Your Block Wall May Fail if You Do This Wrong...

[@richb1128]

Your attention to detail and doing the right thing by your customer, is the reason you will have a million dollar business. I wish I could hire you to do a job for me.

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

I really appreciate the kind words, quality and good relationships are always top of mind. That mentality seems to be working and is paying off. Thanks for the feedback! ✌

[@sagebrushnw485]

Enjoyed the video! The best one in a long, long time. I lot of work put in with good info shared as well. Appreciated no idle talk, no cigarettes, no rude or crude language, etc. Keep up the good work!

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it and I'm sorry the cigarettes and language bother you. I don't mean to push those things, they are just part of our real life... I wish Benny would quit smoking and I wish not swearing was easier ✌

[@leosandoval8126]

@@TheChristianHardscaper I enjoy the banter haha and the cigarettes is whatever. Beauty of this awesome country we can do as we please. about to start my retaining wall similar to this hopefully next month. Thank you for the ideas and instruction.

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

@leosandoval8126 That's good to know and I agree! Good luck with your project, tough work but worth it in the end. I'm sure it will be very rewarding and it will save some money too.... ✌

[@carlosarmandolopez5858]

men you are a real handyman i also have a company doing pavers, walls ,outdoor kitchen, concrete, etc. but i really enjoy the type of work you do sir, a real professional!.

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Appreciate it man, I love this type of work too! Thanks for the feedback, it is always nice to hear from others in the trade✌

[@deerslayer4204]

Love your videos, Im so ready for wall season here in southern WI

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Glad to hear it! Winter will be gone before we know it... ✌

[@ChrisR-e9n]

Where's your business out of? I work out of the waukesha area in southeast wisconsin

[@deerslayer4204]

@@ChrisR-e9n Green County. Stateline, area.

[@Skotten1965]

Greetings from Norway 🇳🇴 also good to see the attention you put into each job and to see how its done over there compared to us here. The results are always very impressive 👍

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Awesome to hear from someone so far away! Glad you are enjoying the videos and thank you for the feedback! ✌

[@josephrottina1901]

From the first video, I saw brother you take pride in your work.👍🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

I appreciate that, you have been supporting the channel for quite sometime now. Always good to hear from you!

[@josephrottina1901]

@ From the beginning.👍🏻🇺🇸

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

@@josephrottina1901 Yes sir!✌

[@kevinmassone8423]

Love your videos! How you explain on why you lay out the material is perfect when you retire you should run workshops you’re a fantastic teacher p.s. hope Benny’s kid gets better

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Glad to hear it man! I have tossed ideas of workshops around in my mind. Hopefully someday when life slows down a bit I can figure out some creative ways to do something like that... Thanks for the feedback! ✌

[@rizzotto139]

Dope video, enjoying this one for sure !!

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Awesome to hear man! I'm trying to make them better and better. ✌

[@ThatPainterGuyKy]

Looking good. You’re like me, just put your head down and work. While still taking every step to ensure the job is done right!

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

You know it brother! ✌

[@jpm5492]

Great video - do you have a clause in your contracts to reseed the grass that ultimately gets torn up ferrying the materials from the road?

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thanks! Turf damage repair is included in my projects and is calculated in my estimates. There is always turf damage, so you have to plan in the cost of repairing. Sometimes customers want to do it themselves to save money, which is fine with me. ✌

[@martinmay91]

You have an interesting system with the plastic connectors. We don't have a system like that. Instead, we have either solid bricks like yours (trapezoidal or rectangular) or formwork bricks, also with a fractured surface. They can be filled with concrete and connected with rebar. I'm not a big fan of the glue from the cartridge. I use a thin-bed mortar from ARDEX or PCI for the solid bricks, which has to be mixed, but I prefer it to the adhesive stuff. With your system, the adhesive is just an additional layer, the plastic parts are already a connection to prevent displacement.

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Yeah, most block manufacturers have different interlocking designs. This one from Techo Bloc works very well... I don't ever mortar block like this together. Mainly because it can shift fractions of an inch during the different seasons. The glue allows for the slight shifting because it is slightly flexible. If you plan on mortaring blocks like this, you need to build it on a concrete footing to prevent that shifting. If not, the mortared joints will crack during the season changes unlike the glue. And like I mentioned in the video, the glue is not necessary per say, but 100% helpful. It helps lock it all together and gives you many more years in my opinion. Those plastic tabs prevent forward / backward shifting but not so much side to side. The glue is what helps prevent that.

[@martinmay91]

@@TheChristianHardscaper By thin-bed mortar, I meant something like tile adhesive in bags. We have ARDEX X32, which is a thin-bed mortar based on cement but with flexible additives, it's not so cheap but it's good. I know that ARDEX is also available in the USA, but the products are probably different. Yes, we actually do more with concrete foundations, but we mix the concrete ourselves on site. We have a concrete mixing bucket for the wheel loader.

[@brianhanley12]

Looks great dude. I agree about the 3/4 stone, the blocks settle in so much better. And that glue gets me every time 😂, I’ve ruined more clothes and never have a rag or anything to wipe it on

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thanks bro, those blocks lock nicely in the 3/4 for sure. And I hear you, I got a handful of shirts / shorts with glue smears on them... 🤣 ✌

[@DB509Stang]

Yesss sir. Caught this soon as it landed 💯

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Nice!

[@mkat740]

These guys did my 32 inch liberty wall I thought about gluing the blocks too but they say say they move in cold weather some and I didn't want to stop their natural expansion. They required a foot of backfill clear gravel as the fill 3/4 inch and I did a white top layer on the back. fill for decoration. The engineer told me that the liberty wall would be stronger than a block, rebar and concrete filled wall.

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

I understand the thought process of that but I disagree... This glue is flexible to the degree of how much a wall should move. If done properly, the wall shouldn't shift more than small fractions of an inch. The glue locks everything together so nicely that it actually helps fight and prevent shifting. When blocks are "loose" they have more of a chance to move / shift. The glue pushes back on that pressure. Not to say your wall has a risk of failing, but if they glued all the blocks, it would have even less of a chance in my opinion.

[@pjp80s]

Hey Ben… how’s j-Lo. Nice work once again!

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

She is doing good, Thanks! 🤣 ✌

[@garybryantomlin]

Love your channel sir. Just a quick question, and you might have answered this in a previous video or comment. The Techo block semma is it not two sided, if so why don’t you turn every other block around, would it not be stronger?

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thank you! And yes, it is a double sided system. Would it be stronger if it was double sided? Yes. But it would also cost a lot more because you loose a lot of square footage when you make it a double sided wall. We would end up using a pallet or so more because it makes the wall tighter... And on a curve, we would have to make cuts if we want it nice and tight. Long story short, it isn't necessary or cost effective. The way I built this is an engineered design from Techo Bloc and it is sufficient for any wall up to 4 feet. After 4 feet, you may need additional plans.

[@garybryantomlin]

@@TheChristianHardscaper thank you for explaining thank in such an easy to understand manner. Much appreciated sir.

[@ChrisR-e9n]

How do you calculate the amount of blovk needed? Do you measure the length of the project/wall + calculate for one buried course of block and then use a zip level to calculate the height/elevation change? I'm trying to figure out the best way to do this! Love your videos!

[@christopherroy9416]

Hey there Chris, I don’t want to speak for the master here, but the method I’ve always found the easiest is {Length x Height}. When calculating your height don’t forget to add an extra foot on average on the bottom for a buried course. Happy building from a fellow landscaper in western MA!

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

No worries here brother! I do the same. When doing an estimate, you find the height / heights multiplied by the length to find a square footage of the face of the wall. There is a certain amount of "Face Feet" or sq ft of the face per pallet. So once you figure out the math, you can estimate the amount of pallets you need. Great to hear from a local guy in the trade! ✌

[@mkat740]

One thing about the glue to I see your doing it across I know your a expert but I thought the block are supposed to allow the water to flow thru the face and with glue would it block the water flow?

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

The glue won't prevent water from weeping out the blocks. Even if it prevented it on the horizontal joints, all the vertical joints will still weep just fine. Not to mention, when you have as much clean 3/4 as I do here and a drain pipe, it would take Noah's Ark type rain for it to even have to weep through the joints... ✌

[@dancampbell9478]

How do you decide when to burry the 1st course , or leave it 2 inches above etc ?

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Typically for me I bury an entire block if it is 3 feet or more. Less than 3 feet, I bury 3-4 inches of the 1st row just to lock it in. ✌

[@pjp80s]

I know you don’t like to discuss pricing, but if you could give me a rough range per linear foot of installing a wall like this… do you charge per height/layer? Obviously it depends on your cost plus required profit, but some guidance would be appreciated. Thanks Ben!

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Yeah, I try not to get into pricing really. Even my own projects vary quite a bit depending on circumstances. I base my prices on a detailed estimate which includes all variables of the job. Sorry I can't be more helpful but I don't like getting into that aspect really. Maybe someday I'll put some videos together on pricing...✌

[@pjp80s]

No worries… I understand!

[@BlueDiamondHardscapes]

Why did you decide to put drain tile behind your wall this time? I know you’ve said when there’s down spouts. But on your other wall videos you didn’t put a drain tile behind your wall if you have a good reservoir of clean stone. Just curious. Awesome job man! Way to push through by yourself! Not always easy.

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

I think I explained it the previous video when we did the base prep. But It was just an additional precautionary measure due to the fact that the pool patio is sloped towards the wall and a lot of their yard behind the wall is sloped towards it. I think it would have been fine without it, but it was just another thing to be sure. Thanks for the feedback, staying motivated own your own can be tough but when you push through it gives you a rewarding feeling✌

[@BlueDiamondHardscapes]

@ Gotchya , never a bad thing to be extra safe. Awesome work🙏🏻

[@christoforos4126]

How do you take care of your back? 4 years into this work and my back is not doing well. Btw leveling 42 blocks at 5.5 hours is pretty good!

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

This work can definitely take a toll on your back. I have been lucky to not have any issues. I try to stretch multiple times a day and never over lift. I only pick and handle what I know I can because I know how quickly you can hurt yourself if you move the wrong way. So just try to lift with good form and work at a manageable pace. ✌

[@christoforos4126]

@@TheChristianHardscaper Thanks for the response. It seems to be the constant up and down, leaning over to adjust and check level, etc, that's messing with my back. I was leveling some 60 ilb block over the summer over the course of a few days and on the third day my SI joint seized up and I ended up lying down stuck in the trench for 30 minutes or so. I'm younger than you bud so I must be doing something wrong! I love watching your work man, it's helped me a lot with mine. Cheers!

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

@@christoforos4126 Damn bro, I'm sorry to hear that. I have always felt blessed about having a strong back. Back injuries are always in the back of my mind... But honestly, I think my knees are going to go before my back... I hyper extended my left knee when I was young so my right knee takes most of my weight and I'm sure that is going to wear out eventually.

[@christoforos4126]

@@TheChristianHardscaper I hear ya, I've got tendonitis in my left knee and slowly my right knee is starting to suffer for the same reasons you stated. If it's not one thing it's another... or it's both! haha

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Yeah man, it certainly is... I hope the best for your injuries brother. God Bless ✌

[@MrCjogobyu]

Nice job @ 8 minutes per block!!

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thanks, I was on a good pace that day! ✌

[@KGSHEAMASONRY]

Good day for one guy!!! Every time I do one of those wall I always think to myself how many pounds a day I’ve lifted 💪💪😩

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thanks brother, I was thrilled with the progress that day! And I totally agree, the math on how much weight lifted in a day like that is wild... LOL ✌

[@brettvrancken6378]

I don't trust the corrugated black landscape drainage pipe. I use PVC, much more crush resistant, but more expensive too.

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

I hear you, the corrugated is much weaker but it certainly is a cost point. It is cheaper and quicker to install. And As long as you put it deep enough and backfill correctly, it will hold up for many years. ✌

[@jamescheever7982]

No ben on this one??

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

He was home with some sick kiddos for a few days on that project. ✌