Concrete Bag Retaining Wall | How I Built | Steve Addis

How I built my retaining wall using 512 50Lb Concrete bags, 1/2" rebar, 8 oz cloth, #4 stone, PVC pipe. – Solid and permanent. Rebar placed perpendicular in the bags into clay, and horizontal locking rebar in key areas. Soil is very stable, mostly clay, and hard blue-grey clay at the base. Check with an Engineer or experienced Contractor to confirm your unique project application. Tiebacks may be needed. Good for remote locations and DIY. - Have fun! - $947.20- (512 Bags x $1.85)+(Rebar & Taxes)(Currently $3.04/bag QTY 70 at Lowe's.)(This was by volume and with discounts and prices may vary.)

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Tip: Use the lines on the bag, to setback the upper bags and keep courses running even. Sight each course from side and top, to form the shape you desire. Also, loosen up each bag by placing the long ends on a flat surface to move the concrete to the front edge of the bag without the opening. Mix the bag if you feel stone. Then flatten the bag, pick it up and place it in position. The opening of the bag always goes to the back so you end up with a more smooth uniform look. Do one row, then adjust, then pack with a flat block of stone.

Important: Saturate the concrete bags well with plenty of water over night or more. Keep the bags damp for as long as possible to promote the curing process. Build small sections leaving the vertical rebar exposed to bridge the next set of rebar and cover with plastic to protect from rain. Make sure you are using paper bags. Tape the bags to prevent stretching which reduces cracks.

Improvements & Methods - Concrete Bag | Culvert Retaining Wall
Basalt Rebar, Color, Sealer. (Recommended by Viewers.) Thank you!

Tip: I pressure wash the paper away on a low setting. Wash concrete and water into any cracks or voids on bag surfaces. Wipe excess with a wet cloth.

Tip: Tape the top bags with packing tape to prevent bag stretching and cracks.

Tip: I coated the top with concrete or mortar. Color or seal the face. -Have fun. :)

Concrete Bag | Culvert Retaining Wall | Wing Wall | How To Build - Using similar process

French Drain 130' | Deep 4' Subsurface | River Rock

What Is Concrete - See Testing- Actually Dams Use Compressed Rolled Concrete

** Quikrete Rip Rap - Commercial grade blend of Portland cement and specially graded sand, packaged in a Fiber Reinforced, Biodegradable Bag for erosion control applications.

** Also, Basalt and FiberGlass rebar is available for similar prices. Fiberglass may work between bags, yet not for driving into the clay or rocky soils as it might splinter.

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Disclaimer: Please note: I am not giving engineering or construction advice since each and every site and location is different. This is just a demonstration of what I did and what worked for my location and my particular project. Please seek advice from a contractor and engineer to protect your time and investment in materials. I talked with Tom the engineer who has 50+ years of construction experience before I proceeded. All documentation and videos on this website are for informational purposes only. I am not liable for any use or misuse of this information by any person and any claims of any kind such as loss or injury. Warning: The tools and equipment presented in this video can be dangerous. Use all necessary safety protections at all times. Walls: If required, check with your local building code enforcement for walls three feet or more before hand.

[jondavidmcnabb]

I just love the natural look of the bagged walls.

[michaelrodgers]

Brother you took dry pouring to a whole new level and I love it.

[elsiedillewaard]

What a great wall, especially for a weakling like me. I was going to use railroad ties, but this is way better for me and i can do it myself instead of having to ask a neighbor or find a man somewhere to do it. Thanks for your video and insructions.

[Paulie]

I have no need for a retaining wall, but I must say it looks spectacular and looks like you covered all your bases during the construction....

[greenwolf]

Occasionally giving an update on how it's holding up would be helpful. See if it holds up in the long-term. 😊

[ShiryouOni]

Nice job, I used to do this professionally along with segmental block walls. Only thing I really would have changed majorly was, I found that having the base/foundation layer turned sideways for just that course helped strengthen the walls over the years. However with how short this one is it shouldn't matter.

[FrenchConnectie]

Bruh!!! You seriously made my day!! I was looking for a solution to fix a similar problem at my house in France! This is it!!!! Awesome!!!

[londonpickering]

Excellent vid! My neighbor did the same build and it is holding up fine after a few years. He saved a lot of money. Thank you for taking the time to post this....

[FlushtheSystem]

Price for 8-lbs bag back then: $1.85 each. Now: $5.46 Yikes!!

[Jurraqueando]

This is a great idea that saves us a lot of time and works very well, thank you very much for this great idea.
Best regards from Spain.

[nam.]

Great video! I appreciate the diagrams showing the different ways to set up the retaining wall.

[JohnHansknecht]

Beautiful job. I did a similar shorter wall for an "on-ground" pool on a slope. There are a few things people should know. In some areas, this will not meet building code and if it is over a certain height, typically 3 feet, the city or county may force you to tear it down because it wasn't done to code.

[MVortex]

I was going to install railroad ties for a low level wall, I think this makes total sense.

[smeargut]

Such a good idea, and you can use different color cement bags like white, I love it.

[jordang]

I love it. I can’t imagine the time you saved going this route instead of the standard cement block

[patty]

At first I thought this screams dgaf but I see the rebar tied in and realize this could be pretty darn strong. Interesting idea…

[JAMES.]

I saw this done almost 40 years ago in Southern Illinois. I went to look at it and its still standing, looks good. I think someone patches it.

[JoeNielsen]

This looks great and fairly straightforward!

[MikeM]

Very impressive. Very neat. But my back hurts just looking at it. Good job.

[johnoswald]

Excellent! I need to do this on a culvert and the end of a ramp I have to build on a slope for a driveway turnaround. Was looking at block, gabion, poured walls, and I think this will work. I'm using lime to treat the clay (without lime it turns to mush in the rain) and using geo fabric every foot or so to mechanically reinforce the ramp. All the wall needs to do is hold the edges from crumbling/mushing out. This seems to be the fastest and most cost effective. If I had stones all over the property a gabion would work but trucking in a hundred tons of stone is probably a bit pricey. Thanks for this!