Stacking a reatining wall for carving -- HELP!!!!
Hi all, thanks in arvance for reading this I really appreciate any input I can get.
I watched all of the videos on youtube (hubby now things youtube should be banned -lol) for stackig and carving walls.
We found a supplier (concrete earth's product - Vertastone One-Day-Wall) and a gunnea pig.
Our first attempt was crazy. In our eagerness we inadvertantly added a double batch of admix (10 gal of plasticizer AND 10 gal of retarder) to a 5 yard mix. We were still working concrete 35 HOURS later. I know right? Our concrete buddies could not believe what was happening. We knew it was our bad, so what can you do except wait.
Second attempt wasn't as bad, but it still wasn't as great as all of the videos we have seen. Ordered 5 yards, used 5 gal of each admix and the concrete was still too soft to stack. Obviously we can use less admix. But this time we followed the instructions - LOL!
We have attempted to get help with this but nobody in our area seems to even know what we are doing (Omaha, Nebraska). So I am turning to all of you for your wisdom.
Yesterday's project involved a 4 foot wall 30 feet long. Dug a 16" wide trench and installed rebar (with deadmen) on a 1 foot by 1 foot grid pattern. Concrete was ordered as an "inclusion mix" as defined by the concrete supplier. It was ordered with a 2 1/2" slump (to be closer to a 2" at job site delivery. The inclusion mix has no agregate, at least 4,000 psi and an 8-9 sack mix (per instructions). We know we were a little high on the slump and probably should have ordered a 2 that would be 1 1/2 at delivery. Anyone see any other problems so far?
Concrete came out soft, but not too soupy, it stayed where it was put and only oozed a little. As the concrete started drying out we attempted to stack. Uuuggghhhh!!! Here is where trouble begins. Same problems both pours.
The concrete stacks to a certain height and then falls, first it seems it won't hold it's own weight. Wider base needed? Ok, wider base. That helped but now our base is 20-24" wide (huge amounts of concrete. We were told by the salesman we only needed a 16" wide base with a 12" top for the 42" tall wall. As the stacked wall dried we attempted to shave away the base 1/2 to 1 inch at a time so as not to make the wall fall. It nearly always did at some point, so we left it with a wide base. Any suggestions here? Guidance on wall base, height, thickness?
Stacking was crazy, at one point we were sure it was stacking nicely, because it seemed to be drier, but those sections of wall fell also, too dry? What kind of consistancy were we supposed to have to stack? We started stacking at mayonaise consistancy, but often had falls. We continued to stack with a drier, more crumbly mixture, and added part C (slick) sometimes to keep it pliable and workable, still problems. Right consistency, wrong technique? Wrong mix? Wrong measurements? Wrong expectations?
One thing hubby kept dong was to pack it down and I noticed that made the wall fall, obviously not a good idea, so he stopped, but walls kept falling. Videos I have seen show stack, stack, stack and the smooth sides and surface with pool trowel. What is the right technique?
Carving went great -- loved it! Loved the look, loved it all. No problems here.
Staining - next week.
Also, to give you an idea of background. Hubby is a GC and has been for 25 years. Build a house, from ground up, finish all interior aspects. Hire concrete buddies to pour the stamped patio. Lol. He can do basic and general concrete, knows the tools and can generally figure things out. Two well experienced (20 years each) concrete friends came to help at first pour and recused to come back for second. Said they ahd no idea and were afraid to touch it.
So, in summary, HELP!!! If anyone is within 500 miles of Omaha and doing a pour - hubby would really appreciate the opportunity to come and help for a day in exchange for learning and knowledge. Support of any kind would be so helpful and so appreciated. we really want to add this to our list of services, so want to get it right.
Thanks again.
I watched all of the videos on youtube (hubby now things youtube should be banned -lol) for stackig and carving walls.
We found a supplier (concrete earth's product - Vertastone One-Day-Wall) and a gunnea pig.
Our first attempt was crazy. In our eagerness we inadvertantly added a double batch of admix (10 gal of plasticizer AND 10 gal of retarder) to a 5 yard mix. We were still working concrete 35 HOURS later. I know right? Our concrete buddies could not believe what was happening. We knew it was our bad, so what can you do except wait.
Second attempt wasn't as bad, but it still wasn't as great as all of the videos we have seen. Ordered 5 yards, used 5 gal of each admix and the concrete was still too soft to stack. Obviously we can use less admix. But this time we followed the instructions - LOL!
We have attempted to get help with this but nobody in our area seems to even know what we are doing (Omaha, Nebraska). So I am turning to all of you for your wisdom.
Yesterday's project involved a 4 foot wall 30 feet long. Dug a 16" wide trench and installed rebar (with deadmen) on a 1 foot by 1 foot grid pattern. Concrete was ordered as an "inclusion mix" as defined by the concrete supplier. It was ordered with a 2 1/2" slump (to be closer to a 2" at job site delivery. The inclusion mix has no agregate, at least 4,000 psi and an 8-9 sack mix (per instructions). We know we were a little high on the slump and probably should have ordered a 2 that would be 1 1/2 at delivery. Anyone see any other problems so far?
Concrete came out soft, but not too soupy, it stayed where it was put and only oozed a little. As the concrete started drying out we attempted to stack. Uuuggghhhh!!! Here is where trouble begins. Same problems both pours.
The concrete stacks to a certain height and then falls, first it seems it won't hold it's own weight. Wider base needed? Ok, wider base. That helped but now our base is 20-24" wide (huge amounts of concrete. We were told by the salesman we only needed a 16" wide base with a 12" top for the 42" tall wall. As the stacked wall dried we attempted to shave away the base 1/2 to 1 inch at a time so as not to make the wall fall. It nearly always did at some point, so we left it with a wide base. Any suggestions here? Guidance on wall base, height, thickness?
Stacking was crazy, at one point we were sure it was stacking nicely, because it seemed to be drier, but those sections of wall fell also, too dry? What kind of consistancy were we supposed to have to stack? We started stacking at mayonaise consistancy, but often had falls. We continued to stack with a drier, more crumbly mixture, and added part C (slick) sometimes to keep it pliable and workable, still problems. Right consistency, wrong technique? Wrong mix? Wrong measurements? Wrong expectations?
One thing hubby kept dong was to pack it down and I noticed that made the wall fall, obviously not a good idea, so he stopped, but walls kept falling. Videos I have seen show stack, stack, stack and the smooth sides and surface with pool trowel. What is the right technique?
Carving went great -- loved it! Loved the look, loved it all. No problems here.
Staining - next week.
Also, to give you an idea of background. Hubby is a GC and has been for 25 years. Build a house, from ground up, finish all interior aspects. Hire concrete buddies to pour the stamped patio. Lol. He can do basic and general concrete, knows the tools and can generally figure things out. Two well experienced (20 years each) concrete friends came to help at first pour and recused to come back for second. Said they ahd no idea and were afraid to touch it.
So, in summary, HELP!!! If anyone is within 500 miles of Omaha and doing a pour - hubby would really appreciate the opportunity to come and help for a day in exchange for learning and knowledge. Support of any kind would be so helpful and so appreciated. we really want to add this to our list of services, so want to get it right.
Thanks again.
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Permalink Reply by Nathan Giffin Vertical Artisans on
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I will be holding a class for this in the near future I have a client who wants a stacked wall in his front yard, and porch walk out. Make sure you check your email for the class updates.
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