First Project Complete

[jmckay]

Built my first retaining wall with the new tractor. Just need to let it settle a bit more and then some gravel. $3.00 railroad ties and some dirt.

 

[bikerdib]

$3.00 RR ties. Man, you stole them. Around here they go for $10 to $15. How are you anchoring them in place, especially on that tall wall?

 

[jmckay]

There is a gentleman over here that gets the used railroad ties dropped off from a maintenance crew. So it's fairly cheap, you just gotta take the good, the bad, and he will let you pass on the ugly. He still has over 5,000 ties if anyone needs any in southern Indiana. You do have to load them yourself.

I put the first row on concrete footer then the rest are anchored with 1/2" by 2' rebar. There is roughly 3 to 4 per tie. I also put dead mans in every third row up and no more than 16 feet apart. I think it was 8 dead man's in the final project and 226 rebar pieces. Couldn't have done it without the tractor.

 

[Danner]

Nice work :thumbsup:

 

[bigbull338]

now thats some nice work.

 

[EddieWalker]

I noticed the deadmans in your second pic. Those really make a huge difference in how strong it will be!!!! How did you drive the rebar in?

I bought an attachment for my SDS Max Rotary Hammer that is used for driving in ground rods. Bosch and DeWalt both make them, and it makes driving anything into the ground, or through a board, just as easy as holding the trigger!!!!!

Eddie

 

[wdchyd]

Great Job Jmckay.....You musta had some fun drilling those out..:thumbsup:

 

[Johnbro]

Looks like a nice job, kudos! And the price for RR ties is outstanding. Just saw some on CL here for $1/foot, which I thought wasn't too bad, considering, but nothing like $3 each.

 

[WayneB]

Looking good! Another project that proves the need for a tractor! Eddie what does the attachment look like, sounds very good and better than that 6 pound hammer!

 

[EddieWalker]

It really looks a lot like a socket on an extension. You put the end of it over the rod, and you have the SDS Max set for hammer mode. They squeeze the trigger and it drives the rod on down into the ground. When going through landscape timbers, I've had no problem going four feet through five pre drilled timbers without any effort on my part. It will end with about an inch of the rebar still sticking out of the timber, but that's really easy to finish off with a sledge hammer!!!

Amazon.com: Milwaukee 48-62-4091 Ground Rod Driver: Home Improvement

Eddie