What is the purpose of retaining walls

When designing and building a retaining wall, there are a variety of factors to consider, regardless of whether it’s intended for residential or commercial use. The same standard of care should be applied to walls as a bridge since they are both structures.

The purpose of all Residential retaining walls designed & installed 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 to enormous soil-retaining projects along a highway. Others can help control erosion from hard rains or create a terraced yard to reduce maintenance.

Below we look at three of them.

Location: When choosing a location for our wall, make sure we have a detailed understanding of property lines and both above ground and underground utilities including septic system designed and installed for storm water management systems and irrigation. Additional factors to consider about the location might include:

Surcharge Loads: Will there be additional weight or vertical forces above the wall such as fencing, guardrails, driveways, parking lots, or swimming pools. Don’t forget about temporary construction equipment.

Soil: The soil that creates the foundation, or base, needs to be examined to ensure it meets the strength required to support the wall. We should determine the type, bearing capacity (the capacity of soil to support a load), stress parameters, and friction angle (resistance to movement) of the soil used for the foundation and reinforced zone along with the retained soil zone.

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