Can I cast my own concrete retaining wall?

Good point. Why does the yard have to be level in the first place? If there was going to be shuffleboard, go for horseshoes instead, so it doesn't have to be level. You can have a level patio!

I've been trying to picture this yard and can't decide if it is all sand, or the sand is nearby.

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Reply to
mm
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Well, they'll have the up and over and also a trailer with a V8, a pump and a hose which they can snake almost anywhere.

Reply to
Mark and Kim Smith

Are they going to go over a two story house with attic? I saw long booms, but I'm not sure they could go that high, :)

Hose sounds good. It needs to come out close to the back of my house.

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Reply to
mm

It would be quite an expensive pump to go over a 2 story. They would be much more likely to use a small ground pump. The ground pumps require a bit more labor and are slower on big jobs. If you are looking at a retaining wall, I'm relatively sure that they would use a ground pump or even wheelbarrows depending on you local labor market. Pumps typically cost more to rent for morning pours and less in the afternoons. Many concrete contractors own their own ground pumps, aerial pumps usually belong to pumping companies.

Here is a bit more information if you're interested:

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can also look at their line pumps to see what I'm calling a ground pump.

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Reply to
DanG

Wow, the first one I looked at, the P88, will pump 500 feet!** It will also pump 150 foot up, which is a lot taller than my house!, but it seems ti would be a lot easier to go an extra 20 or 30 feet around the side of the house. (also, I'm sure once it's gone 150 feet up, it doesn't have much energy to keep going horizontal. If it did, it would probably have a higher vertical rating. Regardless, it's smaller than the boom truck and plenty big enough for my place.

I'm glad to know this stuff before I go to the concrete company, probably next Monday.

Even if I do end up with wheelbarrows or something in between, it's good to know when I make suggestions to others and for next time.

**The big boom one has a 200 foot boom and that was called incredible.

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Reply to
mm

Now I'm really confused. Why do you (and several others) say I need to pour a foundation if I cast the blocks myself, but I just need a peastone/dust footing if I use precast blocks?

Reply to
Tony Sinclair

It all has to do with the flexibility of the finished product.

Your cast block are locked in place. Any movement will crack the bond that holds them in place then the wall will fail along that crack. You want a rigid surface to prevent this. The precast blocks are made to move a little. There is no ridged mechanical bond holding them together. They drystack and interlock. This interlock system allows them to move and not lose and strength.

Reply to
calhoun

I don't disagree with you. You should note, however, that the factory blocks have either a ledge or use dowels/splines of some description as part of their basic design. Yours should be equivalent if you do likewise. A 4 foot retaining wall usually requires an engineer's stamp if you are permitting this work. You might look here for a type rated for a 4 foot wall:

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If you are trying to keep the project economical, you may look at using rubble concrete slab:
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Reply to
DanG

According to Tony Sinclair :

What you need for the footing depends on the soil conditions, wall height, etc. What the wall is made out of makes relatively little difference. If the soil is unstable, the wall will roll unless it has a pretty deep and solid footing.

Reply to
Chris Lewis

I would like to point out that digging in sand has problems too. Sand tends to run like water. To dig very deep requires that the hole be very large at the top.

Reply to
Pat

-snip-

It makes a huge difference. See

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for stones that will go to

5' without any problem on most surfaces.

There is a huge difference between unstable soil and 'needs a footing'. The type of stone and design of the wall can get you well over 10 feet without a solid footer.

Jim

Reply to
Jim Elbrecht

Depending on the soil conditions. I wouldn't dream of doing one of those on a sand base, trying to hold up 4 more feet of sand on one side without some serious work underneath.

The specs for that stuff calls for either concrete or crushed rock footings.

Reply to
Chris Lewis

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