Feature article from Erosion Control magazine. 
"The Changing World of Retaining Walls" by Dan Rafter

They’re stronger, taller, able to fit into narrow spaces, and better looking than ever.

For complete article click on link below
http://www.erosioncontrol.com/ecm_0709_changing.html


Underground Parking in Virginia 

When Ken Headley from WestBlock Systems says that developers are turning more frequently to pieces of land that they would have ignored just 10 years ago, he’s not kidding.

He’s also not kidding when he says that this has become a boom for the retaining wall industry.

Contractors used his company’s non-grid-reinforced modular wall system in Waynesboro, VA, to surround an underground retention pond and culvert. A parking lot, serving a new Waffle House restaurant, rests atop this underground pond.

The reason the pond had to go underground? The building site, which sits alongside a busy highway, was not large enough to support a traditional retention pond.

“It was an ideal location for the restaurant as far as commerce and traffic goes,” Headley says. “But it wasn’t ideal as far as the site itself goes. There wasn’t enough room for everything they had to build. They had to go underground, and that’s where our retaining walls came into play.”

Dwayne Whitson, owner of Stately Scapes, a construction firm in Cookeville, TN, says it took his crew about a week and a half to finish building the WestBlock wall. The crew finished the project in early January. The wall extends 1,600 feet horizontally and stands 9 feet tall. And it did require some unusual steps.

First, Whitson’s crew poured concrete for the leveling pad or footer. Crews then poured the wall. When the wall stood above the top of the culvert, crew members poured concrete from the face of the wall to a drainpipe 8 feet way. This final pour locked everything in place.

Building the wall this way resulted in a more powerful structure, without the need for space-consuming backfill to provide extra support. This was critical, because the developers already were fitting as much as they could into a tight space.

“I’ve never put up a wall system like this before. But now I wish I could put up more types like it,” Whitson says. “It’s such a solid wall. There is no chance of it ever moving. I think we’re going to see a growing need for walls like this. Developers have used up so many of the fine properties out there. Now they are looking at the secondary properties that have some issues with them. Walls like this give developers a chance to build on these secondary properties.” 

Hardscape & landscape contractor.
Specializing in segmental retaining walls
and brick paving. 

















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