INTRODUCTION
This retaining wall project took place in Lafayette, CA in Contra Costa County off Highway 24. One of nine counties of the San Francisco Bay Area. We gave an estimate on this project in 2010. At that time the previous client was looking to sell the house and do a quick retaining wall repair job.
Long story short, the client sold the house and gave our information to the new homeowners. So to that client thank you. To the new homeowners thank you as well.
PROJECT AND DESIGN:
The project was pretty simple. Customer had a failing retaining wall in two places. We decided to go with the Versa-lok block retaining wall system in a serpentine color.
Old wood retaining wall
Old cinder block wall on the side..No drainage
THE CHALLENGE:
As with any retaining wall, the first course is the footing which is the most important. The main challenge of this process was the tight access on the side approximate 5’4 Our Mt-52 bobcat was more up to the challenge. The other challenge we ran into was during our excavating on this project was a huge sandstone rock that required us to bring out our jackhammer.
After we spent approximate four hours on this, the customer came out and asked if we could move the retaining wall up approximate one foot. We also ran into this problem on the side so we had to rent an excavator with a long arm to break this retaining wall apart . The concrete was approximate 12 inches thick. This probably saved us another four to eight hours.
Excavation using jack hammer attachment
THE OUTCOME:
Once these challenges were met, both retaining walls went up without an issues within 15 days As we mentioned before, we used the McNear Standard Block, a.k.a. Versa lok block. Each block weighs approximately 80 pounds.
Each retaining wall had a full French drainage system behind it, which tied into the client’s existing drainage system.
In this retaining wall project we used McNear Standard Blocks, however these walls can be built using Keystone, pavestone, Allen block , Belgard or Redi-rock block system.
This is the retaining wall for the back yard
If you live in Lafayette or the surrounding cities such as Orinda, Walnut Creek, Berkeley Hills, Montclair, Piedmont , or Moraga give us a call for you next retaining wall or hardscape project
The following materials were used on this project:
- 460 sq. ft McNear Standard Block
- 130- feet of Drainage Pipe
- 6- yards of Base Rock
- 15- yards of Drain Rock
- Remove 5 yards of concrete
In closing, the customer was extremely happy with the completed project and had this to say,
“After that HUGE storm a few weekends ago, Adam and I were commenting on how GLAD we were that we got the wall done.” You may read the rest of the testimony here
Who is All Access Construction
From stamp concrete to retaining walls, irrigation system to pavers. All Access Construction is one of Bay Area and Northern California’s most well–respected concrete and retaining wall contractors. Why? Because we believe our work “Starts with commitment, deliver with quality, and finish with success. Make an appointment online or the old fashion way 510-701-4400
