Hi could you please explain a bit about the crane you built. it is very smart and super handy, where did you get that joint, the centered at the pole? thanks
Yes, the jackhammer is quite heavy when you need to safely hold it above the posts. For the boom, I used a 13' long piece of 2" steel pipe. The counterweight is a pair of doubled up 80 gallon garden bags, filled with roughly 150# of dirt. The pivot I made with parts I already had on hand. (imgur.com/a/mPUEHuo) It allowed 360deg rotation and +/-60 deg of tilt. The pivot sat in a hole I drilled in an 8x8x24 block of wood - which was lashed to the ladder with a ratchet strap. I made a rolling base for the ladder to make it easier to move around my patio (especially with all the weight on it). The pivot was attached to the boom at 1/3 of the way from the counterweight to the jackhammer. Since the jackhammer was twice as far from the pivot as the counterweight, the counterweight needed to be about twice the weight of the jackhammer. (If you connect the pivot at the middle of the boom, the counterweight would weight the same as the jackhammer.) I used the 1/3 - 2/3 setup so the boom could reach the posts from the patio. If you have two people, it might be easier for one person to be the counterweight - instead of lugging a giant bag of dirt around. Also, if your ladder is tall enough, it is probably easier to make the pivot by hanging the boom (with rope/webbing) a foot or two beneath the peak of the ladder. It doesn't give you the 360deg rotation (which you might not need) but it is so much simpler to make (no special parts). I ran a second rope around the jackhammer (and its trigger) so that I could both operate it with my foot as well as pull down on the jackhammer with my body weight. This left my hands free to hold the post in position while hammering. I would also add some sort of clamps to both ends of the boom to make sure none of the ropes accidentally slide off the ends. I hope this helps give you some direction/ideas.
Thanks for the detail in the video, description and your comment/question responses - did you get a geotech+structural engineer to ensure the 2" pipe + H pile + manta rays were suitable for what you were doing or just assume it was? I'm looking at doing a 2" system and only 3' tall.
No geotech analysis beyond my own calculations from the formulas that I could look up. But that was just double-checking things to make myself feel better. If I remember correctly, Sutter's 2" wall was rated for 4ft tall. By bumping up to a 4" wall, changing the 1" rebar to 2" pipe, and upsizing to larger manta-ray anchors, it should be many times stronger than their standard wall.... more than enough for my 5' wall. A few years later, I also added some 3' and 4' tall Sutter walls to my backyard using their standard 2" product. (About 80' total length) It all worked out very well.
@AussieInSeattle My original plan was to just spin the nut... but changed my mind after trying it on the 4" wall, for a few reasons. 1) You need like a ft of travel on the screw at high tension, which is a lot of work with a box wrench. 2) I was worried about grinding down the threads inside the nut with all the friction (and it's hard to change the nut afterwards). You could add grease, but I didn't want to compromise the loctite. 3) Using the jack was way faster. However, when I used the 2" wall system later, I was able to just spin the nut to set the anchors.
@AussieInSeattle That was too many years ago, so I no longer have the formula handy. I just did a Google search for retaining wall soil pressure load (with surcharge if you have that)
When you rented the jackhammer did you have to rent a special adapter to fit the H post and for 2 inch pipe to hammer everything down. Or did you buy them somewhere? Plus where did you get the 4X12 Sleepers. I've been trying to find them but it's proving to be difficult. Thanks and great job none on the wall
You can rent the special jackhammer bit (H-post driver head) from Sutter ( www.sutterequipment.com/retaining-walls ) and return it to them when you are done. The bit is a standard 1-1/8" hex that fits in most jackhammers. You can also rent from Sutter the special bit (drive gad) that you use to hammer the Manta Ray earth anchors horizontally into the hill. To hammer in the 2" pipe, my local tool rental company (sunbelt.com - where I got the jackhammer) also had a standard bit with a 3" cup on the end (usually used to hammer steaks into the ground). I ordered the pressure-treated 4x12 sleepers from a local lumber yard (www.ganahllumber.com) in 20' lengths and cut them down myself. All the lumber yards around me (even Home Depot) had them, but you have to special order it since they don't display it in the store. Seemed to be stored locally since they delivered it in 1-2 days. (I recommend installing all the posts before cutting down the sleepers so you can measure exactly how long each sleeper needs to be.)
Thanks for the feedback! The wall is 5ft tall. The posts that you see are hollow and only go about 1ft into the ground. But, inside the posts are pieces of 2" pipe that go 3-4ft into the ground. These just keep the bottom of the posts from shifting around. It's really the horizontal earth-anchors near the top of the wall that support the wall from leaning over.
Hi great job! Are you still happy with the wall? Any structural issues or things you wish you did differently? I’m pretty close to doing a Sutter wall but haven’t pulled the trigger yet from lack of long term information
Still super happy with the Sutter wall. It really transformed my front patio space. Seems really solid and continues look great. If I can get some more free time, I'd like to install additional Sutter walls in my back yard. (Those would be smaller and use 2x12 instead of 4x12 lumber)
@@InfinitelyFinite Thanks for the information and reply. I have about 120 feet that I am planning to build a 4 foot wall on. Did you put any waterproofing behind the sleepers? Like a dimple board to run down to the drainage?
@@littlejando Great question. I backfilled about 1ft thick with 3/4" crushed granite for drainage. (With some permeable landscape fabric behind the rock to keep most of the dirt and roots out.) I intentionally did not put any waterproofing membrane behind the wall for 2 reasons. 1) So that the wood can breathe/dry (rather than trap moisture between the membrane and the wood). 2) If the drain is clogged, I want the water to come out between the boards rather than building up hydrostatic pressure behind the wall. That's my philosophy on it.
@@InfinitelyFinite Good call and makes sense. I live in an area that isn't very rain prone (SoCal), but I have super fine soil. I talked to the Sutter folks and they said it shouldn't be an issue but I am probably just worrying for no reason about wood rot but what you said aligns with what I have found with other walls. Thanks again!
You can order them from Sutter (www.sutterequipment.com/retaining-walls) and they ship them to California from Nevada. Mine arrived strapped down to a single pallet. They also provide the attachments you need for the jackhammer (which you return them when you are done). The shipping cost was a lot less than I imagined. I was not able to find anything similar locally.
@@shelleyscholl4782 Looking to do this wall... did you work out the issues with the jackhammer and posts? How long are your post and what type of soil are you working with?
Including all the posts, anchors, caps, wood, gravel, equipment rental, paint, etc., it came to ~$730/post (This is using 4" posts & lumber. The standard 2" material would have been cheaper. ) This is all pre-Covid. The cost of steel and lumber has gone up considerably since then.
![Build a Retaining Wall: FINISHED! [Part 3]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/sLvRyiunGp0/mqdefault.jpg)
What a great vid! Shows genuine craftmanship and a joy of doing a project well. Excellent video as well!
Epic build, nice to watch !
Minimally informative
Thank you for your comment. Much more detailed information is listed in the text description for those interested.
Hi
could you please explain a bit about the crane you built. it is very smart and super handy, where did you get that joint, the centered at the pole? thanks
How far do the sutter post go in to the ground and how far do the pipe post anchors go down in to the ground?
I would love to know the specifics of the ladder/jackhammer/ pendulum. We have a similar project
Yes, the jackhammer is quite heavy when you need to safely hold it above the posts.
For the boom, I used a 13' long piece of 2" steel pipe.
The counterweight is a pair of doubled up 80 gallon garden bags, filled with roughly 150# of dirt.
The pivot I made with parts I already had on hand. (imgur.com/a/mPUEHuo) It allowed 360deg rotation and +/-60 deg of tilt.
The pivot sat in a hole I drilled in an 8x8x24 block of wood - which was lashed to the ladder with a ratchet strap.
I made a rolling base for the ladder to make it easier to move around my patio (especially with all the weight on it).
The pivot was attached to the boom at 1/3 of the way from the counterweight to the jackhammer. Since the jackhammer was twice as far from the pivot as the counterweight, the counterweight needed to be about twice the weight of the jackhammer. (If you connect the pivot at the middle of the boom, the counterweight would weight the same as the jackhammer.) I used the 1/3 - 2/3 setup so the boom could reach the posts from the patio.
If you have two people, it might be easier for one person to be the counterweight - instead of lugging a giant bag of dirt around.
Also, if your ladder is tall enough, it is probably easier to make the pivot by hanging the boom (with rope/webbing) a foot or two beneath the peak of the ladder. It doesn't give you the 360deg rotation (which you might not need) but it is so much simpler to make (no special parts).
I ran a second rope around the jackhammer (and its trigger) so that I could both operate it with my foot as well as pull down on the jackhammer with my body weight. This left my hands free to hold the post in position while hammering.
I would also add some sort of clamps to both ends of the boom to make sure none of the ropes accidentally slide off the ends.
I hope this helps give you some direction/ideas.
Thanks for the detail in the video, description and your comment/question responses - did you get a geotech+structural engineer to ensure the 2" pipe + H pile + manta rays were suitable for what you were doing or just assume it was? I'm looking at doing a 2" system and only 3' tall.
No geotech analysis beyond my own calculations from the formulas that I could look up. But that was just double-checking things to make myself feel better. If I remember correctly, Sutter's 2" wall was rated for 4ft tall. By bumping up to a 4" wall, changing the 1" rebar to 2" pipe, and upsizing to larger manta-ray anchors, it should be many times stronger than their standard wall.... more than enough for my 5' wall.
A few years later, I also added some 3' and 4' tall Sutter walls to my backyard using their standard 2" product. (About 80' total length) It all worked out very well.
@InfinitelyFinite nice! one other question: why use the jack setup to set the anchors vs just spinning the nut? also saw you put loctite on them :-)
@InfinitelyFinite and care to share the formula website? I found the capacity of the duck bill anchors and that was it.
@AussieInSeattle My original plan was to just spin the nut... but changed my mind after trying it on the 4" wall, for a few reasons. 1) You need like a ft of travel on the screw at high tension, which is a lot of work with a box wrench. 2) I was worried about grinding down the threads inside the nut with all the friction (and it's hard to change the nut afterwards). You could add grease, but I didn't want to compromise the loctite. 3) Using the jack was way faster.
However, when I used the 2" wall system later, I was able to just spin the nut to set the anchors.
@AussieInSeattle That was too many years ago, so I no longer have the formula handy. I just did a Google search for retaining wall soil pressure load (with surcharge if you have that)
When you rented the jackhammer did you have to rent a special adapter to fit the H post and for 2 inch pipe to hammer everything down. Or did you buy them somewhere? Plus where did you get the 4X12 Sleepers. I've been trying to find them but it's proving to be difficult. Thanks and great job none on the wall
You can rent the special jackhammer bit (H-post driver head) from Sutter ( www.sutterequipment.com/retaining-walls ) and return it to them when you are done. The bit is a standard 1-1/8" hex that fits in most jackhammers.
You can also rent from Sutter the special bit (drive gad) that you use to hammer the Manta Ray earth anchors horizontally into the hill.
To hammer in the 2" pipe, my local tool rental company (sunbelt.com - where I got the jackhammer) also had a standard bit with a 3" cup on the end (usually used to hammer steaks into the ground).
I ordered the pressure-treated 4x12 sleepers from a local lumber yard (www.ganahllumber.com) in 20' lengths and cut them down myself. All the lumber yards around me (even Home Depot) had them, but you have to special order it since they don't display it in the store. Seemed to be stored locally since they delivered it in 1-2 days. (I recommend installing all the posts before cutting down the sleepers so you can measure exactly how long each sleeper needs to be.)
Excellent engineered stuff. Where is this wall built? What city & state?
Thanks! It's in Los Angeles, CA
I like the detail and engineering you put into it, so well done!
Question: how tall is the wall and how deep in the ground are the posts?
Thanks for the feedback!
The wall is 5ft tall.
The posts that you see are hollow and only go about 1ft into the ground. But, inside the posts are pieces of 2" pipe that go 3-4ft into the ground. These just keep the bottom of the posts from shifting around. It's really the horizontal earth-anchors near the top of the wall that support the wall from leaning over.
Hi great job! Are you still happy with the wall? Any structural issues or things you wish you did differently? I’m pretty close to doing a Sutter wall but haven’t pulled the trigger yet from lack of long term information
Still super happy with the Sutter wall. It really transformed my front patio space. Seems really solid and continues look great. If I can get some more free time, I'd like to install additional Sutter walls in my back yard. (Those would be smaller and use 2x12 instead of 4x12 lumber)
@@InfinitelyFinite Thanks for the information and reply. I have about 120 feet that I am planning to build a 4 foot wall on. Did you put any waterproofing behind the sleepers? Like a dimple board to run down to the drainage?
@@littlejando Great question. I backfilled about 1ft thick with 3/4" crushed granite for drainage. (With some permeable landscape fabric behind the rock to keep most of the dirt and roots out.) I intentionally did not put any waterproofing membrane behind the wall for 2 reasons. 1) So that the wood can breathe/dry (rather than trap moisture between the membrane and the wood). 2) If the drain is clogged, I want the water to come out between the boards rather than building up hydrostatic pressure behind the wall. That's my philosophy on it.
@@InfinitelyFinite Good call and makes sense. I live in an area that isn't very rain prone (SoCal), but I have super fine soil. I talked to the Sutter folks and they said it shouldn't be an issue but I am probably just worrying for no reason about wood rot but what you said aligns with what I have found with other walls. Thanks again!
Where can I find that post in california?
You can order them from Sutter (www.sutterequipment.com/retaining-walls) and they ship them to California from Nevada. Mine arrived strapped down to a single pallet. They also provide the attachments you need for the jackhammer (which you return them when you are done). The shipping cost was a lot less than I imagined. I was not able to find anything similar locally.
@@InfinitelyFinite thank you for rhe information
@@InfinitelyFinite hi, we are struggling with our jackhammer because of the height. Can you offer and specifics on your ladder-pendulum system?
@@shelleyscholl4782 Looking to do this wall... did you work out the issues with the jackhammer and posts? How long are your post and what type of soil are you working with?
What size bit did you use for pounding in thevH posts and where did you get it?
Sorry for the delay. I never got a notification for this comment. Anyway, please see my response included in your other comment below.
Sorry for some reason I couldn't see the reply to this question that was already asked but I signed in under another browser now I can see the replies
What was the cost roughly? Per post if possible
Including all the posts, anchors, caps, wood, gravel, equipment rental, paint, etc., it came to ~$730/post (This is using 4" posts & lumber. The standard 2" material would have been cheaper. ) This is all pre-Covid. The cost of steel and lumber has gone up considerably since then.
great looking wall but got a quote from Sutter and these are in no way shape or form a cost effective way of building a wall. too bad, it looks good