How to pump sand behind a retaining wall

[terravista]

I am never surprised at the extent of knowledge our Forum has, and I hope to tap into a bit more.
We have a retaining wall that requires backfilling, but we can't get any plant close enough because some idiot put an in ground pool in the way before we backfilled.
A concrete pump will cost around $500 but the concrete a further $1 200 for the quantity required and that means all the pool pump pipes and equipment would be concreted in. We thought maybe using sand moistened to a similar consistancy to concrete may be an option. That was until the local concrete pump contractor said the pump won't pump sand.
The nearest we can get any sort of machinery is around 18 metres, and access is not good for a crane with a hopper.
This opens up the field for answers, including buying a bunch of Jeeps to drive near the hole because they seem to fall over so easy and we could bury them. Or maybe Landrovers, but that would mean too much leaking oil near the water and it would end up looking like the Gulf of Mexico after BP played there.
So.......... any ideas people?
Any concrete pumpers that know whether concrete pumps should be able to pump sand.
Is there any other equipment or materials we could use.
Cheers and please help.
Ian

[lino6]

What about some sort of conveyor? Like in the gravel pits?

[ronmac]

How high is the retaining wall and how long, not advisable to use sand as a back fill as it retains moisture creating back pressure on the wall and if the wall is not block filled with concrete and reinforced steel on a suitable footing it can cause one hell of a headache. I'd use road base as a back fill with 100m covered agg pipe to a drain. cheers Ron.

[oldmate]

Wheelbarrow? Sometimes when all else fails, a good old fashioned manual hardworking method really is the only way.

[brickiematt]

As Ron said, sand behind a retaining wall is not ideal.
An aggy pipe with fall on it so water can drain away, covered in a couple of hundred mm of coarse aggregate (stone), then backfilled to the top with any type of soil you can get your hands on ( building sites will often have cleanfill available to take away for free). Top few inches of topsoil for your garden or grass and thats it.
As for your original question, put on a barbie and beers and get a few mates around with barrows and start pushing
 
Matt

[terravista]

Thanks for the responses so far.
The wall is 1400 high and 10 metres wide and has around a 500mm to 900mm gap at the top so it would need around 10 cubic metres + any compaction.
The wall is on a proper footing, blockfilled, reinforced, waterproofed and has aggie drain behind it, so I am not overly concerned about the material used and only suggested wet sand as a medium a concrete pump might handle.
I would rather use dry road base/gravel etc but getting a dry mix into place looks more difficult.
The trouble is it is 40 metres back off the road up a 15 deg slope, and a house blocks all but a 3 metre wide access. In Brisbane I think I'd be spending more time at friends funerals than getting the work done by hand
A conveyor may work, but it would have to be 40 metres long and then flexible enough to not need barrows.
Cheers
Ian

[edz]

Im sure my mate  used Geo cloth Ag pipes and corse gravel as back fill .. Think sand would  keep on settling / sinking leaving depressions over time ..
As to moving a sand slurry from a container can also be used to move gravel .... a home made 50mm dredge tube out of PVC and a water pump will  move it .and some lay flat hose to get to where its needed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npdP42jdK3Q

[wilson79]

may need one of these..

[brickiematt]

Ian, there's a mob down here called WeBlow. http://weblow.com.au
Once you stop laughing at their name  , check out the website. They are basically like a concrete pump but for loose materials ie. soil, mulch, rock etc.
They may have a depot in Brissie somewhere, or could advise you on another similar company near you.
Apparently they dont suck, they blow
Good luck mate
 

[Moggy]

Put pond liner in it & turn it into a water feature ?

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

[jetcrew]

You can get 1m3 bags that can be lifted by a crane,

$1200 worth of concrete is prob only 6 m3 or less..

I helped a mate out once on a job (he owns earthmoving gear)  and they had a crane on site for 2 hrs and 10-20 bags of soil and they craned it up over the house and then tipped it all out..

Not sure if that is even possible in your situation but it is a method,

I did alos help in on another job with a conveyor belt through some blokes house and it was a PITA kept stopping etc..

Jet

[GGV8Cruza]

I would recommend weblow if they are available to you. Back fill with scoria to 400mm from the top or so and then soil the rest.

GG

[achjimmy]

The few retaining walls I have done, not only used the geotechnical fabric on the AG drain but also lay it on to the earth behind and fill between fabric covered earth and wall with gravel or recycled stuff that drains. 10m3 is about 120 wheel barrows ?    Get a couple of fit laborers and away you go.

[Fathom]

Wheelbarrow? Sometimes when all else fails, a good old fashioned manual hardworking method really is the only way.

Yup and buckets...
Could make money out of this... Advertise for the fitness fanatics to come and do some stamina/weight training. Time trials to lug bags of dirt 40 or metres..$1 per bag...
Heck they pay for that stuff at the gym.
Best time for over 50 bags wins a gluten free sugar free muesli bar...

[Bird]

Ian, there's a mob down here called WeBlow. http://weblow.com.au

we have a company down here called www.dailyplanet.com.au - they run a blower too.

[terravista]

Thanks guys, some good ideas and I think a mob like we blow would work if they have a similar company in Brissie.
One major problem I didn't mention that the neighbours fence is backing onto the area that needs filling so room is very short.
And Bird, thanks for the lead, but I contacted the Daily Planet, and they said you had booked all the trannies they had and can't help until March.
Cheers
Ian

[GGV8Cruza]

Thanks guys, some good ideas and I think a mob like we blow would work if they have a similar company in Brissie.

Cheers
Ian

http://www.blowitall.com.au/

GG

[terravista]

http://www.blowitall.com.au/

GG

Thanks for the link, I'll talk to them tomorrow. Hopefully they can move heavy enough material.
cheers

[dooguss]

There is a mob in Brisbane on Boundary road in Deception bay who specialize in conveyor pumping. Ive seen them on a number of jobs around town, from moving concrete on a building site, to moving soil two stories up for the landscapers. Im unsure of there name but i know there yard is on Boundary Road.

[Beachman]

I’m curious why you want to pump concrete behind the wall as that isn’t going to solve your pressure problem against the wall.

On 2 sides of our house we have a block retaining wall ranging from 1m to 3.5m high and due to the cost and lack of access once our house renovation I finished I wanted to make sure this wall never cracked due to pressure from water or moist dirt pushing against this wall.

So I went overkill and left a 1m gap behind the wall and backfilled it with 60t of recycled concrete. What this does is allow the water to filter down to the agg pipe, but it takes a lot of pressure off the wall as all the weight of the recycled concrete is now vertical and not pressing against the wall.

In your case seeing you won’t have much room, you can get mimi bobcats in or from your local hire place you can hire those Kangas which fit through most gates.  A concrete pump can’t pump wet sand as it needs the cement aspect to keep everything wet and slippery. 

[chester ver2.0]

As above use crushed concrete or road base to back fill then one of those Kanga things you can stand on the back of

[scrubber]

How about this or this

[oldmate]

How about this or this

Nailed it i reckon!

[Jeepers Creepers]

Oh, now I get it and the answers so far make more sense.

I thought the heading said SANDRA not sand. my mistake.

[Fathom]

Oh, now I get it and the answers so far make more sense.

I thought the heading said SANDRA not sand. my mistake.

Probably would have had more offers to help if that were the case.