Table Of Content

A retaining wall is a structure that is designed to hold soil behind it. Retaining walls are frequently used to transform uneven or hilly ground and create more flat, usable land. This also helps to protect your landscaping from soil erosion and ground collapse. A common application is a retaining wall planter, which surrounds the perimeter of a house or fence and creates a raised, protected environment for your plants.
Level the First Row
Hydrostatic pressure can cause or induce retaining wall failure, or at least damage. The decades of experience and dedication to superior quality craftsmanship we possess set our company apart as an industry leader for retaining walls in Los Angeles. Our team of masons are well-educated, knowledgeable, and equipped to handle jobs of all sizes. Whether you need help with an existing retaining wall or want to take your yard in a new direction, we can help.
Clever Design Parameters
Mortared or concrete walls in heavy-frost areas require footings dug below the frost line. Nonmortared walls should be built on a gravel-filled trench dug below frost line. If you live where it doesn’t freeze and your soil drains well, you may be able to just scrape away topsoil to form a base for nonmortared walls. Weepholes actually penetrate the retaining wall and drain the area immediately behind the wall.
How does loading from lateral forces impact the overall design of retaining walls?
As water accumulates behind the wall, it percolates through the gravel into the drainpipe, which carries it off safely. Proper proportioning of a retaining wall is just as important to its construction as its structural design. Construction-friendly proportions facilitate proper concrete placement and provide sufficient room for structural reinforcement.

Stone-Crete is used for sound barrier walls, retaining walls, subdivision entry walls or wherever a beautiful deep relief stone wall is desired. Stone-Crete's mass production techniques minimize costly masonry work while providing the structural and aesthetic quality of concrete. Please note that this is a simplified example to demonstrate the steps involved in retaining wall design. In practice, a detailed analysis, considering various factors such as soil properties, groundwater conditions, and local regulations, is required for a comprehensive and accurate design.
Install the soil nails at the specified spacing and length, ensuring proper bonding with the surrounding soil. Enhance your workflows with access to the world's most trusted engineering codes and standards. For the thickness of the wall to be safe in shear, the ultimate shear, Vu should less than the allowable shear, Vallow as recommended by the ACI 318 code.
American Concrete Institute Announces New Publication on ACI 318-14—Reinforced Concrete Design Manual - For Construction Pros
American Concrete Institute Announces New Publication on ACI 318-14—Reinforced Concrete Design Manual.
Posted: Tue, 03 Nov 2015 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Retaining wall design involves various factors and considerations that are specific to each project and site conditions. Construct the retaining wall using suitable materials and techniques, considering factors such as drainage, backfill compaction, and integration of the anchoring system. Determine the spacing and length of the soil nails based on the design requirements and soil conditions.
The Retaining Wall Calculator Can Be Used For:
ASCE 7, "Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures," provides provisions for calculating loads on structures, including retaining walls. ASCE 7-16 is the latest version and is widely adopted in the industry. Replace native soil with 3/4-minus gravel (no stones under 3/4 inch in diameter) or “bank-run” gravel (washed stones 1/4 inch to 6 inches in diameter). Shovel at least a 4-inch layer of gravel onto the landscape fabric.
The properties of the retained soil, including its cohesion, angle of internal friction, and potential for settlement, must be assessed to determine appropriate design parameters. Additionally, knowledge of the water table is essential to assess hydrostatic pressure and potential drainage requirements. To ensure the effectiveness of a retaining wall, several basic principles should be considered. Proper drainage is essential to prevent water buildup behind the wall, which can increase hydrostatic pressure and compromise stability. Adequate load distribution across the wall and consideration of the retained soil's properties are also vital for maintaining structural integrity.
A mortared wall needs a footing and a drainage system that will defeat frost heaving. A dry, nonmortared wall allows water to seep through, relieving pressure behind the wall naturally. The depth you need to excavate depends on frost depth as well as the wall and soil type.
Loads can be categorized into dead loads, live loads, surcharges, and lateral earth pressure and these must always be considered in the design of a retaining wall. Although it's not common, wind loads might also play a role, for example, if there is a large exposed area on the top of the wall due to the installation of billboards. Thorough site analysis is crucial to understanding the soil properties, water tables, and slope stability.
With the full retaining wall design software, a PDF design report can be generated to show the detailed calculations steps and references followed to achieve the results. Thickness of a retaining wall depends entirely on the planned purpose and location of your retaining wall. The idea is to create a wall with sufficient wall thickness to tolerate the allowable soil bearing pressure behind it, without the retaining wall design being too thick, which wastes money and time.
But unless you own or rent one and know how to use it properly, just use a 4-ft. The tamper, brick tong and block chisel are available at rental yards. This wall, created by Ron Odell's Custom Concrete, is over one hundred feet in length, more than a foot wide and took three truckloads of concrete to pour. To achieve the layered look light gray concrete was poured in the bottom of the forms and then sprinkled with rocks and other natural debris which was followed with dark gray concrete. Retaining walls provide lateral support to vertical slopes of soil. They retain soil which would otherwise collapse into a more natural shape.
SkyCiv offers a Free Concrete Retaining Wall Calculator that will check overturning moment and perform a stability analysis on your retaining walls. The wall we built was a weekend-long project and an exhausting one at that. It took a day to rip out the old, collapsing retaining wall, to dig farther into the hill to provide room for the backfill gravel and to help unload materials. Staying updated with emerging techniques, materials, and technologies is crucial in the field of retaining wall design. The industry is constantly evolving, and new advancements can enhance the efficiency and longevity of retaining walls. Participating in industry conferences, seminars, and online forums facilitates knowledge exchange and keeps professionals abreast of the latest trends.
Each type of retaining wall has its own advantages and disadvantages. Cantilever walls are very strong and can support a large amount of soil, but they require a lot of concrete and can be expensive to build. Gravity walls are cheaper to build than cantilever walls, but they are not as strong and can be susceptible to damage during earthquakes. Crib lock walls are very strong and can be built quickly, but they are not as aesthetically pleasing as the other types of retaining walls. Once you’ve finished designing the retaining wall it is time to update the soil material properties. You can adjust the color you would like for the soil, as well as update the friction angle, and unit weight.
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