Had a close call with a wall collapse on a job in Tempe last Thursday

We were laying the second course on a 12-foot garden wall when I noticed the footing on the south end had sunk almost an inch overnight from a hidden water leak. I yelled for the crew to clear out just as a five-foot section started to tip, and we had to shore it up with 4x4s before we could dig out and re-pour that part of the base. Has anyone else had to deal with a bad footing after the first course was already down, and what's your go-to fix?

3 comments

3 Comments

dianal9410d ago

My buddy Mike had a similar scare on a job in Glendale last year. They were three courses into a block wall when they found a soft spot under the footing, like a two-foot void from a busted irrigation line. They ended up having to cut out a whole section of the first course with a saw, pump out the mud, and then set new rebar before the pour. Took his crew a full day just to get back to square one.

lewis.troy10d ago

A full day just to fix a soft spot? That's a NIGHTMARE.

the_fiona7d ago

We hit a soft spot like that in Tempe and used flowable fill to fix it. It sets fast and gets you back on track in a few hours. Honestly saved us a full day of demo and rebar work.