A retaining wall is a structure that retains(holds back) any material (usually earth) andprevents it from sliding or eroding away. It isdesigned so that to resist the material pressure ofthe material that it is holding back.

It's possible to build Retaining Walls Services witheveryday landscaping materials such as lumber andstones, but you can also build more complicatedversions that entail the use of concrete, reinforcingsteel and support systems. Height is the mainconsideration for retaining walls; the more soil youneed to hold in place, the higher the wall should be.Lumber and stone are enough for smaller retainingwalls, known as gravity walls, but larger walls such ascantilever, counter fort and buttressed walls needconcrete and reinforcing steel.

These are arguably the oldest and most frequentlyused Retaining Walls. They are often made from stone orother heavy materials, and rely on the weight of their ownmass to resist pressures from the retained material. Gravitywalls should be a minimum of 50 to 60% as thick as theheight of the wall. They may have to be larger if there is aslope or surcharge on the wall. Modern gravity wallsinclude concrete crib walls, gabions, boulders, and large,precast concrete blocks. Gabions are a type of soilstrengthening, consisting of wire mesh cages into whichroughly cut stone or other material is filled. Gabions workto reduce internal movement and erosive forces.

Before the introduction of modern reinforced-soil gravity walls,cantilevered walls were the most common type of taller retaining wall.This type of wall uses much less material than a traditional gravity wall.Cantilevered walls are made from a relatively thin stem of steel-reinforced, cast-in-place concrete or mortared masonry, fixed at oneend, usually by way of a simple, embedment or cantilever foundation(often in the shape of an inverted T). These rigid concrete footingsmust be positioned into firm suitable foundations. The wall operateslike a beam — cantilevering the load to a large, fixed structural base —converting horizontal pressures from behind the wall into verticalpressures onto the ground below. Sometimes cantilevered walls arebuttressed on the front, or include a counterfeit on the back, toimprove their stability against heavy loads. Buttresses are short wing-like walls at right angles to the main trend of the wall. Typicalcantilever walls include reinforced concrete, or concrete-filledblockwork, concrete or timber sleeper walls, concrete, steel or timbersheet pile, or contiguous piling.

These walls are pinned both top and bottom using cables,or other stays, which are anchored in the rock or soilbehind it. Anchors are driven into the material and thenexpanded at the end of the cable, either by mechanicalmeans or by injecting pressurized concrete into the hole.They concrete expands to form a bulb in the soil. The wallmay be embedded at the base and tied to a slab at the topor to a “deadman anchor” — a concrete structure which isdriven into the ground or anchored to the earth withsufficient resistance. The horizontal cable, rod or helicalanchor, and deadman structure resists forces that wouldotherwise cause the wall to become unstable. This method,though technically complex, is useful where high loads areexpected, or where the wall itself has to be slender andwould be too weak without anchoring.

These systems do not simply consist of the wall itself, but make use ofreinforcing grids or straps to contain and stabilize the slope. Thetraction-resistant reinforcement elements change the nature of the soilmass and reduce the earth pressure acting on the wall. In mechanicallystabilized earth (MSE) walls the soil is artificially reinforced with layeredhorizontal mats (geosynthetics). These mats provide additional internalshear resistance beyond that of simple gravity retaining structures.Layered steel straps may also be used. Reinforcing layers are attached toouter facing walls (typically segmental retaining walls). The wall face isusually made of precast concrete units that can tolerate some differentialmovement. When the reinforced soil mass is sufficiently large to retainthe pressure from the soil behind it, it works with the wall to providestability. Nailed walls make use of slender elements — normally steelreinforcing bars — which are inserted into pre-drilled hole and groutedinto place. The reinforcing bars are usually installed untensioned at aslight downward angle. Isolated soil nail heads or a rigid (or flexible)facing (often of sprayed concrete) may be used on the surface of the wall.

Piling retaining walls in California (aka sheetpile retaining walls) consists of wood planks, steel or vinylthat has been driven into the ground and is held up by soilon either side. Piling retaining walls are used in areas withsoft soil but not a lot of room to create wide barriers.

For taller piling retaining walls, a tieback anchor is used tohelp it stay in place. Usually, these anchors are set upbehind the face of a wall and the potential failure plain ofthe soil. Then a cable connects the retaining wall andanchor together. It’s important to make sure that the pilingretaining wall is able to endure the bending forces createdby the dirt on either side of it.

Drainage is crucial in constructing retaining walls. Draintiles and fabrics are used to accomplish this, along withsufficient aggregates in the base trench and backfill areas.Compacting the base trench as well as the backfill materialis also important to provide a solid fill that won’t moveduring ground shifts and freezes. Lateral ground pressureis the No. 1 cause of failures in retaining walls; hiring alicensed engineer to study the soil and environmentalstatus of the area is a safety measure you should keep inmind. Building codes are likely to be in play as well, so besure to contact your local code agency before starting theproject.

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