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The importance of soil

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

The soil on your site is a critical aspect to your retaining wall project. Among the ways your soils can affect your overall project cost are:

  • Geogrid Requirements
  • Increased Effort to Compact
  • Cost of Importing Additional Material and Removing Existing Soils

A wall built in clay will have an increased need for geogrid when compared to the same wall build on a sandy site. This is because clay will “push” on the wall more than sand. This geogrid will be used to create a mass of soil large enough to overcome these forces.

Clays and silts resist compacting due to the shape of each grain of soil. They to trap water more and make proper compaction more labor intensive. It is important to achieve proper compaction to reduce future settlement and to increase the stability of the reinforced soil mass. To achieve the required compaction, you may need to compact more frequently with smaller lifts of soil, or use specialized compaction equipment.

When your site does not meet the minimum requirements suggested on the Working with Soils page on the Allan Block website, it may be required to remove the existing soil from the site and use select fill for the area within the geogrid. You may also find it necessary to increase the width of your base to compensate for poor soils under the wall.

If you have questionable soils on your site, please visit our website at allanblock.com for suggestions and recommendations. It will also be important that you contact a local engineer for help designing your retaining wall.

Tom

Posted in AB FAQs, Commercial Retaining Walls, Landscape Retaining Walls | 1 Response »
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Finishing your Allan Block Wall with Style

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

Finishing your Allan Block Wall

Finishing your Allan Block Wall

Landscape design options are endless and finding the right one to fit your landscape can be a lengthy process. When designing your retaining or landscape wall, how you top off or finish your wall can change the look and feel of your landscape. Need some ideas on how to put that finishing touch on your Allan Block retaining wall? You can find some great ideas and instructions on finishing options that are sure to fit the design and style of your landscape on the Allan Block website. So check them out, find one that works for you and be the talk of the neighborhood with your beautiful landscape!

Danelle

Posted in Landscape Retaining Walls | No Responses »
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What’s going on behind the wall?

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

Last time I discussed what geogrid reinforcement is and how it benefits your retaining wall, but what is really going on behind that Allan Block façade? For an overview of internal stability with pictures, take a look at the Reinforced Soil Walls Analysis page on the Allan Block website.

We recommend 2-course spacing when constructing your retaining wall. This helps to tie the reinforced soil mass together one cohesive mass to retain the soil behind. Typically, this 2-couse spacing will allow a lighter weight grid to be used because the forces are shared among more layers of grid. The closer the grid is placed together, the less each layer of grid needs to work to keep the wall standing tall.

When designing a wall using geogrid, there are three main factors that need to be reviewed:

  1. Grid Overstress: The grid will actually tear or rupture from the forces. This is corrected by adding more grid to the wall (single course spacing) or using stronger grid
  2. Pullout of Block: The grid pulling out of the block. With an Allan Block retaining wall, pullout of block is rare if built correctly due to the “rock-lock” connection which has extremely high connection strength.
  3. Pullout of Soil: The geogrid is being pulled from the soil due to the forced pushing on the wall. This can be corrected by using longer pieces of grid or placing the grid closer together.

Using geogrid reinforcement in your retaining wall design is a way to build taller walls that can support tremendous loads. When designing, keep in mind the wall’s internal stability by considering all of the forces acting on the individual layers of grid.

Tom

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What is Geogrid?

Thursday, March 26th, 2009
AB Geogrid

AB Geogrid

Geogrids are flexible, synthetic meshes which are manufactured specifically for slope stabilization and earth retention. These “grids” are available in a variety of materials, sizes and strengths. They can be made of high tensile strength plastics or woven polyester yarns and are typically packaged at the factory in rolls.

What does all that really mean, and how would you use it in your retaining wall? To answer that, refer to the Working with Geogrid page on the Allan Block website.

The Magic of Geogrid

The Magic of Geogrid


Here is a simple demonstration of how geogrid helps your retaining and
landscape walls. I started with two 6 inch (154 mm) diameter columns of compacted sand around 8 inches (200 mm) tall. The one on the right would not support a small block weighing about 22 lbs (10 kg) and simply fell into a big pile. The one on the left held over 75 lbs (35 kg) before I stopped because I thought the point was made. So, what was the difference between the two columns of sand? Both were from the same bucket of sand with just enough water to make the sand stick together a little. Both were compacted in about 2 inch (50 mm) lifts. The difference – “geogrid” was added to the column of sand on the left. For this demonstration, household screen was used to simulate geogrid and was placed after compacting each layer of sand.

If designed properly, and the installer follows the recommended geogrid spacing and compaction criteria, you can think of this mass of soil within the geogrid area as a single large block of soil. This entire block of soil is going to resist the forces that are trying to tip the wall over, or slide it forward; much like a large block of concrete would act under the same conditions.

For more information on using geogrid with your retaining wall, visit allanblock.com and view the AB Landscape Wall Guide, the AB Commercial Retaining Wall Manual, or the AB Engineering Manual.

Tom

Posted in Commercial Retaining Walls, Landscape Retaining Walls, Reinforced Walls | 3 Responses »
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It’s Hip to be Square When You Build with Allan Block Corners

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

AB Corners

AB Corners

While building retaining walls with curves is ideal, it is not always a practical solution the landscape. This is where a corner comes in really handy. Corners can be a source of all kinds of solutions, like making planters, or stairways or by adding more space to an area that needs it. Now you would think that building corners can be a complicated process, with all those angles to consider, and the possible cutting to make it happen. But if you use Allan Block to build your retaining wall, you can use the AB Corner Block and just like that— building with corners is a snap!

Being square has never been so cool.

-Danelle

Posted in Commercial Retaining Walls, Landscape Retaining Walls, Uncategorized | No Responses »
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