Constructing Tiers on a Berm: Phase Two...6/30

Today was the first day of actually digging the trenches. The retaining wall stones I will be using are 12 inches long, 4 inches tall, and 8 inches from front to back. This being the case, the depth of the trench will be 8 inches deep, which will allow for 4 inches of gravel and the 4 inch height of the stone. The width of the trench will be 13 inches; this will allow the 8 inches of the stone and the 4 inch diameter of the drain. Since I only work a few hours a day on this project, I was able to go about 15 feet. In addition to the huge river rocks I dug out, I also ran into some sprinkler lines that I needed to be careful with. Once these lines were discovered, I needed to take the little hand shovel and dig them out by hand.

There was a question asked by BeadedTail with regards to my strange action of drying the sod. Well, a good portion of the sod, when I removed it, was covered in mud. So, I placed the sod on the berm for the sun to dry it out. Once dried, it will allow me to shake the dirt off (greatly reducing the weight) and toss the grass in a trash bag.

Now, I'm not going to sit here and give instructions on how to dig a trench, but I will sit here and tell you how I did it...shovel-by-shovel.

What you will need...



• Shovel (well there's a no-brainer)


• Rock bar


• Wheel barrel


• Measuring tape


• Lots of water (for drinking)


• 5 to 6 people to sit in the shade, drinking cold sodas (to supervise)

Digging this project...



• Move or cap any sprinklers affect by your project


• Start digging along the line you marked out as your border


• Take the height of your retaining wall stone and add 4 inches (for gravel). This will be the depth of your trench


• Take the front-to-back measurements of your stone and add the diameter of your drain pipe + 1 inch (for wiggle room). This will be the width of your trench


• Be sure that the edge of the trench (from top to bottom)is flush with your border


• Dig away


• Repeat until done

Now, in order to make sure that this project is done correctly, I want you all to meet...

The Project Supervisor....




First in series... Planning Your Tiered Retaining Wall

Next in series... Trenching the Tiers

Sod Removal for Tier Construction

Well, since I am currently waiting on a part for my Rotozip, the attic fan project is currently on hold. With that said, I have switched back to the berm project. As I stated earlier, "The Boss", in order to plant her garden, wanted a wider first tier, so I had to remove the sod from that area. As you can see from the photos, I have just completed that portion of the project. This allows you to see the exact outline of the walls of that first tier.

I consider this the first portion of Phase Two of the project. Phase one was the planning, laying-out of the borders, and making a supply list.Phase two, is going to consist of the sod removal and digging the trenches for the stone. Phase Three will be pouring the gravel, compacting it, laying the stones, and installing the drain pipe. Phase Four will be installing the weed barrier and back filling. Phase Five will consist of repeating the process on the additional tiers. Finally, Phase Six will consist of building the stairs.

You may be asking yourself why I am breaking this project down into so many steps. Well, since this is such a long project, it will be some time before I complete the entire thing. As I work and toil each day, it may seem like I will never reach the final goal, so by breaking the project up, whenever I complete a phase, I can feel that sense of accomplishment. In short, I am breaking the project up into small pieces. Now, onward with what I actually did.

I had "The Boss" lay down the outline of the first tier with a garden hose. Then, using the garden hose as my guide, I took our edger and cut the grass. This gave me a clean line from which to work. I took my trusty shovel and, while sitting on the ground, used my legs to jam the shovel between the sod and the dirt. I then basically tear the sod away and remove the dirt. If the sod happens to be muddy, I placed it on the berm to dry (as you can see from the photos). After a few days, I will be able to remove the dirt and dispose of the sod. I slowly worked my way down the line until I finished.

First in series... Planning Your Tiered Retaining Wall

Next in series... Constructing Tiers on Berm: Phase Two

Thank You to My Advertisers: 6/22-6/28

As of November 2009, I will no longer be with Entrecard, so in order to free-up valuable file space, I have removed the images and contents from this page. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. However, I invite you to stop by my main page and see if there is anything of interest to you...

Everyday Living

Friday Fotos: 6/26

Once again, Friday is upon us. Here are a few photos to help get you through those last couple of hours, until quitting time. Enjoy your weekend...



Wow, what a sale...

courtesy of... lolhome.com



Alright, this is just strange...

courtesy of... funnyjunk.com





courtesy of... icanhascheezburger

The Tale of the Attic Fan

I will be taking a break from working on the berm, so I can have a barrel of fun installing our new attic fan. Yes, it came today and I went up and started taking measurements. What I discovered did not fill me with happiness. In order to install the shutters, I need to have a minimum of 19 ¾". This will allow the shutter to be installed flush with the front of the house. Now, as you can see from this picture, the distance from the stud on the left to the one in the middle is 15". This means that I will have to move that portion of the stud to the right. Since this is a load-bearing wall, I will have to make sure I support it correctly.

I am no carpenter, nor have I ever claimed to be, but this is not going to be a fun task for me. It is not only the carpentry aspect that has me thinking, but it is the environment that I will be working in. If you take a look at the last picture, that is how I have to travel through this warren of pain (I have to go through 8 of those rafters). I have to walk hunched-over and make sure I stay on the small 2 x 4 that the construction workers were kind enough to leave behind. To add a little more to this fun-fest, the temperature is a good 30° higher in the attic. Today it was only 84° outside, but it was well over 105° in the attic. Too much fun. Anyway, I will need to paint the shutters to match the house and then figure out how I am going to cut the hole in a perfectly good gable.

Once the fan is installed, I will than have to wire it. I was planning on just direct-wiring it (with no switch), but have now decided that I would like to have a little more control, so I will be installing a master on/off switch. In addition, I will also be installing a thermostat override switch. This will allow me to activate the fan during the winter time (I don't have the $90.00 for the humidistat). This, of course, requires running 3 wires and a ground (14/3), instead of just 2 wires and a ground (14/2). Naturally, the Romex I have is 14/2...go figure.



Broan-NuTone 353 1140 Cfm Gable-Mounted Powered Attic Ventilators


This is a picture of the attic fan I purchased (plywood was purchased at Home Depot).

Links Open in New Browser Window or Same

I have a quick question, which came up in a forum I am active in. When you are visiting a site and click on a link, do you prefer to have it open in the same window or in a new window? There seems to be many people, when they are visiting a site, prefer to have the links open in the same window.

Which do you prefer?

If you do prefer the links opening on the same page, could you let me know why?

Thank you.

Thank You to My Advertisers: 6/15-6/21

As of November 2009, I will no longer be with Entrecard, so in order to free-up valuable file space, I have removed the images and contents from this page. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. However, I invite you to stop by my main page and see if there is anything of interest to you...

Everyday Living

Koko Participates in International Box Day

I was just going through my feeds and I discovered it was International Box Day. So, in recognition of this most prestigious of days, Koko would like to take this opportunity to put in his two cents. Oh, if you came here for Friday Fotos, please scroll down.


I sniff at International Box Day...





I own this day...





Halt! Who goes there...





Look what came with my shoes...





Too tired to do anymore pictures...

Friday Fotos: 6/19

Yes! It's Friday once again and only one more day till the weekend. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!



courtesy of... shof.msrcsites.co.uk





courtesy of... greatfunnypictures.com




This is so me...

courtesy of... shof.msrcsites.co.uk

Berm Progress Report

I just wanted to let you know that I have not been sitting on my be-hind this past week. I have actually been doing some work. I have been removing the weeds and grass from our berm, in order to be able to see what I need to do and to give me a better idea of how much fill-dirt I am going to have to order. I have provided a few photos to show you the progress to date. These photos were taken today after I finished for the day. I swear, I will be dreaming of weeds tonight.

There have been a few alterations to the original plans; the main one being the BOSS told me that since the lower level will be used for our garden, she thinks it is not wide enough, so that will be widened by 3 feet. That will not affect the number of retaining wall stones I will be using, but it will affect the amount of soil I will need to order.

Also, I will be adding a gravel walkway leading to the side of the house. This one was my fault. I had to open my big mouth and say," well, I can put a gravel walkway there, that way we won't need these sprinklers at all." Oh well, it's not a great deal of extra work; just removing the sod, digging down 4-6 inches and compacting the gravel. The pallets you see in the second photo are in my newly designated staging area. The pallets are going to be where the retaining wall stones are going to be stored.

I had to also remove the railroad tie that was laying on the berm. To make life easier on me (those things are massively heavy) I will try and find a place to bury it in our backyard... maybe as an edge for the gravel pathway. Anyway, once the actual construction begins, I will become a lot more specific on how I am actually constructing the tiers. So, if you are coming to this page for information, don't worry, it's coming. These articles written in real-time and as I get to the more detailed work, I will provide step-by-step instructions for each step in the process.


First in the series... Planning Your Tiered Retaining Wall

Next in series... Sod Removal for Tier Construction

Projects Update

Even though I may not be exercising this week, I am still keeping active. I am currently in the process of removing all of the grass/weeds from our berm. This will allow me to be able to actually SEE what I am working with. I have also, after pricing the stones, have had to amend our project to only forty feet this year. I really wanted to be able to complete the entire project this year, but there is no way we can afford it.

Since I am only working on the berm for a couple of hours a day, I should be finished by the end of this week. Now, why am I only working a few hours a day? Well, besides being lazy, I do have other obligations that I have to attend to throughout the day. So, I figure if I can work two to three hours a day on this project, I am doing alright.

Next, I ordered the attic fan and it shipped today, so if it arrives by the weekend, I will be installing that and hopefully keeping the house a little cooler. Since this is the first attic fan I will have installed, I will be boring you with all the installation details. Actually, the installation is not what is really bothering me, it is trying to move around in the attic that will be the problem. All I have to say is that I am glad I lost so much weight; otherwise, there is no way I could probably be able to move around.

Well, I guess I have bored you enough, so I hope you all have a good week. Yes, that is Koko sitting on our washing machine and giving us the ole laser eyes.

Finding Pool Supplies

If you've landed upon this page, chances are that you are trying desperately to find a reputable company to purchase your pool supplies from, so I will quickly give you the name of the company we have been using for the past three years: In The Swim.

So, to help you out, I have supplied some links for you to save you some time and trouble...

Chemicals...

• Start-Up Kits


• Chlorine


• Bromine


• Pool Shock


• All Chemicals


Other Resources...


• Pool Equipment


• Testing Equipment

Three years ago we purchased an above-the-ground pool, you know, the kind you can get from Walmart. It's a 12-foot by 3-foot pool, that we can easily place in our backyard every Summer. Now, I had no idea that we would need chemicals and when I found out that we did, I began a long search in trying to find someplace to buy them, without having to mortgage the house in the process.

You see, although the prices may be similar from company to company, you can get killed on shipping charges. Just one order of chlorine can weigh between 25 and 50 pounds; and that is just one item. When you add stabilizers, pH reducers/increasers, algaecide, and clairifiers, to name just a few items, the weight can really add up. The increased weight relates to increased shipping costs. So, imagine my relief when I discovered that In the Swim offers not only free shipping, but free Next Day shipping to many areas.

Yes, they do charge a handling fee of between $8.99-$10.99, but considering the fact that you could be paying over $50.00 for Next Day delivery, you are getting a great bargain. As I've said, we have been purchasing our pool supplies with them for three years now, and we have been very happy with the service and the quality of the products they sell.

Once Again in the Weight Loss Plateau

Well, as I sit here writing this, I am once again in the throes of a weight loss plateau. I have been at the same weight for roughly two months now, so I feel it is time to mix things up a bit. Since the end of January, I have been exercising 5 days a week without fail. During the previous three weeks, I have increased my workouts to seven days a week; four days of strength training and three days of the dreaded Nordic Track.

Since I am still at 216 pounds, I feel that the only way to break this plateau, is to take a break from exercising. I bet it sounds really strange to say, that if I stop exercising for a week, I will begin to lose weight again? But, it does seem to work. You see, as you tally-forth on your exercise and diet regime, your body does not know what to expect, so it will expend the maximum amount of calories to make sure you have the energy you need. As you continue with the exercises, your body will begin to remember how many calories to expend in order to get you through the routine. You will eventually reach a point where, if you do not alter your exercises, your body will know exactly how many calories to burn. When this occurs, you will not be burning any additional calories and your weight will remain the same.

What you need to do, is to "trick" your body. You see, right now my body is expecting me to workout on my Total Gym or Nordic Track and it knows exactly how many calories to expend, to get me through my exercises. So, I need to break my routine and to do that, I'm not going to be exercising this week. I have got to say that it feels really strange not exercising. It is such an ingrained routine that it is going to be difficult not to do it.

If you read back what I just said, it may help to illustrate my point..."it is such an ingrained routine," with the keyword being: routine. In my mind, I am expecting to exercise today; if my mind expects me to exercise, what do you think my body is expecting?

You may be asking yourself, if this really works or not. Well, I have been at this for just shy of two years and I run into these things just about every six to eight weeks. When I take that well-deserved break and resume the following week, I begin to see the weight beginning to come off, once again. So yes, it does work. I have added a few things you might want to try to break your plateau...

• Take a week off


• Come up with new exercises or a different way of doing the old ones


• Change-up the routine. Don't do it the same way each day


• Do both strength training and cardio

Good Luck and let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Thank You to My Advertisers: 6/8-6/14

As of November 2009, I will no longer be with Entrecard, so in order to free-up valuable file space, I have removed the images and contents from this page. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. However, I invite you to stop by my main page and see if there is anything of interest to you...

Everyday Living

Retaining Wall Supply List

The following is a list of the supplies I will need in order to construct a retaining wall out of our existing berm. The number of items on your list will probably vary, depending on the size and style of your wall, but the materials needed will most likely be similar. Unfortunately, we can only afford to do forty feet of the berm this year, so the supplies listed below are for that length.

I was originally going to use two styles of stone: a heavier stone (63 pounds) for the lower wall and a lighter stone (27 pounds), for the upper tiers. However, after actually going to Home Depot and seeing the two side-by-side, I discovered that it would be extreme overkill to use the heavier stone (the thing is massive) for my application. So, I will be sticking with the 27 pound stone, which seems perfect for my project.


Here are the specs for the stones I will be using...




Oldcastle 4 In. x 12 In. Retaining Wall - Gray

$1.68/EA Each

Specifications

* Length : 8.0 In.
* Weight : 27.0 Lbs.
* Width : 12.0 In.

Things you need


• Retaining wall stones (27 lbs)....500




• Remember to keep in mind that the first row in each tier is going to be buried, so make allowances for those extra stones




• Pea gravel......4 yards


• Fill dirt and soil aid....2 yards of each


• Mulch or crushed lava rock (I haven't decided yet)....4 yards (use remainder in front yard)
  
• Weed barrier (commercial grade)...2 rolls


• Landscape staples (to secure the weed barrier)...3 boxes (I may not need them all, but you can always store them and use them another time)


• 4" Perforated pipe (for drainage) w/ end-caps....40 feet and 2 end-caps (I use 4" for my situation, but you can also use 3" perforated pipe)


• Drainage pipe sleeve (cover) for 4" perforated pipe...1


• Level...1 large and 1 torpedo level (used to level gravel and stones) (examples shown below)

Large level


Torpedo level



• Cold chisel...(example shown below)





• Construction Adhesive....20 tubes


• Adhesive gun.....1 (same as a caulking gun)

First in series... Planning Your Tiered Retaining Wall

Next in series... Berm Progress Report

Friday Fotos: 6/12

It is Friday once again, which means it's almost time for the weekend. Here are a few photos I found to help you make it through the day. Have a great weekend, everyone!



Now, that's roughing it...

courtesy of... greatfunnypictures.com




This is SO Koko...

courtesy of... toons.gotblah.com





courtesy of... icanhascheezburger.com

Pre-Construction Photos of Our Berm

I have included a couple of pictures of our wonderful berm. As you may be able to see, a portion of it is currently being held-up by some railroad ties. I will, of course, have to remove them (not a fun task).
As you can see, I've drawn lines where the lower wall will be. In this photo, you will notice another line going up the side. This is where a fence is located and since I don't want to pile dirt against the fence (it's not good construction technique and it is also bad for the fence), I'll need to place an ascending wall of stone next to the fence to act as a buffer between the dirt and the fence. The height from the ground to the bottom of the fence is approximately eight feet. Towards the end of the yard, it gradually tapers down to roughly three feet in height.

In addition to the first wall, which will be two feet tall, I plan to add two to three additional tiers. Along the top, by the fence, I will have a gravel walkway. Since we are going to be using this as a garden area, I will also be adding an irrigation system. When I originally installed the sprinkler system for the backyard, I ran a 1-inch sprinkler line to the berm, so all I need to do is tee off of that line. Also, just behind the line are two sprinklers, which I will have to either raise or move forward.

So, you have some sort of idea of the task ahead of me. These two photos show only a portion of the seventy-two feet of wall I will need to construct. As construction begins and throughout the entire process, I will continue to take photos and I will give step-by-step instructions on what I am doing.

Well, all that's left to do now is to get started, it can only look better...

First in series... planning-your-tiered-retaining-wall

Next in series... retaining-wall-supply-list

Planning Your Tiered Retaining Wall

This is the first in a long series of articles that will take you step-by-step through the phases of installing tiers in you existing berm.

So, I have decided to move ahead and actually get started putting tiers on our huge hill of dirt. The first phase of this project will be the actual planning of it. Before I begin a project of this magnitude, I like to know exactly what I need to do and how I plan to do it. It also has the added benefit of delaying the actual construction of the tiers, yet while honestly saying that you are, in fact, working on it.

Things You Will Need...

• Paper and pencil


• Tape measure


• Camera


• Calculator


• An old garden hose


• Spray paint

The first thing to do is to take a picture of your project. This has the benefit of acting as a reference during the construction and also serves as a great showpiece for you. You see, you can take these photos and show them to your friends and family to let them see the great job you did. This may sound silly, but you are going to be putting a great deal of hard work into this project and you deserve to brag about it.

• Take a tape measure and measure the length of your project and mark it down on your paper


• Measure the width of your berm


• Decide how many tiers you will actually need and how far apart they will be placed


• Decide whether or not you will be putting steps in your berm


• Decide if you are going to be installing sprinklers or some other irrigation system


• If your wall is going to be higher than four feet, you will need to look into a geo-grid system to help strengthen your wall


• Find out if you need a building permit


• Decide if you are going to be installing any landscape lighting

After you have all this written down, it will give you a good idea as to the scope of your project. You will also be able to plan the steps you will take during construction. I have to say that there is nothing more devastating then to get halfway through construction, only to discover that you forgot to do something. Hopefully, this will help you prevent that.

• Sit down and make a list of all the materials you will need. This will include everything from the gravel to the actual retaining wall stones



**Sample List**


• Retaining wall stones


• Pea gravel


• Fill dirt


• Weed barrier (commercial quality)


• Perforated pipe (for drainage on outer wall only)


• Construction adhesive (optional, but highly recommended)


• Any irrigation or electrical supplies you may need




• Decide which style, size, and weight of retaining wall stone you want,




• I would recommend going with a heavier stone for your bottom course. This will help maintain the stability of the wall and will help add strength to it




• Once you have your list of supplies, it is time to actually mark the layout of your wall


• Take an old garden hose and run it along the length of the proposed wall. Place the hose in the shape you want your outer wall to be, ie. straight or with curves


• Once you are satisfied with the placement, take the spray paint and spray along the outer edge of the hose


• This will be your guideline throughout the project


• Next, you will need to calculate the number of retaining wall stones you will need




• Be advised, the first layer in each tier will be underground and not visible, which means it will not add to the height of your wall


• take the length of each stone and divide by the length of your project. For example, if you have a 30 foot project and the stones are 12 inches (always convert inches into feet), than you will need 30 stones per row. If your stones are 16 inches, convert that into feet (16 ÷ 12= 1.3 feet; 30 ÷ 1.3= 24 stones per row). Do the same thing for the height: Our stones are 4 inches high, so I will need 3 rows per foot of height


• If you are installing curves in your wall, you will also need to increase the number of stones you purchase




• Next, you will need to figure how much gravel (pea gravel) you will need for the base. You will need 4 inches (.33 feet) of compacted gravel running the length of each of your tiers, plus an additional 8-10 inches of pea gravel (not crushed) behind the first few layers of stone

To calculate how much you need, you will need to take the length × Width × Depth (all expressed in feet). This will get you the Cubic Feet. Next, divide that number by 27. This will get you the cubic yards of material you will need.
L × W × D (all expressed in feet) = Cubic Feet

Cubic Feet ÷ 27 = Cubic Yards

OR

Here's a handy calculator that I found online... calculator

I hope this helps you get started in the planning of your project. As always, if you have any questions, please let me know and I will do my best to help you.

Next in Series... pre-construction-photos-of-our-berm

Thank You to My Advertisers: 6/1-6/7

As of November 2009, I will no longer be with Entrecard, so in order to free-up valuable file space, I have removed the images and contents from this page. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. However, I invite you to stop by my main page and see if there is anything of interest to you...

Everyday Living

Friday Photos: 6/5

Another week has just about passed us by and we are now at the half-way point in 2009. I hope everyone had a good week and I wish you all a great weekend. Now, let's fire-up those bar-b-ques!




Too True...

courtesy of... graphjam.com





courtesy of... fukung.net




Looks okay to me...

courtesy of... funnyjunk.com




I couldn't resist...

courtesy of... icanhascheezburger.com

What to Do With the Summer

As I sit here in front of the computer typing the words you are now reading, I am wondering what I am now going to do with my free time? You see, school is out so I have no more lessons to plan; no more math to learn; nothing to teach. There are several things that need to be done around the house, so I guess that is where my focus should lie.

First on the list is the berm. You see, we have an eight-foot tall berm in our backyard that is currently being supported by only a few railroad ties. Not very aesthetically pleasing and definitely not very functional. Since this berm runs the length of our backyard, around sixty feet, I feel it would be a good idea to construct tiers on it. This way we would be able to transfer our garden and the bird feeders to a better location. I have been delaying this chore for some time, because it is going to be an extremely labor-intensive project. Since I don't have ready access to a back hoe, I will need to dig the foundation by hand (a trench for the stones: roughly 16 inches deep by 14 inches wide running the length of the berm). Also, since I am now prone to allergies, I need to keep some toilet paper handy outside, in case of allergy attacks. Not fun.

The other project, that just got dumped on me last night, is to install an attic fan. With this in mind, I have been searching the Internet for a gable-mounted attic fan. I'm pretty sure that I have found one that will work (a Broan), but I still need to compare prices before I actually make the purchase (also, I don't have to do the actual work, until I make the purchase). Since the model I'm looking at pulls just under 4.0 amps, I need to find a circuit that can handle the load. Luckily, about two years ago, I installed a dedicated circuit for the freezer we have out in the garage, so I can tap into that line. Now, I just need to wait for the hottest day of the year to venture into the attic and install it.

Now, for the million dollar question: why should you care what I do with my summer? Well, in addition to giving you something to read while the other Entrecard sites load, I plan to write a few articles about all this. In these articles, I will take you step-by-step through the processes, so if you plan on tackling any of these projects, you won't have to make the same mistakes that I am sure to make. Well, I think I've bored you enough for today, so I'll finish this and continue searching for that fan.

Thank You to My Top Droppers for May

As of November 2009, I will no longer be with Entrecard, so in order to free-up valuable file space, I have removed the images and contents from this page. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. However, I invite you to stop by my main page and see if there is anything of interest to you...

Everyday Living