RETAINING WALL 101
A retaining wall is a wall that holds back something – it retains something. That “something” is often soil, but sometimes water is part of the equation too.
These retaining walls are designed and built to be tough. The weight of the soil and water can be a lot. The best option for a retaining wall is precast concrete, which we will cover more later.
You need a builder and an engineer who really knows what they are doing. If a retaining wall is designed or built wrong, this can spell disaster for your property. There is a lot of real-world experience and know-how that goes into designing a retaining wall.
A gravity retaining wall is a large mass of precast concrete. The wall uses its own weight to hold back the weight of the ground. Sometimes you might have timber, soil, steel, or polymer mesh reinforcement behind the wall to help hold the ground back. Because a large amount of concrete is usually needed to hold back the weight of the soil, these types of concrete retaining walls will be much thicker than others.
One of the most common gravity walls made using precast concrete is a crib wall. A crib wall is a cage made from precast concrete (somewhat like a baby’s crib) that is filled with some sort of heavy, free-draining material like sand or soil.
Traditional precast concrete panels aren’t used with masonry retaining walls. Masonry walls are built using blocks – typically bricks or concrete retaining wall block – that are stacked one on top of the other. This is also a gravity retaining wall, which means it will have the strength of gravity retaining walls.
Masonry retaining walls have the advantage of having a more attractive look than other retaining wall designs. If that is a look you want to aim for using precast concrete, that can be achieved in less installation time. The precast concrete gravity or cantilever retaining wall can easily be formed to look like brick or stones.
Sheet pile walls are typically panels that are driven into the ground using a hammer or vibration. These aren’t very commonly used for permanent structures, and they are most often used temporarily on construction sites. The piles need to be driven far into the ground – around 2/3rds of the total length needs to be underground.
This type of retaining wall can’t be made from precast concrete as the piles need to be made from something less brittle like steel, fiberglass, vinyl, wooden planks, or plastic planks.
If you are looking for a retaining wall for your home or business and need a more permanent solution that will last for years to come, a precast retaining is a much better option.
Cantilever retaining walls are one of the slimmest and most elegant options. These retaining walls are often shaped like an upside-down “T” with the bottom buried under the ground as a structural footing. Other shapes can be used if needed. The wall is most commonly made with rebar reinforced precast concrete to ensure a strong wall that will last.
Shortwing walls can be added to the retaining wall as a buttress to increase the resistance force of the wall. Cantilever retaining walls will be able to hold back the same volume of soil as a gravity retaining wall but using much less material.
In areas prone to heavy rain, landslides, or floods, planning your property’s protection is crucial. FEMA notes that an inch of flooding can cost $27,000 in repairs, and landslides can cause severe damage. Concrete retaining walls are commonly used for safeguarding against these risks.
We work closely with engineers to ensure exact specifications are integrated according to construction plans, and even provide engineered drawings based on our client’s project plans.
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