Brick Retaining Wall Design Guide

The intent of this material is to communicate the best practices for design of segmental retaining walls srw as determined by allan block corporation based on 25 plus years of research design and field experience.

Brick retaining wall design guide.

A wall any higher than this needs to be thicker and there are several ways of achieving this. Retaining wall design 10 editionth a design guide for earth retaining structures contents at a glance. Your retaining wall design will determine how you mark the area. Earthquake seismic design 7.

Gravity walls rely on their own weight and setback to hold up the soil behind them. Brick retaining walls typical mass retaining wall details these walls rely mainly on their own mass to overcome the tendency to slide forwards. If you are not sure of your site conditions we recommend being conservative with your retaining wall heights or use geogrid in your retaining wall. Structural design design of free standing clay brick walls 5 figure 1.

A retaining wall made entirely out of brick is known as a cavity wall. N ultimate load design with material factors based on characteristic soil properties partial load factors consistent with as 1170 1 and structure designs to as 3700 and as 3600. Soil bearing and stability 8. Manufacturer s recommendations should be followed regarding the capacity of their particular system for the soil loads under consideration.

Segmental retaining walls can be designed as either conventional or as reinforced soil as illustrated in figure 1. This design is composed of two standard brick walls just inches apart that share the same foundation. This is not meant to be a final authority as each project has its own set of unique situations. To mark a free form layout use a rope or hose to outline the shape.

Bricks can be laid in two skins which can be held together by mesh or built as a 225mm thick wall as shown in the laying bricks project. Learn more about gravity wall construction. The structural capacity of the srw system will vary with the srw unit size shape batter etc. Avoid having downspouts pointed at the retaining wall and if it s against the house keep soil and mulch well below the siding.

Design procedure overview 3. Mass retaining walls are not generally considered to be economic over a height of 1800mm when constructed of brick or concrete and 1000mm high in the case of natural stonework. Follow the block manufacturer s instructions for wall height limits. A garden retaining wall of up to 400mm high can be built out of a single skin wall of facing bricks or concrete block.

Design for earth loads retaining walls which set out a design methodology and safe load tables for these structures. Building codes and retaining walls 5. Walling guide no 4. Please note that the gravity wall chart provided has specific heights for specific site and soil conditions.

Design sequence design problem quick solution detailed method 1 determine the wind class local authority see as 1170 2 for the site or as 4055 2 convert wind class to pressure table 1 see section 5 2 3 convert wind pressure to tables 2 3 see section 5 2 1.