Concrete retaining wall design is driven by wide variety of factors. The design is largely driven by factors such as soil conditions, required wall height, speed and cost of construction, ground water conditions and many others like aesthetics, availability of material, regional building codes and practice, etc.
Basic considerations for design of concrete retaining wall include following:
# Site soil conditions at the wall location must be inspected and demonstrated to the reviewer. Actual soil capacity and expected wall loads should be estimated for proposed wall size.
# Retaining wall structures that depend largely on carefully positioned reinforcement areas should not to be troubled with any future construction activities. These areas should be clearly pointed out on the approved building plan to avoid any such interference.
# The intersection of the structure foundation and independent wall should be cautiously considered to take in account issues like drainage, safety, maintenance, etc for wall firmness.
For speedy approval from local building authorities following details should be provided before building plan submission.
# The wall manufacture must provide plans approved by EOR having complete knowledge of the proposed wall design. In addition a stamped site plan showing all aspects of safety related elements should be provided. Design details provided should confirm that the wall has cleared all global stability checks.
# Underground utilities shall be shown in relation to the wall section. They should not disturb the reinforcement area of the retaining wall.
# The engineer of records (EOR) responsible for the wall design must inspect the plan thoroughly. Hard copy of construction documents should be submitted to the local authority for filling and future reference.
In most cases, retaining wall designs taller than four feet must be designed by a qualified structural engineer. Retaining walls should always be perceived as load bearing element first, and on aesthetic grounds second.
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