A Retaining Wall Without Drainage Is Usually A Problem Waiting To Happen
A retaining wall without drainage is usually a problem waiting to happen.
There are several factors to consider when designing a retaining wall:
What’s being held back? How much lateral force is expected? How much water is expected to flow downhill toward the wall? What material is being used? And, depending on several variables, it could make sense to have it be engineered.
But one thing is certain, unless it is purely an ornamental wall with no functional purpose, e.G., holding back earth and or water, it needs drainage.
Hydroblox makes retaining wall drainage much easier and simpler than gravel and pipe drainage. Instead of buckets and shovel fulls of gravel behind the wall, simply having a curtain drain of hydroblox boards will provide effective drainage.
Keep in mind that depending on the lateral force expected, it may make sense to install a width of aggregate between the wall and dirt hill in order to provide lateral flexibility (vs. Dirt right up against hydroblox and the wall).
The drainage discharge can be daylighted in a couple different ways, depending on site specfic factors.
Contact us for advice. We’ll be happy to help.
