Man, I nearly lost my cool on a retaining wall job last week

Was doing a curved retaining wall over in Maplewood and the whole thing just started bulging out after I had already set the first three courses. Turns out the base gravel was compacted wrong (like, not enough) and I didn't check it before I started laying. Ended up having to tear down about 12 feet of work and redo the whole foundation from scratch. Took me an extra 4 hours just to dig it out and pack it right with a hand tamper. My back is still sore three days later. Anyone else ever put faith in a bad base and pay for it later?

2 comments

2 Comments

holly_henderson861mo ago

Oh man, that hurts just reading it. I did something similar a couple years back with a paver patio and the whole middle section sunk like a bowl after two freeze-thaw cycles. I was so mad at myself because I knew the base felt a little squishy underfoot when I was compacting but I just kept going cause I wanted to get it done before dark. Now I'm that annoying guy who prods every inch of the base with a shovel handle before I lay the first stone. Hope your back heals up quick, that hand tamper work is brutal.

joel6031mo ago

Wait, is nobody else just renting a plate compactor for like 40 bucks? Hand tamping a whole patio sounds like pure punishment.