"Dooler" wrote in message
...
I have fence company installing a retaining wall 2' tall and a fence.
They have done retaining walls before and seem to know what they are
doing, but they are setting the prefab stones at ground level (they
flattened and leveled even with sidewalk) with crushed rock on top
rather than dig down 3" + gravel as per the instructions of
mutualmaterial.com states for manorstones. When questioned, owner
said they will put dirt in front (wall inset from sidewalk a foot).

They just finished first day and got ground level and just started
putting blocks in. Quick recommendation/help appreciated.


I would say that it all depends on where you live. If you are in a warm
climate without any problems with frost heaving, then it probably won't be a
problem. If you are in a cold climate, you may find that the wall will
shift after several freeze thaw cycles. In any event, I would expect the
materials to be used as specified by the manufacturer. I have an Allen
Block wall that was constructed on a 12 inch bed of crushed, compacted stone
with geo-grid placed between every two courses. There is no poured footer or
steel rods and it seems quite stable. In my opinion it is a retaining wall
but I won't argue with an engineer over the definition.