Retaining Wall and Footer/ Pouring Concrete

We recently put in a footer and retaining wall. This instructable will show you pictures of the footer and retaining wall already built. I do not have pictures of how we built it. Hopefully I took enough pictures of the wall to give you an idea how we built it. I did take pictures of pouring the concrete. We are building a fence that will go on top of the wall. The area around the wall will be lined in rock and back-filled with dirt.


The retaining wall is 60 feet long 20 1/2 high and 7 1/2 wide and we ordered 5 yards of concrete but only used 4 1/2 yards.

We used 2x 8 for the concrete forms because we are using them in another project after the fence is built. You can use plywood instead. The 2x8's were used to keep the concrete in the forms.

We had 2 men helping control the pour and one man compacting the concrete.
In the areas where the truck spout did not reach we hand carried concrete using buckets.
The pour took about 45 minutes.
We had a tub filled with water to keep the tools clean.
The men wore gloves which is very important. Chemical burns will scar.
It is best to use protective clothing if you or your clothing are going to be touching the wet concrete.
It is important to have enough help when you pour because you get a certain amount of truck time. After that you pay by the minute.
After the concrete has been compacted you take a trowel and put a finish on the top. We did not have to have a mirror finish because a fence is going to be on top of the concrete.
Before the truck leaves, we always save a little wet concrete in a wheelbarrow in case we need it.
It takes 24-48 hours to cure, depending on the weather.
After the concrete is cured you can gently and carefully remove or strip the forms.
You have to be careful because the concrete is still green and brittle.
After removing the forms you clean them up so you can use them for something else.
You can't pour concrete when it is raining hard. If you are pouring a slab that needs a nice finish wait until the weather permits.
It is best not to pour concrete when the weather is freezing.