What Are Retaining Walls and Why Are They Important?

Retaining walls are the solid barricade against the sloping ground, provided they are built correctly, and the required materials are used. Retaining walls usually consist of earth, concrete and brick. Retaining walls can either be horizontal or vertical. The most common types of retaining walls are concrete ones. Retaining walls serve the dual purpose of:

As the name suggests, retaining walls retain the soils in position and prevent the sloping ground from falling downward. When a building is constructed, retaining walls may either be built independently to accommodate the entire building weight; or be built in part by joining two adjacent trenches filled with gravel or stones. Both the internal and externally-built retaining walls experience the effects of gravitational force and lateral pressure. In the former case, gravity pulls the earth up and keeps the soil beneath the building intact, while in the latter situation, the gravitational force pushes the soil away from the foundation and allows the soil to fall downward, breaking loose and moving away into other soils.

For purposes of constructing retaining walls, various types of materials are used. Click here now! for the most commonly used material in constructing walls, and there are reasons for this. For one, concrete is an ideal building material because of its ability to withstand any external force. Besides, concrete can also be shaped into different shapes, depending on the need of the construction. However, for proper concrete structure, one needs to use special types of concrete. Special types of concrete, known as segmental retaining walls systems, can solve the problem of holding heavy earth and stone and act as a giant spacer, keeping the soil in place.

A proper drainage system is important for constructing retaining walls. A proper drainage system also ensures that no water is wasted and is instead used effectively. Usually, buildings with retaining walls have a built-in drainage system. However, it’s always better to construct walls with no drainage because, in case of water accumulation, the water could easily find its way towards other parts of the building, causing damage to the structure.

Another reason why these structures are preferred over others is that they act as tremendous support for vegetation or soil. These walls can hold either heavy soil or vegetation and act as a giant brace to hold back the pressure of a flood or a storm. It is very helpful when building homes for those who live in low-lying areas where the water table is low. By acting as a giant brace, a retainer wall also stabilises an area that experiences dynamic shifts in the soil due to earthquakes and other natural calamities. For this reason, retaining walls can also be used in places like defense bases, cemeteries, airports, power stations, dam reservoirs, and even in the interior of commercial buildings.

There are several types of retaining wall systems in Commercial retaining walls Adelaide. One of them is known as the full reinforcement system. It is the most expensive type of system because of the high quality of the materials and the design used in its construction. Another popular type of this system is the hybrid system, where various structures, including retaining walls and buildings, are combined to form one huge structure. The full reinforcement system uses steel pipes which are manufactured using high-quality steel and other materials like iron, concrete, aluminium and plastic.