DIY Retaining Wall - Block Walls: Helping you with all steps of planning and building your own retaining wall using segmental concrete blocks

It's the amateurs condensed Bible on retaining walls

This is a great tutorial for all things “do it yourself” retaining wall projects! Everything in the book is laid out logically and presents easy-to-follow steps. The contents are simple, yet detailed so that ANYONE understands not only the way to build, but why it is necessary to do things. For instance, the book tells how to use free software to design the wall, and it provides a great explanation of setbacks that may impact the retaining wall’s reliability. It tells how much materiel to purchase and how to figure that out. As a non-engineer with a liberal arts background, I found the explanations very useful and educational. There are easy to follow instructions. I especially appreciated the instructions not only how to construct various retaining wall types, but what NOT to do. And the hyperlinks are great. Normally, I am not quite at ease with e-books when it comes to studies or instructions because navigation can be difficult. This book is very easy to navigate. The hyperlinks provide further explanation such as when a drainage system is required, explanation of specific tools that are needed, how to cut blocks, etc. I simply used the back arrow to return to my original place in the book. Overall impression: I have seen the websites of major hardware stores offering retaining wall instructions… They have some basic information, but not complete information. I would not want to attempt a DYI retaining wall without this book.

Very nicely done manual. Learned a lot of new techniques. Very confident that the retaining walls I worked on are done properly and will last.

Good if you are just starting to learn about retaining walls. But really just scratches the surface. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a more comprehensive book available.

Basic and reliable

Very informative