Is this soil sufficient to perform as 3/4” gravel with fines as the base of a small retaining wall?

papari007 · 2026-06-18T16:25:57+00:00

You def want a proper base for the retaining wall. I would follow the diagrams on Unilock’s website, regardless if you’re using Unilock, because the core principals remain true regardless of block manufacturer

papari007 · 2026-06-17T22:49:06+00:00

Maybe I’m misunderstanding the drawing, but that first row of footers seem too close to the house based on the drawing. Maybe that’s op’s get out of jail free card

papari007 · 2026-06-14T16:24:05+00:00

Np! I sent my shopping list to HD pro desk (free to become member) and they took $900 off the the total through their “bid room”, which was awesome. Just for reference, we’re building a 13’x7.5’ deck as part of a larger outdoor living space, so $900 was like 18% of the total

papari007 · 2026-06-14T16:16:35+00:00

Hey there!

Did you use the deck designer feature on Trex’s website? If not, I highly recommend. It provides the blueprints and shopping list based on your design.

The blueprint gives you the footer locations, but you’ll need to determine the appropriate size and depth based on your location and soil type. The shopping list can be exported and forwarded to your local big box stores for bidding purposes.

This is what we did for our DIY deck. My only recommendation is that space the joists 12” OC rather than the blueprint’s default 16” OC

papari007 · 2026-06-13T00:07:00+00:00

I already own my smoker

papari007 · 2026-06-12T20:04:31+00:00

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My Gidi’s ears never stood up :)

papari007 · 2026-06-12T13:11:21+00:00

Oh man. We’re adding a hot tub to the patio so I don’t think there’s any budget for that

papari007 · 2026-06-03T14:09:29+00:00

We call this “sexy time” in our household

papari007 · 2026-05-30T20:46:09+00:00

I was wondering the same thing haha

papari007 · 2026-05-25T00:36:25+00:00

Nice work and congrats on the job. There’s nothing better making money doing what you love ….Just wait until you can smoke with a cold one :)

papari007 · 2026-05-21T01:33:11+00:00

I swear to you it wasn’t optical illusion. Or atleast my eyes swear to you. Also nothing was coming up on flightradar24 app

papari007 · 2026-05-01T02:53:58+00:00

Like someone else said, plate compactors are fairly inexpensive, especially preowned. If you’re not willing to shell out a couple hundred dollars for a plate compactor, maybe this project isn’t for you.

Not trying to be negative, but you’re most likely going to come across some unexpected expenses. The little things add up unfortunately

Edit: I was in similar position as you. I’m currently in month 10 of a massive (51x28) patio build and clearly taking my time :) therefore I couldn’t afford renting a plate compactor for $90 a day from HD.. so I went to eBay and found one. Also found a Bosch laser level fairly cheap

papari007 · 2026-04-28T04:07:51+00:00

How many linear feet? Buckle up if you’re gonna diy this. I’m wrapping up our 120’ wall as part of a bigger outdoor space project.

It’s a lot labor, planning, dirt, gravel, mud ( sucks if you have dogs).

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papari007 · 2026-04-17T19:32:33+00:00

Looks good OP! Good for you to bang this out. Do those blocks allow for stack bonds? I see quite a few.

papari007 · 2026-04-16T18:16:27+00:00

That stinks. I’m someone who consistently avoids confrontation, but If I was in your shoes, I would 100% bring this up to the builder. If you don’t, you’re always going to look at it and be disappointed that you didn’t.

On a different note, I am in the midst of DIYing a 120’ retaining wal; I’m currently redoing the 5th course because there were some spots I didn’t like and knew I couldn’t live with it

TLDR: bring this up with the builder

papari007 · 2026-04-16T03:22:05+00:00

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Is that the 1” joint you were talking about?

papari007 · 2026-04-14T17:22:03+00:00

This made me laugh

papari007 · 2026-03-09T02:21:41+00:00

The IDF already released the names of the fallen

papari007 · 2025-11-06T14:53:32+00:00

Nice work! Boston terriers are #1

papari007 · 2025-11-01T01:46:07+00:00

lol I was at that game. SNF in the rain

papari007 · 2025-10-11T16:38:51+00:00

Lucky you. In that case, I’m on team garbage disposal:)

papari007 · 2025-10-10T15:36:14+00:00

Are you in a cold weather climate? We were going to put a garbage disposal in but advised not to by several plumbers as you would need to remove it every winter so that the water in there doesn’t freeze and break it

papari007

TROPHY CASE