We Built a Block Retaining Wall (How to do it right!)

When it comes to retaining walls, concrete blocks are fairly straight forward to install and will last a lifetime. But, it's not as easy as just stacking the blocks. If not done properly your concrete block retaining wall can have issues resulting in leaning and possibly falling over. The steps below will show you how to properly build a concrete block retaining wall and avoid these potential downfalls.

Materials

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[shawid]

Geotechnical engineer here. Pretty much a perfect example of how to build a segmental unit retaining wall. Extra care to ensure the base and first course is perfectly placed and level.
Proper use of geogrid for lateral stability. Clear stone backfill for excellent drainage, with geofabric to prevent any soil migration. Good drainage is the critical element to long term perfromance. The sock on the weeping tile is smart and low cost (vs no sock pipe) extra insurance that the system will not ever plug up. Contrary to another poster talking about corrugated pipe plugging, with geofabric sock, clear stone and more fabric, that will be essentially impossible.
Good job.

[matopetrusic]

As a Master Plumber, I applaud you for proper layers of storm drainage. As good & strong cement can be, water will move a mountain.

[craigchatterton]

I'm happy to watch a professional do it the same way we did two years ago since I'm just a DIYer. We didn't have the access to the top of the wall like you did - ours was a four foot retaining wall above an eight foot retaining wall on the hill behind our house that went up a further eighty feet. Instead of using a backhoe to dig out the four feet, we did it by hand with shovels and buckets of dirt poured down a chute. Instead of using a front loader to pour all that gravel, we used five gallon buckets carted up the stairs to the upper terrace. Bucket after bucket after bucket... We also carted up each brick by hand up those stairs. It was an entire summer for us and my teenagers refused to even come near it at the end, even when I was offering $100 for two hours work lol. Two years later and it's still standing up; which I consider a miracle.

[duanehoward]

As a Civil Engineer i applaud you for doing it right. Good job.

[julietphillips]

Looks very well done! The result you want is definitely asking that you be hands-on. Your knowledge and hard work will most definitely pay off!

[Thehickboss]

Man…… you are very skilled. Along with everyone in this chat really sounds like you guys are artists at this.

[JT-irvw]

Great job! Proper mechanical stabilization with geotextiles, something that 90% of home retaining walls lack and the primary reason for failure. A lot of installers fail to understand the stress of lateral earth pressure.

[JoeCooper-bt]

Man, this is exactly what I needed to see, we have a collapsing retaining wall approx that size, a little longer and curved, and I've learned the important steps, such as preparing a sufficient base, creating proper drainage with gravel and filter fabric, and using geo grid on each course for strength, and you affirmed each of those steps and showed them in action in real time! Thanks for the great video, I'm armed with more knowledge now to consult with the contractors! 🤓

[franktirelli]

Wow, i didnt realize the engineering and thought process involved. Thanks for the education

[MinutesMad]

Watching in the UK. Great build and beautiful location for your family to enjoy in the future. Keep up the great videos and take care 👍🏻

[mxusa]

Couple critical points not mentioned is your toe block being embedded. On a wall that size I would embed at least 8” but 12” wouldn’t be unreasonable. Walls that high should be engineered but I know many just throw them up without it. Bury 2 rows would have been best. Also a face drain for every 20’ is standard practice as well. Pisa coping has only a handful of end caps on a pallet which kind of screws a project up because it’s only splitface on 1 side. I see the ends not finished yet probably because you need a saw. Also it looks more professional if you split your end caps and use corners to end your rows that have split face on 2 sides.

[MilwaukeeMaker]

Thank you for the pointer about putting the mash in to help strengthen the wall when it’s underload. It seems like something that we should already know and yet it didn’t click until you did it. Thanks for the share.

[davem]

Nice work. As a DIY person I highly recommend the Quick-E-Wall screed system for the base. I used by own bar stock and laser. Much for user friendly that a dead blow and a level.

[ThePackDad]

So much more than I need for my 4' tall driveway wall, but still super helpful !!!

[CFLDumpsters]

Nice! Love seeing it done properly, that wall will last for years to
Come.

[doctorlagarto]

You need a plate compactor, that hand tamper will probably cause you having some settling later on, a thin layer of stone dust would help you get better compaction and let you lay those blocks a little bit easier, nice job.

[diamond]

AWESOME video. You had a pretty helper. Thank you. I enjoyed the video.

[rolejarczyk]

Looks amazing, and thank you so much for the guide. Would love to get one of these done (4ft though) and had no idea where to start!

[frank]

Can you link the retaining wall blocks you're using? Thank you

[Braddy_Daddy]

Looks great! Never realized how much gravel was involved 😅