How To Build A Retention Wall
So, Travis and I decided we'd like to have a flat yard rather than a steeply sloped one. Which led to the obvious decision to build a retention wall. Travis watched hours of youtube videos so he is now a pro. He said all the videos he watched were roughly 30 minutes long, so it should certainly take no longer than an hour....
Anyway, we did it. We built a wall all by ourselves (with the help of family of course.)
Step 1: DIG
Then dig a massive ditch. Quite simple. I mostly watched during this part. Wait, false. We had to make sure the ground was fairly level, so I was the level checker.
Step 2: LAY GRAVEL
Thank goodness for Travis' family. His dad had some big trucks, his brother-in-law had some connections and his dad had the skill to work all the rented equipment. So we got a TON of gravel and laid it down for the foundation. Then you have to use a compactor thing (pictured below) to compress it so it's nice and flat for the first row of blocks.
Step 3: LAY THE FIRST ROW....CAREFULLY
We used cinder blocks for our first row since we'd bought a ton before deciding that we were actually going to use the other, prettier blocks instead. In my opinion, this was the hardest part (even though I essentially did nothing here either.) It's just very meticulous. According to youtube, if you don't get the first row completely level and straight, your wall is a disaster...or something like that.
Good thing we had plenty of help though!
Step 4: BACK FILL AND LAY ANOTHER ROW
And now the fun begins. Laying the block. Nothing more to say about that. (Also something nice to have is an incredibly patient husband...)
Then fill it in with more gravel (seriously we had like 5 tons of gravel) for the first few rows and then dirt for the rest.
One row down!!!
Step 5: BRING IN THE FILL DIRT
Lots and LOTS of dirt.
And...try not to get the skid steer stuck. Level it all out and you've got yourself a yard.
And WE"RE DONE!!! The wall may not be perfectly straight, but it'll keep the dirt in perfectly.
