Retaining Wall Install

We recently wrapped up this large retaining wall project.  This homeowner hired Hughes Construction Company to remove a failing wall and replace it with a new 10 ft tall retaining wall designed by Buyers Protection Group.

Check out the photos for this portion of the project below.  A few notes about the project:

  • To prep the property we removed vegetation from the work area.  This allowed us access to start the demo of the existing wall, excavation and prepping for the install.
  • The project required removing the existing wall and hillside necessary to allow for the install of new wall.
  • During excavation we encountered a large amount of rock and some poor soil.  We had to haul off  37 loads of poor soil (around 300 tons).
  • Steel was placed prior to footer install for stabilization.
  • We poured the footers utilizing a concrete pumping truck. Footers for the most part were 8 ft in width to appropriately support the wall. This required 30 yards of concrete (3 truckloads).

Stay tuned for part 2 in the coming weeks. The follow post will include photos of formwork, wall install and project completion.

Reminder:

Walls that exceed four (4) feet in height are required to be designed by a structural engineer. Why do you need a structural engineer? The placement of steel reinforcement is critical when installing a retaining wall.  Engineers take into account many factors including the amount of surcharge on the wall when developing designs. They determine not only the amount of steel reinforcement but also the wall thickness, footer size and appropriate drainage, etc.