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Building with Allan Block - Site Prep and Excavation
Once you have checked out your materials and equipment it is time to prep the site.
Keep in mind the purpose the wall will serve when laying out the site.
To start your layout, place a stake to represent the location of the front of the wall.
Then using stakes, a string line or paint, mark out the entire length of the wall.
A garden hose is an excellent tool to use when laying out curved walls.
Once the layout is complete, excavate the area by removing all surface vegetation and organic soils and set aside for finishing your project.
For reinforced walls you will need to excavate the soil behind the wall to accommodate the design length of the reinforcement grid as well as the soil in front of the wall location, and set it aside for later use.
Refer to the approved plans for exact grid lengths to determine the depth of the excavated area.
Start digging the base trench at the lowest elevation specified on the approved plans.
The minimum width for a base trench is twenty four inches
The depth of the trench is determined by allowing for six inches of base material plus one inch per foot of wall height.
For this example we are building a four foot wall that will require six inches in trench depth to allow for the base material
and an additional four inches to allow for the buried block giving us a total trench depth of ten inches.
If organic or wet soils are still present in the base trench area or under the
infill soil they must be removed and replaced with granular material.
Then compact and level the base trench making a minimum of 2 passes with a mechanical plate compactor.
A drain pipe is required for any reinforced wall or walls over four foot tall.
Place the drainpipe at the lowest possible point toward the back of the
trench that can be vented to daylight every fifty feet.
See the Landscape Walls guide for more details or alternative drain pipe placement.
Now that the base trench is ready place a minimum of 6" wall rock in the base trench and rake smooth.
Once the wall rock is in place, compact the base making a minimum of 2 passes using a mechanical plate compactor.
Use a string line level and a measuring tape to check for level along the length of the base. .
Using a 4 foot level, check for any high spots screeding the wall rock as necessary to adjust the base
For the next step go to the Base Course Section or visit us at allanblock.com