Determining the Radius of a Curved Wall

You’re building a wall that has a curve in it, but you aren’t sure what the radius of the base row should be. What do you do? Luckily, here at Allan Block we have a few useful tools to help you figure out exactly what your curved wall’s radius should be.

One of the most useful tools for finding your radius is the AB Radius Chart. This handy guide gives you a quick way to estimate the minimum radius that the bottom of wall can be, depending on what block you use and the height of the curve.

AB Radius Chart for Base Course of Curved Retaining Wall
Setback	Wall Height
	3 ft (0.9 m)	4 ft (1.2 m)	5 ft (1.5 m)	6 ft (1.8 m)
AB Stones 12° (Ref)	5 ft 3 in (1.6 m)	5 ft 6 in (1.7 m)	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	6 ft (1.8 m)
AB Classic, AB Lite Stone 6° (Ref) AB Aztec Classic, AB Aztec Lite Stone 6° (Ref) AB Dover, AB Barcelona 6° (Ref)	4 ft 11 in (1.5 m)	5 ft 1 in (1.55 m)	5 ft 4 in (1.62 m)	5 ft 6 in (1.7 m)
AB Fieldstone 6° (Ref) with Short Anchoring Unit (SAU)	6 ft 5 in (1.95 m)	6 ft 7 in (2 m)	6 ft 10 in (2.1 m)	7 ft (2.13 m)
AB Jumbo Junior, AB Junior Lite 6° (Ref) AB Aztec Junior, AB Aztec Junior Lite 6° (Ref) AB Palermo, AB Bordeaux 6° (Ref)	3 ft 5 in (1.0 m)	3 ft 10 in (1.16 m)	4 ft 3 in (1.28 m)	4 ft 7 in (1.4 m)

Another valuable resource would be the “Curves & Serpentines” page on the Allan Block website. This page will not only give you more information about what factors of the wall will affect its radius, but will also provide useful tips and diagrams showing how to construct your curved walls correctly.

If you look through the two options listed above and still can’t determine what the radius of your wall should be, we suggest that you use our third, and most valuable, resource – your local rep or the the Allan Block Staff. If you call or email in with any questions regarding curves in retaining walls, we will always be here to share our knowledge with you and provide a straight-forward answer for your not-so-straight wall.