[fakie99]

hey everyone - i haven't posted in while, so i hope everyone is busy with (profitable) stuff. need some thoughts on a rather large retaining wall project that has come up. (see pic)

the slope will be mitigated by two retaining walls, about 3-4 high each. the walls are 75' long. but heres the problem - the hill is very large and about 25' from top to bottom (see pic). and it's a 45 degree hill, so it's not like i'll be able to cut the shelves out for the wall bases with a bobcat which is our normal method. (the reach of the bobcat arms would have to be about 20 feet...) so, my thought was to get an excavator in there and have him shelf out for the walls with that. then build from there. any thoughts on how i might reach up the hill and get the shelves cut out for the walls?

thanks for your thoughts...

[Matt Kulp]

Stick with the excavator route or rent yourself a big machine for the job.

[Stonehenge]

Yup. Try the excavator yourself - they aren't as easy as a skidsteer, but they aren't that difficult. Be sure to get enough machine for the job.

[livingwaters]

I'm doing a set of walls almost exactly the same dimentions. I am using Allen block Europa though. We just got through the excavation. I cut a trail up to the upper wall with a mini-excavator(Bobcat-350?) dug the foundation for the upper wall, then went down and cut the foundation for the lower wall with the trail still cut into the jill. After the lower wall is done, I will backfill the void left by the trail and stack my palets of block, for the upper wall, right on top of the lower. I have access to backfill the upper wall from the top so that is very helpfull. Might be an issue for you if you cant get behind the upper wall.

[Squizzy Taylor]

We have just finished such a wall/terrace all done with a 6,600lbs excavator (except for the backfilling). The walls were 5' and 160' long. We cut done from the top some so we could excavate for the lower wall. We used the skid to keep the overburden aside. Once the lower wall was finished we just worked from the top to build the upper wall. Took some compaction and backfilling but we were unable to work from the low side because it was the footpath.

We do 90% of our retaining wall preps with the mini -Ex....it just takes practice and a good laser man. Sure beats the hell out of trying to operate a skid on a side slope.