I hired contractors to build a retaining wall. They just installed the first row of blocks, but it doesn’t look like there’s much gravel underneath. Based on this photo, does the base look properly prepared, or should I be concerned? I don’t think there is even 1-2 inches of gravel beneath it
Edit*** the wall is 100ft long and 3 blocks high plus cap
by Direct-Geologist6511
19 Comments
No. Not enough gravel or sand
No, it is not. There should be 4-6 inches of properly compacted gravel underneath. You also need a foot of drainage zone behind the wall.
There’s no Gap in between the first block and the second block but then there’s a gap in between the second block and the third block? I dunno bout that. What did they put below this and what’s the plan from here?
Grab a level. But yeah maybe not the best work from first glance. Might stop a tank when they’re all done tho, who knows?!
Fire them immediately
What base!
Nobody asked how tall the wall is going to be? If it’s under 2’ wall it’s fine as long as it’s flat, level, and the ground underneath isn’t complete crap.
If it’s over a 2’ wall I would say they’ve screwed you over pretty good, but also drainage to me behind the wall is the big mistake, not necessarily the lack of a gravel base. Gravel base is importsnt for leveling and providing some kind of structure underneath, but more importantly they need depending on height of the wall they need to dig behind the wall a good bit, and it looks like there’s a fence there.
So you have no idea how to do their job. Yet you’re online questioning if they know how to do their job because you think something is being done incorrectly. That’s a jerk move.
Show me a level.
Short answer: yes you should be concerned.
You have a high fail rate from the looks
How tall is the wall going to be?
And you need space behind the wall for drainage pipe and gravel
This hurts my head because I have so many questions with little context
No. No gravel in the block nor between or underneath or bedding sand on top of gravel to level and set said block. Or enough room for drainage behind the wall.
How long is the wall going to be?
Sounds like it’s only going to be about 2 feet tall. If this isn’t very long, then it’s probably fine.
Ideally you’d have more base and space for drainage, but you wanted your wall to hug a fence, so options limited unless you dig into your neighbors yard.
Looks pretty bad to me – I’m no expert but I just had a wall built on my property. They need way more space between the block and the dirt behind it – it need concrete or gravel footing and backfill gravel between the block and dirt and it needs some type of drainage pipe like a corrugated pipe in a sleeve, laid at the bottom. If it’s not going to be that tall it might not be an issue but idk.
No. You need a highly compacted 2A gravel base thats 6 inches infront of and behind the block as well as 6-12″ thick depending on soil type.
This is for a 2′ tall wall to level a pad for a shed. There’s around 6″ of 3/4 gravel and then the blocks are laid directly on top of the gravel.
https://preview.redd.it/wlpj0e86ck7h1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b73661cfda6f825f13e65cb9cd38e3e86efd1f7e
Wall builder here, depends how high it’s going? Like if it’s only 2 blocks high you can stack them diagonally and the wall won’t fall over (/s of course) but if that thing is going 5 or more blocks higher that’s a big heck no. Needs a compacted base, preferably with a packer. Material appears to be ok. Also might be local rules if that’s a property line beside it.
Edit – ok no the base is really really bad and not quite the right material but may be ok ish. The more angular the better.
Looks like my kids went back there and placed some rocks for you. They are only 6 and 8
What did they put in their bid for the wall? It’s impossible to tell what the gravel base looks like from the pics also. But that’s what you should look at first.
Just to be clear, this is not going to be an actual retaining wall at the height you are describing. It’s going to be purely for looks and erosion protection. So the only real concern I would have is settling, and as long as they compacted the subgrade layer sufficiently, the wall will be fine. It also looks like they’re burying the first block so that looks good.
If you’re curious you can look up wall block details online. Some companies like keystone have pretty good details that’ll show you how it should look.
They need to dig like 6″ deeper and and dig out more material on the front side so you can have adequate drainage backfill. All while using the correct material.
That is the difference between a 5 year wall and a 50 year wall. You will most likely have a 5 year wall with this base.