Retaining Wall Reconstruction- Day 2

Retaining wall that’s built to last! Day 2.

You can’t just tear down an old timber retaining wall and install a block one without doing a lot of excavation. A wall of this size in clay soil  must to be reinforced and have good drainage.  The next step in our wall project was to excavate 6′ behind the wall so we can install geo-grid and limestone drainage gravel.

retaining wall excavation

We also excavated deep enough to install a compacted base and bury the first course of blocks.  We used crushed concrete for the base and installed a drain tile along the base course to carry water away from the wall.

retaining wall base course

We used Allen Block, supplied by Kuert Concrete for this set of retaining walls.  They have have excellent structural strength and are very attractive.

Geo-grid, drainage gravel was  installed every two courses on this wall.   Soils were then backfilled and compacted.  This sequence is then repeated every two courses as the wall is erected.

rolling out geo grid

compacting soil behind retaining wall