Cobblestone retaining wall building in Colorado: Why you should compact the trench? Compact the soil in the trench bottom with a hand tamper or vibrating plate compactor. This step is often neglected. The excavator, and even hand shovels, can disturb and loosen the top inch or two of soil, and that’s enough to make your wall settle—settling is bad! Our experts prefer crushed stone for the base rather than naturally occurring gravel dug from a pit. Crushed stone is a little more expensive. However, it provides better drainage, and because of the sharper angles on the stone, it requires less compacting, and once it’s compacted, it stays that way.
Ensure you order everything you need at once and set aside an allowance for breakages and cutting. Contrary to popular belief, building a fence on top or behind a Block Retaining wall is rather easy. In some cases where only a small amount of retaining is required as in 200-400mm, the fence can be built directly on top of the wall with the fence posts passing through the walling blocks and concreted into the ground as normal. This method would be ok to use with all forms of fencing such as post and rail, colour bond post and rail, good neighbour fencing, tubular panel and even pool fencing.
We also repair existing retaining walls. Many railroad tie walls or older concrete retaining walls which may or may not include rocks or boulders are beginning to show signs of failure. Often times a homeowner will build a DIY retaining wall that needs help after years of service. We serve all of Colorado out of our home office in Colorado Springs. Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions you may have. Estimates are always free and everything we touch comes with a warranty. Discover additional information at Building and repair of retaining walls Colorado.
Designing very tall walls gets rather complex when accounting for lateral pressure, as do the reinforcement options. For example, a retaining wall 8 feet tall is not just twice as strong as a wall 4-foot tall. The 8-foot wall actually needs to be four times stronger. For walls taller than 4 feet, hiring a licensed engineer to develop a design would be a smart move. At the very least, remember to follow the system manufacturer’s instructions to the letter. Plus, keep in mind that building big walls means moving truckloads of soil, gravel and heavy block.
DON’T lay blocks on an unlevel surface. The first course (or row of blocks) sets the stage for the rest of the wall, so it’s vital that you make it perfectly level. If it isn’t, subsequent rows won’t be level either, resulting in a retaining wall that’s lopsided and unattractive. Use a four-foot carpenter’s level to ensure that the gravel layer below the first course of blocks is level before you start setting the blocks. Any discrepancies here will show up higher in the wall. DO stack blocks at a slight backward slope.