Retaining Wall Base Width

Retaining wall base trench.

Retaining wall base width.

The footing is usually made of poured concrete but in some situations homeowners may instead opt to simply use tamped earth or a gravel base. The base width of a gabion gravity retaining wall is directly related to the height of the wall. The preparation of the base upon which the first layer of block are to be placed is critical to building a well placed stable retaining wall. Gabion walls 16.

150 mm plus an additional 1 in. Soil bearing and stability 8. Counterfort retaining walls 12. One key aspect of retaining wall construction is preparing a solid footing or foundation.

The interlocking retaining wall block can be used to build walls up to 24 to 36 inches high depending on the size of the block. Cantilevered tilt up walls 13. Building codes and retaining walls 5. Earthquake seismic design 7.

Designing the cantilever wall stem 9. As the wall height increases the base of the wall must become wider to ensure structural stability. The success of your retaining wall depends on a level base. Dig a base trench 24 in.

When digging your trench the bottom row of blocks should be buried about 1 inch for every 8 inches of wall height. Pier and pile foundations 11. Divide the base depth of 5 to 7 inches depending on the height of the wall by 1 944 to determine the square yardage of the depth of the gravel base beneath the wall. To create a solid foundation dig a trench for the first course of your interlocking retaining wall blocks to sit in and make sure the ground remains even throughout.

Avoid having downspouts pointed at the retaining wall and if it s against the house keep soil and mulch well below the siding. Forces on retaining walls 6. 25 mm for each 1 ft 300 mm of wall height for the amount or buried block that is needed. Wood retaining walls 14.

Follow the block manufacturer s instructions for wall height limits. Insufficient stem width resulting in failure or excessive rotation of the stem. 600 mm wide the length of the wall the depth of the trench will be 6 in. Insufficient footing width resulting in rotation or settlement of the wall.

Also called drain tile at the base of the wall. Retaining wall failures are almost always attributable to poor design or poor construction. We have provided the diagrams below to illustrate a starting point for design analysis to determine the base width relative to the wall height. Retaining walls can be constructed using a variety of materials from poured concrete and large timbers to natural stones even bricks.