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| When you need to to hold back the surrounding soil from a driveway or an excavated area for a terrace, you need to have a retaining wall built. Retaining walls are also used to support vertical grade changes, to prevent soil erosion and downward slope movement and for constructing landscaping tiers. Masonry, interlocking block, natural stone, brick, concrete, steel, timber and vinyl are the principal materials that are most commonly used to build retaining walls. |
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| Gravity Retaining Walls |
Gravity retaining walls rely on the burden of their weight to hold back the forces of the soil behind the wall. The stability of the retaining wall is enhanced by sloping of the face of a wall to create a setback or batter. Because the internal leverage of earth pressure can be quite significant a gravity wall could fairly easily topple if it is not properly constructed.
Interlocking blocks can be dry stacked when the retaining wall is a low landscaping wall. |
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| Sheet Piling Retaining Walls |
| Sheet piling retaining walls have sheet piles driven into the ground. These sheet piles are made out of plastic sheets, vinyl, fiberglass, steel or wooden planks. A sheet pilling wall can handle high loads when the piles are able to resist the bending forces from soil on both sides of its lower length. Generally, only one third of the sheet pile wall is above ground. Anchors are usually required on taller sheet pile walls. Improper drainage behind this kind of retaining wall increases the hydrostatic pressure and could cause wall failure. |
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| Cantilevered Retaining Walls |
A cantilevered retaining wall uses the downward or vertical earth pressure on the extended lateral footing to stabilize itself against the horizontal earth pressures from behind the retaining wall. The structural footing is usually a thin steel-reinforced concrete slab that is cast in place. Short wing walls, called buttresses, are sometimes used in conjunction with cantilevered walls.
Cantilevered walls generally use less construction materials than gravity walls in order to hold back the same load. |
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| Anchored Retaining Walls |
Anchored retaining walls use tiebacks or anchors for stability. Cables are driven through rock or soil and attached to expanding anchors, or a concrete deadman to prevent a wall's face from toppling over. By combining anchored walls with other types of retaining methods a wall will have an increased capacity and strength.
Anchors allow an otherwise thin wall to retain high loads of pressure. This method can be technically complex and is best left to a professional retaining wall builder. |
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| Soil Strengthened Retaining Walls |
| Beyond just the wall itself, there are retaining wall systems that minimize the earth pressure in the soil. Soil that is in compression is strong, whereas when it is under pressure or tension it is weak. |
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| Retaining Wall Design |
| There are great design options for retaining walls. Various materials, colors, designs and styles exist that could lend to visual appeal to a retaining wall. Your retaining wall does not need to be an eyesore! |
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| Professional Retaining Wall Builders |
| Compare free estimates from professional contractors that build retaining walls in your area! They will have options that will work for your project! |
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