Thursday, 14 December 2017

When In Need Of Constructing Retaining Walls Huntsville AL Should Be Prioritized

By Kathleen Jones


Retaining wall refers to concrete structures which are used to support the mass of soil from collapsing. The retaining wall is used for various purposes. Some of them include the prevention of soil erosion and construction. During the construction of building structures they help in creation of underground spaces like basements. Landscaping also involves the use of the retaining wall to shape the soil into the design required. When one wants to construct retaining walls Huntsville AL is worth giving priority.

There are important considerations one is required to follow when building a retaining wall. The most important consideration is proper installation and design which include the studying of forces and proper materials to use. One has to remember that the wall will be dealing with gravity which can cause it to move down slope hence one has to know how to deal with this.

A study is also required to be done on the soil type at the site in order for calculations to be processed and used in designing the wall. There are several principles of the designs of the walls. These include, the wall must be designed to resist lateral pressure created by the soil the first principle is increasing the base area.

Having a retaining wall with a large base enables it to be firm on the ground. The other element to be considered is the slopping angle on the other side of the wall. The angle is supposed to be small so as to create a neutralizing force which is to work on the lateral force. The other element of these walls is that it should be water proof. The wall should be capable of containing the water in order to reduce the pressure exerted on the wall.

There are various forms of the retaining which are based method used in making them. These types include the gravity wall whereby the wall uses the mass to counteract the pressure from behind. Such walls are normally made with large masses of concrete or stones or composite material. They are commonly used in the construction of gabions which control soil erosion which can result in landslides.

Cantilevered wall is also a type of the wall. They are built by either concrete or stone. There is also the incorporation of steel in their making so that they can be more resistant. They are made with large footings so as to convert the horizontal pressure created by the soil so that it can be vertical pressure. The vertical pressure is exerted on the earth surface. The footings are made in a way to be relatively rigid.

There are various kinds of walls used in very soft soils like black cotton soils. They are referred to as sheet pilling. Soft soils are poor because of less bearing capacity. To attain stability of the wall, in most cases the wall is constructed by driving sheet piles deep into the ground until they reach the bed rock. The sheet piles are made of vinyl, and steel among others.

Another form of retaining wall is the anchored wall. It is very flexible technique because it can utilize additional strength by use of cables. It can be done using the types mentioned above. The cable is driven in to the wall by boring method, when they reach the other end they are expanded thus providing the support required.




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