Choosing the Right Retaining Wall For You
The purpose of all retaining walls is to hold soil behind them. However, the specific needs will vary depending on the project. Walls can range from small landscape stone walls to surround a garden and even enormous projects along highways or hard rains areas with erosion control in mind!
When you begin initial planning there are several considerations that affect what material your wall could be made out of.
Location. When choosing a location for your wall, make sure you have an in-depth understanding of property lines and all utilities. Then consult with experts to ensure the best placement possible on both above-ground and underground installations before building anything permanent.
Soil. The soil that creates the foundation, or base, needs to be examined to ensure it meets the strength required for supporting a wall. You should determine what type of bearing capacity is needed for your desired walls and reinforced zones as you examine its ability in terms of stress parameters and friction angle (resistance) against movement on land.
Design. Calculating the corresponding wall heights, slope, and size of the block are all dependent on on-site elevation. The angle at which you place your blocks will also be determined by gravity as it causes the material to naturally move downslope. It is important that any calculations for these variables consider their effect on lateral pressure behind a retaining wall so they do not overturn under heavy loads.
Drainage. To make sure your retaining wall is safe, don’t forget to account for water sources and surface drainage. Especially on slopes, consider installing a grading system as well as pipes or culverts leading away from the site at an angle that will allow them to be filled with gravel if they do in fact overflow so that hydrostatic pressure can be minimized.
Different Types of Retaining Walls
After evaluating the location, soil, design, and drainage of your project you can start to think about what type of retaining wall will work best. There is a multitude of options for designers such as modular walls or natural stone systems that come with their own set requirements depending on absorption needs and other factors.
Gravity Walls. Gravity walls are a common construction technique for retaining soil. These structures use their own weight to hold the soil behind them and can be made with heavy materials like stone, large concrete blocks or cast-in place concrete. They lean back towards the ground while locking themselves in so that they resist pressure from behind by using their mass instead of reinforcing bars which many municipalities require building permits for any wall taller than 4 feet high even without reinforcement.
Panel Wall. You’ll see panel walls used in tall applications such as highway ramps, or near areas with heavy loads. They can also be connected by posts that are made of precast concrete reinforced with steel. The panels on the face side can feature custom-designed finishes to fit into a surrounding area well and make it look like one cohesive product rather than individual pieces.
Gabion Mesh Walls. The Gabion-style wall is a popular and effective way to keep slopes safe. These walls are made of wire mesh boxes that have been filled with stones or rocks, before being stacked together in an angled configuration. The wires used for securing the boxes can last as long as 300 years if properly taken care of; it’s important to regularly inspect them for damage though!
You need your walls to look great and perform their best every day. A wall that easily falls over wastes everyone’s time–you might even need some engineering services for this project! Whether you are outfitting an outdoor living space with one type of wall system or another, we make sure everything lasts as long as possible without falling apart at the seams under any kind of payload: dirt and soil all the way up through rocky desert terrain or steeper hillsides where erosion is more commonplace.
