Building a boulder retaining wall with a self erecting tower crane

This is the second job I had going on at the Modern House build this week. I tried my best to keep them separate and thought about blending the two into one but there was just too much footage so here you go. This is a secondary retaining wall at the uphill side of the property to finish off the pile wall. The top boards will be pulled and the piles trimmed down to grade and then 18" of dirt to meet up with the existing hill. I am just the crane operator on this job and tried to capture as much of it as i could while running back and forth. I did manage to get a little roof sheeting done while I was waitng for things to get rolling and then inspectors and engineers to show up along the way. Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you on the next one:-)

[@horstszibulski19]

Definitely a job that could only be done with a crane...and it's done nicely! Thx for showing! 👍👍👍

[@ShredPile]

You bet, glad you enjoyed it. That whole electrical mess out there is frustrating and it will be nice to get it resolved.

[@tomthumb3843]

Never seen anyone work as hard as you jake , credit to ya

[@ShredPile]

The magic of editing :-)

[@roblescurbappealconcrete]

That crane sure comes in handy. I liked the view from the top of the crane, but the time lapse was just a good. Thanks Jake. Take care out there.

[@ShredPile]

Thanks Joe, It was hard to shoot. I had to ask the guys to help turn the low camera off and on. or I was running back and forth too much:-)

[@roblescurbappealconcrete]

@@ShredPile I’m sure it was a task. Thank you for the effort of putting it out. 🤙

[@Z-Bart]

Nice work. That rock looks just like our break wall. North Shore Lake Superior.

[@mauraece]

After all these years Fred Flintstone is still delivering rocks 😂

[@robertsimmons3556]

I recall you said there would be a retaining wall post! Like your last to videos, good change up! Weather looks great, hope it hold out for your work!! Good post Jake!

[@ShredPile]

Thanks Robert! got to keep everyone guessing:-)

[@TonyWhite22351]

Maybe build the retaining wall prior to building the house !

[@ShredPile]

That would be a neat trick considering that it was a vertical cut at the pile wall......:-)

[@mauraece]

Thanks for the Easter video, I needed a break from these children 😂

[@george8873]

I bet those guys were thankful they didn't have to try to move those boulders and other stone by themselves without the crane, lol.

[@ShredPile]

Every bag of drain rock that flew back there got a comment from them about not having to do it with a wheelbarrow:-) Good times.

[@jimmystuckey1412]

Hope they bought beer because you saved them a ridiculous amount of work

[@ShredPile]

It was just fun to work with those guys for a couple days, They were a little frustrated because the boss is used to being able to flip the rocks around more to fit them together with the excavator so i just did my best to place everything as well as possible.

[@jayrodriguez497]

Where is the video of setting up the I-beams and lumber wall? I have a pretty large scale project that I want to replicate a section of that as well.

[@ShredPile]

There isn't a video of that. that was done by a pile driving outfit before excavation began and I wasn't part of that.

[@paulhammond7489]

Did you establish the total weight of the boulders used for that section of the retaining wall, or an estimate if the bagged backfill stone? Must have been a good few tons :) Hope you are around long enough on site to capture the rest of the wall completed after the trespassing utilities are moved, and the boards removed etc. I can't imagine the back-break of doing that project without a crane.

[@ShredPile]

It never even occurred to me to do a total amount of it all, but I do know that most of the rocks were about a half ton apiece with the bigger ones at 1200. Two scoops of gravel in the bag was about the same at 1100 pounds. I’m probably the one that’s gonna flush everything down to grade as far as removing the exposed piles. And yes, I’ll be here often on to keep track of what goes down out front there. Glad you enjoyed this one!

[@paulhammond7489]

@@ShredPile Even at half a ton a piece, along with all the bagged gravel equals a good number of tons so far, and it's not finished yet. I guess when the services are removed they may not need the crane as much, if at all to complete the section to the road. Hope the inspections went well. Looking forward to the next episodes and seeing the upper floor walls take shape. PS Enjoyed the Tally Ho content as well, been following that channel since episode 1 :)

[@ShredPile]

Awesome, I’m glad you’re Tallyho fan as well! Yeah, the excavator in charge of the wall tried to set it up so he’ll be able to reach the rest with his Mini when it’s time to finish that out. I told him that I have a boom for the Telehandler if we have to reach in there a little further than he can to set a rock or two.

[@paulhammond7489]

@@ShredPile Good to see the trades working together to complete the project...

[@user-gc7fs2qo9k]

jake stonehenge!!!???

[@CrustyAbsconder]

You couldn't install a rollercoaster in the back-yard on your lunch-break ?? Dang, that is lazy.

[@ShredPile]

Pushed the easy button on this one:-)

[@kkk16663]

👍🏼