We’re having a retaining wall built and it looks awful in my opinion. It doesn’t look finished. But I don’t know what to tell them is the matter. It’s the ends or edges. Thoughts?
I see clay soil and a “wimpy footing” …. carefull bringing that up — they’re likely to get real pissed
But for the record, I have never built a wall like that. Most likely I never do. Kind of like the saying that boats are nice, until you buy one.
Pisscats_R_Trash
Yeah this thing is doomed
CrankyPhoneMan
What is the height of this wall and how deep did they install the first course of blocks?
ian2121
Did they use geogrid or some sort of tie back?
GotHeem16
In the first picture (and others that show the step ups) the caps are messed up. Where the wall starts to tier up, there are gaps between the cap and the last “block” before the step down. Did they use two caps on top of each other next to the last block by chance? It’s looks strange and the last “block” before the step doesn’t look the same height as the block next to it.
Psych_nature_dude
If they didn’t put a ton of crushed rock behind and below that wall you’re gonna have a very bad time
xBadsmellx
I have built a few retaining walls. I’ve been the go-to person to fix retaining walls, built by others, when they fail. There are a few very important things to keep retaining walls sturdy.
1. A solid foundation. I have never and will never use aggregate as a base for a retaining wall. I pour a concrete foundation with foundation shafts so that the base stays solid and the wall won’t roll.
2. A french drain is mandatory to keep any hydrostatic pressure from ground water from pressing against the wall causing it to push out.
3. Geogrid. This stuff literally is an anchor for the wall once you compact the soil.
You may get lucky with aggregate as a base, but in my opinion, lacking any of the above items will cause the wall to fail.
paperjockie
If you’re in a climate with hard winters you’ll see failure in a couple seasons
meloblonded
The outward appearance of the wall looks fine, maybe some nitpicks on doubling the caps in some areas. This is kind of just how that block type looks like in a constructed wall.
The seemingly lack of proper base prep or any sort of backing aggregate for this wall is really concerning. With the height of the wall and especially given that these blocks are lightweight, it looks like this wall will fall over very quickly. If you dig out the top few inches of soil at the top of the wall, there should be gravel drainage lined behind it. The width of this drainage requires some math based on the wall height, but it should probably at least be around a foot. If there’s none, then no need to enjoy the appearance of this wall, it won’t be around long anyway…
Fightingkielbasa_13
The cap stones are done poorly is what I think you are referring to?
MailboxMan22
Why did they start up their wheelbarrow like that?
Lothium
I have a real bad feeling about that wall. From the aesthetic to functional, it doesn’t look right. And those photos don’t even show much.
JohnTheCatMan1
Whatever you do, please take 90 percent of these comments and completely disregard them. Most of these comments have absolutely no idea what they are saying.
As for the wall, I personally would need more info to know if you’re good or not.
But if you take advice from anyone here, be sure it’s someone who actually knows hardscapes. Because I’m seeing a lot of foolish, borderline stupid suggestions.
motorwerkx
I’ve never been a fan of beveled blocks, but what really stands out is that the caps are done wrong. The end block should be split so it has a rough face, and the caps should be split so they also have a rough face. When you have textured block faces, smooth faces should never be exposed. The whole double stacking of caps is odd and pointless. I would be concerned about the build quality only because someone that doesn’t know how to cap a wall likely doesn’t know how to build the rest of it either.
MyCatSnack
Looks correct.
The loose stone that was poured and spilled over the wall and the stine under the wall. I don’t see any reason to be alarmed.
16 Comments
I see clay soil and a “wimpy footing” …. carefull bringing that up — they’re likely to get real pissed
But for the record, I have never built a wall like that. Most likely I never do. Kind of like the saying that boats are nice, until you buy one.
Yeah this thing is doomed
What is the height of this wall and how deep did they install the first course of blocks?
Did they use geogrid or some sort of tie back?
In the first picture (and others that show the step ups) the caps are messed up. Where the wall starts to tier up, there are gaps between the cap and the last “block” before the step down. Did they use two caps on top of each other next to the last block by chance? It’s looks strange and the last “block” before the step doesn’t look the same height as the block next to it.
If they didn’t put a ton of crushed rock behind and below that wall you’re gonna have a very bad time
I have built a few retaining walls. I’ve been the go-to person to fix retaining walls, built by others, when they fail. There are a few very important things to keep retaining walls sturdy.
1. A solid foundation. I have never and will never use aggregate as a base for a retaining wall. I pour a concrete foundation with foundation shafts so that the base stays solid and the wall won’t roll.
2. A french drain is mandatory to keep any hydrostatic pressure from ground water from pressing against the wall causing it to push out.
3. Geogrid. This stuff literally is an anchor for the wall once you compact the soil.
You may get lucky with aggregate as a base, but in my opinion, lacking any of the above items will cause the wall to fail.
If you’re in a climate with hard winters you’ll see failure in a couple seasons
The outward appearance of the wall looks fine, maybe some nitpicks on doubling the caps in some areas. This is kind of just how that block type looks like in a constructed wall.
The seemingly lack of proper base prep or any sort of backing aggregate for this wall is really concerning. With the height of the wall and especially given that these blocks are lightweight, it looks like this wall will fall over very quickly. If you dig out the top few inches of soil at the top of the wall, there should be gravel drainage lined behind it. The width of this drainage requires some math based on the wall height, but it should probably at least be around a foot. If there’s none, then no need to enjoy the appearance of this wall, it won’t be around long anyway…
The cap stones are done poorly is what I think you are referring to?
Why did they start up their wheelbarrow like that?
I have a real bad feeling about that wall. From the aesthetic to functional, it doesn’t look right. And those photos don’t even show much.
Whatever you do, please take 90 percent of these comments and completely disregard them. Most of these comments have absolutely no idea what they are saying.
As for the wall, I personally would need more info to know if you’re good or not.
But if you take advice from anyone here, be sure it’s someone who actually knows hardscapes. Because I’m seeing a lot of foolish, borderline stupid suggestions.
I’ve never been a fan of beveled blocks, but what really stands out is that the caps are done wrong. The end block should be split so it has a rough face, and the caps should be split so they also have a rough face. When you have textured block faces, smooth faces should never be exposed. The whole double stacking of caps is odd and pointless. I would be concerned about the build quality only because someone that doesn’t know how to cap a wall likely doesn’t know how to build the rest of it either.
Looks correct.
The loose stone that was poured and spilled over the wall and the stine under the wall. I don’t see any reason to be alarmed.
2 years max this wall will be fucked