Retaining walls and patio

[Muhammad]

Just curious. What do your block lifting handles look like? My wall had half height caps, much easier to lift, but still a finger smasher since I couldn't use the handles.

It is a very satisfying feeling to put on that row of caps.

Doug in SW IA

This is a photo of the same model I've been using.

 

[deezler]

Muhammad, how many blocks total have you installed now? My old man and I did ~12 or 13k lbs worth of them to do retaining walls on each side of my house, but I never counted up the block total. BTW I can post some pics if you'd like to see a comparison, same main block style, but with set-back courses, and different corner treatment and top caps.

 

[MossRoad]

This is a photo of the same model I've been using. View attachment 683034

I suggest a career in I.T. :laughing:

 

[user.69169]

I suggest Boraxo hand soap and learning about ride on material handler.
Might look into leather block pad like Laborers use too. Dey slow yer typing down some but keep skin on fingers.

Keep at it you get de hang of de job.

 

[Muhammad]

Just I clarify, those aren't my hands. I wore gloves and spared my hands. But the gloves didn't fare too well. Most get ripped up in a day handling those blocks.

As for weight, about 24 tons for the blocks and 39 tons of gravel.

 

[Muhammad]

Brought in some reinforcements today to dig the channel for the drain line in the back, as well as tie into the gutter drain.

Also used this for some dirt and crushed rock moving and most importantly transporting a pallet of the 8 inch solid concrete cap blocks.

Finished the day with all of the top course backfilled with rock, ready for the caps tomorrow.

I had ordered a BX rental but they delivered the Yanmar and despite only having 360 hours, it has a few issues. First, the ballast setup is not to my liking as the weight of the backhoe makes the front wheels so light that steering with an empty bucket makes maneuvering very challenging. Bucket full of rock and it steers fine. I thought maybe the differential lock was broken since the pedal for it didn't seem to engage or disengage as the case may be and that could have been a factor as well.

Another issue was that the hydrostatic transmission wouldn't hold on hills. So when I would lift off the pedal, the tractor would creep. Not exactly a safe situation when you're loading blocks on an incline.

The backhoe worked fine, pretty typical for a small 6.5 foot unit. Once I got to the real hard compacted soil it was useless though.

So I probably sound like a crank right now but I really wasn't impressed with this machine and found the lack of maneuverability to slow down productivity. I'll chalk it up partially to the condition of the machine and the way it was set up. Not sure if the front tires were filled but that's the only thing I can think of to give it better traction with the backhoe on.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Nice job, just found this thread.

A wall and patio is something I’d like to do out back.

 

[MossRoad]

Looks like a job for PowerTrac!


:laughing::laughing::laughing:

Couldn't resist the plug. Nice job on the wall. :thumbsup:

 

[lilranch2001]

Brought in some reinforcements today to dig the channel for the drain line in the back, as well as tie into the gutter drain.

Also used this for some dirt and crushed rock moving and most importantly transporting a pallet of the 8 inch solid concrete cap blocks.

Finished the day with all of the top course backfilled with rock, ready for the caps tomorrow.

I had ordered a BX rental but they delivered the Yanmar and despite only having 360 hours, it has a few issues. First, the ballast setup is not to my liking as the weight of the backhoe makes the front wheels so light that steering with an empty bucket makes maneuvering very challenging. Bucket full of rock and it steers fine. I thought maybe the differential lock was broken since the pedal for it didn't seem to engage or disengage as the case may be and that could have been a factor as well.

Another issue was that the hydrostatic transmission wouldn't hold on hills. So when I would lift off the pedal, the tractor would creep. Not exactly a safe situation when you're loading blocks on an incline.

The backhoe worked fine, pretty typical for a small 6.5 foot unit. Once I got to the real hard compacted soil it was useless though.

So I probably sound like a crank right now but I really wasn't impressed with this machine and found the lack of maneuverability to slow down productivity. I'll chalk it up partially to the condition of the machine and the way it was set up. Not sure if the front tires were filled but that's the only thing I can think of to give it better traction with the backhoe on.View attachment 683087View attachment 683088

Didnt you tell the rental company who you were?

 

[Muhammad]

Looks like a job for PowerTrac!


:laughing::laughing::laughing:

Couldn't resist the plug. Nice job on the wall.

I was actually thinking that. Or a skid steer with a backhoe attachment.