Retaining Wall Build Underway!

[@sandranewton6534]

OMGoodness what progress has been made. It is going to be better when the snow flies. You guys are amazing.

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Yes thank you. Staying busy!

[@brucelarson5434]

Good project. I built one in Washington state. Retaining walls require permits so I built an extensive complex of flower boxes, Total ties used was 225, 6" x8" x8' recovered from Oregon RR's. They had a red rock patina ..

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Interesting. Red rock patina- that's cool! and that's a LOTTA Ties!

[@barrywinters1142]

the heavy, hard and dirty part on the job arrives. Brian looks for his helpers and finds he is alone. Happy natal day Brian

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

True story! thanks

[@adrianbew9641]

Hi from Cornwall UK , happy birthday Brian . Old farmers trick add a little diesel to your used engine oil it helps it be absorbed into the end grain more, about 25% diesel .We also drill down through the sleepers and drive 're bar down, three per length and locks all them together preventing any one piece being pushed out from under another.

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Thanks for the tip Adrian!

[@thomaswright6250]

Happy birthday my friend I pray you had a good day

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Thank you!

[@davidturney9813]

Hey Amy he sure is a Handy fellow, Things are looking great, Keep Kicking.

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Right on! thanks!!

[@echoewest2685]

More progress, nicely done, thanks for sharing.

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Thanks 👍

[@yasminghani2073]

Amazing job

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Thanks!

[@johnclements6614]

Happy birthday Bryan. When you lay your sleepers they should bear on the posts. The principal load on the wall will be horizontal. You should treat the posts as walls and the sleepers as floor joists, would you cut a floor joist halfway between the walls. When screwing the sleepers together think about where the water will go. If water travels down the screw when it is wet you could end up with a damp patch around the end. The used engine oil contains heavy metals which is why it is good at preserving timber. What material are you intending to import as backfill. A graded crushed rock would be best. If you are thinking of using an imported as dug material rather than a processed material why not consider using your own from the phase two basement. If there is little silt and clay, and does not have too many cobbles it may be ok. Depending on the material you use a separation membrane will help the fines moving from the soil into the backfill and or backfill into the base stone and between the sleepers. The wall should have a land drain behind it. Five feet depth of water will put a few tons of pressure on each post.

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Appreciate the thoughtful tips! still have time to plan that out.

[@vaalrus]

Love the timberlok screws… I did a bunch of structural deck components with them. I *did* switch over to the GRK screws because they have the recessed torx drive, and smooth heads, because I’ve been building a few miles of horse fencing.

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Cool. They really grab the wide stuff!

[@arnoldromppai5395]

yes they are great for deck, fencing, but will never hold on the tie back, they will pop or rip out, you have to under stand the huge hydraulic presser of dirt, water and frost

[@hvnfun8601]

No two men will agree on how something should be done - yet all would agree that you are getting it done.

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

True story!

[@lonanakken1688]

Nice! Happy Birthday, Bryan

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Thanks!

[@jaynehemmings8552]

Fantastic job!!! Looking great already 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Happy birthday Brian 🥳🥳🥳

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Thanks so much!!

[@MarcelaTorresCaballero]

Happy birthday Bryan!!

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Thank you!

[@fama5736]

Happy Birthday Brian

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

thank you!

[@suenorton873]

Happy Birthday Bryan!

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Thanks!

[@6mmbr223]

Happy Belated Birthday Bryan 🎉

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Thank you!

[@kevinsiedschlag9096]

Happy belated birthday Brian

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Thank you!

[@kevinsiedschlag9096]

@@ColoradoMountainLiving your welcome

[@espnmk]

Looking good, nothing like good old hard work that's going to pay off at the end of the project as you look back at it . Bryan i know those grk timber screws are pricey have maybe thought of using rebar? drill as you stack the railroad ties and at the end pound in a long piece of rebar or even 1/2 or 3/4 inch thread all. looking awesome though...

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Neat idea. would have to cut up all that rebar though.. seems these days projects take your time or your money. sometimes lots of both!

[@JamesCouch777]

I'm watching this video after I watched the deadman episode. We are needing to build a retaining wall. The estimate we got was $15k so I'm looking for alternative methods. If we had access to railroad ties I would definitely consider your method. Y'all are doing a great job up there 👍

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Thanks so much!

[@dantheman4471]

so did the gravel get tamped before you put the railroad ties down? why did you go the rout of having to pour concrete and posts vs. just having dead men put in the wall as you built it? seems like it would have saved on the vertical post hassle and then also on the cutting all of them to fit the posts?

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Yes it was tamped. We did not originally plan to do the dead men, but it was strongly suggested, so we added it.

[@jasonmushersee]

typically get backfill dirt from a 'barrow pit' on the property since there's a closing date then fill that hole years later. legal but have to notify the county. another way contact local excavators they may have jobsite fill they're trying to get rid of right now

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

We still have a lot of opportunity to excavate the area where we will have phase 2 as well as along the driveway. The only issue is the time it will take to do that. Thank for that tip though.

[@jimmydavis5951]

Is there a finished picture or video of the wall?

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Sure, check out the rest of the videos in the playlist.

[@txnetcop]

Can I borrow Bryan for a mud retaining wall? You guys are awesome! BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Yes! Thank you!

[@fama5736]

Used those rail ties on a retaining wall my father built years ago worked great just one thing though when we had a heavy rain it washed out the dirt on the side and below the wall, so maybe a buried drainage pipe like the weeping tile pipe you put around your basement just something to drain the water away without taking the soil with it, the higher the retaining wall the more it matters, but being in a hill as you are there’s more opportunity for the water to run down taking dirt with it even if it’s a small retaining wall, maybe would be prudent to do some more research on it more than just what I’ve said, just relaying some past experiences, continued success Sincerely Fabrizio

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Thanks for sharing your experience. We do have a drain pipe, diverting the water from te basement of the house under the wall. Based on what we've witnessed over the past couple of years, monitoring the drainage, we decided on doing rock at the bottom to aid with this. We don't have the water & drainage problems that our neighbors have.

[@fama5736]

Colorado Mountain Living that’s great about the basement but I was speaking of along the bottom of the retaining wall to add a drainage pipe of the kind that you would use for a home on top of the gravel draining out at the very end of the wall just to aid in diverting a particularly heavy flow of water, but always up to you and Brian you guys are in the thick of things, just what would concern me is if a lot of water came through the bottom of the wall would it wash away the gravel and dirt that’s there, you guys are doing great regardless continued success. Sincerely Fabrizio

[@johnclements6614]

@@ColoradoMountainLiving Your wall is quite high for the depth and spacing of the posts. The load from water could produce a large part of the load on the wall. The stone layer is not thick enough to filter out fines within itself so could clog. You could also get frost at depth preventing water draining down to the stone. The foundations to the deck are also close and will impose a load on the retaining wall.

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Gotcha. Good points. We should be able to get a truckload of crushed rock to backfill a good section for water control. Thanks for the suggestions!

[@arnoldromppai5395]

@@ColoradoMountainLiving if you watch any how to videos on here done by the pro's, you will soon see, lots of stone is used as well as 2 runs of 4" dain tile, one at the bottom and one 2 feet down from the top water can not flow though stone fast enough to stop back presser, sure it may be ok for a few years, then you start to see the real deal// plus your tie back screwed to the wall will hold nothing, them screws will pop like buttons, a cross timber must enter the wall and pined with 3/8 re bar, and being your wall is going to be 4 feet high, the timber for the tie back must be 4 feet long wit a 3 foot tee set strait back into the bank

[@suenorton873]

Hey Amy, i just watched Marty n "kids" working on that youtube's homestead. I found it under. Homestead rescue. Season 6 Idaho death trap.

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

oh cool. Thank you for the info!

[@davem3789]

Please use a lot of rock behind that wall to drain water. Also include some geogrid. Even creosote treated timbers only last so long.

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

We should be able to manage that. We do have quite a lot of rock on our property.

[@badfishqueso]

How did you drive the verticals?

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Sledge hammer

[@Ibiron]

did you use any "Geo Fabric" for inside the wall to keep it from rotting ?

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

We did this on the rock wall side.

[@randycarreiro8363]

Dont count on them uprights hold that wall plumb. Do a grid or other tie backs inthe slope and backfill over. It will be fine for four or five years like this but will creep out of plumb for sure. "And There's Your Dinner "

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Thanks. I'm planning to add dead-men. There's a frozen one in Nederland. That's where they have the Frozen Dead Guy Days in March. 😂😂😂

[@mycomputer87]

Use a claw hammer to move ties, much easier.

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Needed to hear that tip 4 videos ago LOL. But wait, there is more to come with RR ties.

[@annnicholls7585]

Happy birthday Brian, it’s my birthday as well.

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Thank you!

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

and.... Happy Birthday.

[@Bewefau]

the boy's cute :3

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Will let him know :)

[@keymanduff]

Rail ties are saturated with all kinds of chemicals oil is just one. Ground contamination is a concern. However when I seen the end cut from the rail ties I would have little or no concerns Just my observation.

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Yeah, surprisingly not entirely soaked through. We are probably going to seal them before back filling.

[@Coolgamer613n]

🐺🐺🐺🐱🐱🐺🐺🐨🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

awesome

[@davidturney9813]

If people even knew how heavy those things can be, and hard to cut.

[@Bewefau]

I've moved them ; ;

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

true point!

[@olli8385]

Building up the wall .... LOL ... so finally someone gets it done. ;-). Hope Trump loses 2020. Greetings from Germany

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Funny!

[@gary36535]

Happy Birthday Brian

[@ColoradoMountainLiving]

Thank you!