Retaining walls are not uncommon. They generally can be seen in big yards with different elevations. Landscapers make great use of these walls to enhance the visual features of the space they are in. And while some might think that their purpose is merely aesthetic, because let’s be honest, when used correctly they make yards and open spaces pop up beautifully, retaining walls have a much more important role to play.
Retaining walls are rigid walls designed for supporting soil or a mass of earth laterally so it can be retained at different levels. This is done in order to stop soil washing away; one of the most effective means of fighting off erosion.
These are specially necessary if you have a steep slope in your property and they are essential to protect the nearby structures, with the added benefit of enhancing the looks of your property and adding structure, definition and usable land to your outdoor spaces.
However, as with everything, things are no so straightforward as deciding ‘Yes, I want/need a retaining wall. Let’s do this!’. There are several different types of retaining walls and all of them offer different benefits based on your different needs, so let’s go over some of the most common.
First we have Gravity Retaining Walls. The most common type of retaining walls. These walls will depend on their mass, as they can be made of stone, concrete or other heavy materials in order to resist pressure from behind and do not require nails to hold it together.
Most of the times they may have a ‘batter’ setback, this means that the wall should lean toward what it is holding up. The center of gravity should be behind the wall of the foundation, to improve stability, as the weight of the wall itself will help hold the backfill in place.
The wall footer should be below ground, the taller the wall the deeper it should start. This is due to the point of most pressure being the base of the wall, not the top.
One thing that is true for all types of retaining walls is that they need to have a way for water to freely escape from behind the wall, by gravity. This can be done through weep holes which help drain the water, stopping the additional weight and pressure from the added water from building up and breaking the wall.
Cantilevered Retaining Walls are, as the name suggests, a type of retaining wall that uses a cantilevered structure to resist the later pressure of the soil behind it. They are made from an internal stem of steel-reinforced, cast-in-place concrete and a has a horizontal base slab and a horizontal top slab. Sometimes the walls have buttresses, which are short wing walls at right angles to help with stability. These walls also require concrete footings below seasonal frost depth.
Counterfort Retaining Walls are not very common for yards. They are a very strong type of retaining wall, that can be as tall as 8 meters. These walls use concrete to keep the soil in place, they are quite expensive and only used when there is a lot of soil to move or a very steel slope. The strength of this walls comes in no small part from the counterforts along the backside of the wall. The counterforts are thin, vertical concrete webs placed at regular intervals that tie the slab and base together. They can be precast or formed on site and are so strong that they they can resist the weight of heavy vehicles or be used to build a retaining wall around a pool.
Anchored Retaining Walls. This walls can be constructed in any of the styles previously mentioned but unlike the others it is formed by digging a hole with support inside by using cables and anchoring them by either mechanical means or injecting pressurized concrete which expands to creat a bulb in the soil and then covering the hole with gravel or sand, making these walls strong enough to hold back the erosion.
They generally have two anchors at the top and one at the bottom and the distance in between them is determined by the steepness of the property. It is essential that anchors should not be placed to close to each other, otherwise they might not be able to hold much weight.
Piled Retaining Walls are made of concrete and rocks, placed on a slope and can help increase the height of the ground around a structure such as a house, therefore being able to prevent soil erosion and are usually found in backyards. These walls are a great method of creating a beautiful landscape as well as a means of privacy.
Again, not only do retaining walls can be a beautiful asset that accentuates the landscaping on your backyard, but they are also one of the main means, along with adequate drainage, of stopping soil erosion, keeping your yard and home safe from these looming dangers. So if you are in need of a retaining wall and the additional services that will enhance your property, do not hesitate to call our experts at iFix; our inspections are free and we assure you we will provide the very best service you can get.
Komentáře