Somewhere (either in a landscaping book or in one of the manufacturers' brochures) I read a recommendation to install the first course with the lip facing up anyway.
Perce
On 07/31/05 10:38 am The Tilton Family tossed the following ingredients into the ever-growing pot of cybersoup:
I purchased two pallets of castlewall blocks to build a two foot high retaining wall to replace a railroad tie wall that had gotten rotted and ugly. I then found that removing the ties was a major problem and was wondering if I could successfully build the wall just in front of the ties, which would require the base course be on the concrete driveway. That would entail chiseling the lips off that base course. Has anyone had any experience in laying these blocks on a concrete base rather than sand? As Always Thanks, Bob T
I am not familiar with the brand you mentioned.
The upside down option might work. Breaking the lip off is an option if you are careful. Grinding it off with an angle grinder is a better one for accuracy. Mud setting them with a stiff layer of mortar is still another option.
It is a good thing for your wall to tilt back slightly toward the retained area.
I actually poured a footer for the wall I built and set the first course, which was below grade in mud to insure a level first course from end to end and a very slight tilt toward the retained area.
Colbyt
Setting on concrete not a problem per se, but from your description it sounds like there would be nothing to prevent the first course, and thus the whole wall, from sliding out onto the driveway. Normally the first course is buried so it can't move. Yours will just slide forward onto the driveway under the pressure from the soil behind. If the railroad tie wall was stable and the block wall was purely cosmetic, no prob, but that doesn't sound like your situation.
HTH,
Paul
I haven't put them down on concrete but I did knock the lips off my 1' wall just so I wouldn't have a little more setback on each row. You're going to have go up 6 rows to get 2'. As long as you get the bottom layer level and have plenty of backfill, what's the problem? I used a
3" chisel and hammer > I purchased two pallets of castlewall blocks to build a two foot highHomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.