Magic
Well, it appears to me from looking at the picture that the top pieces are not staggered properly. Notice how the lines line up and they shouldn’t. I hope this makes sense.
Also cap the wall.
You’re gonna have to do a relief cut. Measure the gap at the face and then mark that distance on the backside of the cap. Take a straight edge from the front corner and align with the mark on the backside.
The straight edge should be parallel with the stone next to it. Mark it and rip it. Since you’re going to have to cut all three, make sure your cut is always on the same side of the cap.
Cut out the back side so cuts aren’t visible
Cut them
Use the over/under method.
You have to cut corners… this is the time to do it. Other times cutting corners is not good, but in this situation, it’s good to cut them.
Circular saw with diamond blade. Put the unaligned cap overlapping the one to the left just enough to get the cap lined up. Mark the cap underneath with a sharpie, this will be your angle to cut
D3og it all up and start over
Rock saw lol. Or proper gapping
White sand should do the trick. That’s how I did on my retaining wall years ago
You can lay one cap stone on top of the two stones on either side then mark the two stones to be cut
Lol.. this guy thinks he still building with legos..
Don’t make the one that needs to be cut the center of your corner. Make that right. Cut a stone to fit somewhere else along the wall.
You need to cut them. No other way
Cement crack repair paste and a spatula
If its a 90 see if the manufacturer has corner block
No offense but having that cap not staggered against the brick it’s resting on is absolutely hack. Also, as a precious post mentioned, you cut that gap in the front off the back, split the total distance across both joined pieces. If the gap is 1 inch in the front you cut half inch to zero off the back of each. But yeah, stagger that shit, this looks whack
Flip it
Dig up the entire wall and re-lay it to match the angle of the cap stones. May take a few tries to get it right. Easy peasy.
Cut cardboard the same size of the top pieces. Then do the cutting like they suggest, with the cardboard first as a template. Then u will know how much to truly cut off each side and then trace it on the pavers….imo
Measure the gap, divide that in half and cut off each side
Search YouTube on mitering capstones
Is the retaining wall in the room with us right now?
That wall doesnt appear to be able resist any lateral load. Have you calculated the static load it can manage or are you just winging it?
No option other than cutting them. Go rent a chop saw for a couple hours and it will make easy work of it.
Wet saw
Space in front seam or space in back seam. Gotta pick one if you don’t want to cut them to fit
cut them, in addition the alan block corners can be nipped so they sit farther forward. Also you want them staggered with the joints int he allan block wall so the joints dont line up
A ruler, pencil and a diamond tipped blade.
Gonna need a few more pieces, and need to cut both sides of each cap until it looks right.
Just have to try cutting them at different angles it’s really just a trial and error process
Math
You need retaining wall bottoms
On another note, you don’t want them to line up. The eye is instantly drawn to the long vertical lines. It’s also better for stability to offset gaps, as you can see is done properly in the bottom layers.
https://youtu.be/tTToO7QVxAE?si=F7cf5og_sF7z3jnb