Building codes and retaining walls 5.
Retaining wall concrete footer.
Soil bearing and stability 8.
The concrete helps stabilize the structure and can prevent sagging or sinking.
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.
Without a footing the retaining wall may collapse.
A retaining wall is used to stop soil or dirt in one area typically elevated from moving down to a lower area.
Forces on retaining walls 6.
Materials tools and site.
How to build a concrete wall prep work.
Because of this the footings will need to be built to create a sturdy base.
It took a day to rip out the old collapsing retaining wall to dig farther into the hill to provide room for the backfill gravel and to help unload materials.
We used 2x 8 for the concrete forms because we are using them in another project after the fence is built.
Gabion walls 16.
One key aspect of retaining wall construction is preparing a solid footing or foundation.
Counterfort retaining walls 12.
Step 1 check local government ordinances.
A footing is an underground concrete structure that a building wall or retaining wall rests upon.
The retaining wall is 60 feet long 20 1 2 high and 7 1 2 wide and we ordered 5 yards of concrete but only used 4 1 2 yards.
However for even the most modest block structure to have enough rigidity to bear pressure and weight it needs proper footing.
Calculate the amount of concrete per cubic yard needed to fill the footer to ground level.
Wood retaining walls 14.
If you are new to this type of project here are a few tools and materials that you may need as well as some steps to help guide you through the process.
Do this by multiplying the width of the footer by the depth and multiply that total by the length.
Concrete blocks are a common building material for a variety of outdoor projects such as retaining walls and out buildings like garages and tool sheds.
A solid block wall needs a solid footing.
It distributes that weight of the structure to the soil below.
Pier and pile foundations 11.
If you plan to use brick cinder block or stone that will include the use of mortar then a concrete footing is recommended.
The wall we built was a weekend long project and an exhausting one at that.
The retaining wall footing supports the weight of the wall and the soil behind it.
Cantilevered tilt up walls 13.
Designing the cantilever wall stem 9.
If you are building a segmental retaining wall then you will not need a footing.
The 2x8 s were used to keep the concrete in the forms.
Segmental walls are constructed using individual blocks designed for stability without mortar.