Retaining Wall Systems for Residential and Commercial Projects
Retaining Wall Solutions Overview
Retaining wall systems, such as reinforced soil retaining walls and slope stabilisation solutions, are often required to support adjacent finished ground levels whenever a vertical separation is necessary on a project.
Naturally stable slopes take up a large footprint, which is unavailable for development and may not be feasible due to space constraints. Retaining wall systems – either vertical retaining walls or steep reinforced slopes – can be constructed with a greatly reduced footprint to support the higher-level platform, and some are fitted with geogrids to provide subgrade stabilisation.
Tensar offers a range of TensarTech Earth Retaining Systems for soil retaining walls and steep reinforced soil slopes, from modular block systems like the TW3 through to the TR2 mesh soil retaining system including solutions for weep holes for effective drainage. These have many advantages over alternative retaining wall systems and solutions such as reinforced concrete or masonry walls. TensarTech retaining wall solutions are also faster to construct, and considerably cheaper to build with a lower carbon cost compared to alternative wall retaining systems.
Need a retaining wall system or slope stabilisation design for your project?
Tensar’s design team are specialists in retaining wall stabilisation and can produce a free of charge “Application Suggestion” to illustrate what Tensar can achieve and how much value can be added to your project.
Retaining Wall Systems & Solutions
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What is a Retaining Wall?
Retaining wall systems, like vertical walls or reinforced slopes, act as a form of retaining wall stabilisation, providing a vertical wall or reinforced slope to hold back soil and create a level platform. Compared to traditional methods, they require a much smaller footprint, maximising the usable area of the elevated platform.
You can read more about the types of retaining walls and their benefits in our guide.
What is Slope Stabilisation?
Slope stabilisation is the process of improving the stability of an existing unstable slope, or preventing instability in new slopes. This ensures that the slope has a sufficiently high Factor of Safety to support loads that are applied to it.
Slope stabilisation can be accomplished through a variety of methods, including the use of earth retaining walls and soil reinforcement solutions.
Reinforced Soil Wall
Tensar offers a range of TensarTech reinforced retaining wall systems for permanent and temporary structures including solutions without the need for weep holes for effective drainage. Reinforced earth walls are designed as reinforced soil (or mechanically stabilised earth (MSE) structures with a choice of facing: modular concrete blocks, segmental panels, full-height concrete panels, or wire mesh options.
Bridge Abutments
In the case of bridge abutments, reinforced earth retaining walls are increasingly common to support the bank seat directly on the reinforced soil block. This transfers all bridge loading stress into the reinforced soil structure, resisting seismic loading and structural damage.
Tensar-reinforced earth walls for bridge abutments offer major cost savings and reductions in construction time compared to alternative methods.
Slope Repair
Failed slopes are common, and changing rainfall patterns due to climate change seem likely to increase such occurrences around the globe, leading to more frequent landslides. Excavation and replacement of failed materials of the retaining wall on a slope has been the most common approach for the reinstatement of slopes, up to now.
Tensar-reinforced soil retaining walls offer a cost-efficient alternative, often reusing the failed materials to repair the slope, as well as incorporating geogrid reinforcement to provide stability and resilience.
Need a retaining wall or slope design for your project?
Tensar’s design team can produce a free-of-charge “Application Suggestion” to illustrate what Tensar can achieve and how much value can be added to your project.
Reduced Environmental Impact
Steepened reinforced earth wall slopes with a face angle up to 70°, can offer alternatives to vertical walls, at considerably lower cost. Typically these earth retaining slopes have a ‘green’ facing of grass or selected planting to enhance local identity; they are aesthetically appealing with a reduced environmental impact.
Ultimately these types of earth retaining walls enhance the sustainability of a project. Waste or site-won materials for retaining wall systems are often suitable for the structural fill, which supports both reductions in costs and essential long-term sustainability goals.
Aesthetically Pleasing Solutions
TensarTech slope stabilisation systems can have a ‘green’ naturally vegetated face to enhance the local environment, while TensarTech wall retaining systems have face options that include moulded panels, smooth or rough textured retaining wall blocks or natural rock fill. An example of this is the TensarTech® RockWall™ Rock Cage Retaining Wall System, which combines the attractive look of steel wire and stone for a visibly appealing solution.
Financially Attractive Solutions
The modular construction of TensarTech retaining wall systems requires no large cranage or specialist on-site skills. In many cases, the structural fill can be site-won material, suitable waste such as mine spoil or recycled aggregates. Each earth retaining wall system allows rapid and economical construction. Staged construction of retaining wall systems is easily accommodated, enabling flexible programming and reducing overall construction times.
Tensar's Expert Support
Tensar is the industry leader in ground-retaining wall systems and soil retaining wall solutions. We've developed products and technologies at the forefront of the geotechnical industry for more than three decades. Our retaining wall systems and products are backed by the most thorough quality assurance practices in the industry. We can also provide full engineering and construction support, including detailing, design, site assistance, and review of stamped drawings for each of our grade separation solutions.
How does Tensar compare to other retaining wall systems?
Tensar's soil retaining wall systems and slope stabilisations offer flexibility, resilience, and cost savings that alternative mechanically stabilised earth (MSE) retaining wall systems and reinforced concrete retaining walls can't provide.
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Alternative MSE Systems
- Variable levels of experience and longevity
- Often simplified designs using third-party software or contracted-out design
- Typically bought-in components, often uncertified and from multiple suppliers
- Typically, lower-strength or frictional connections between facing systems and MSE structure
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Tensar Soil Retaining Wall & Slope Stabilisation Systems
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Proven retaining wall solutions with over 40 years of construction experience worldwide
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Unique and powerful design software with seismic, hydraulic, and live load complexities
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In-house quality assured developed components. Full-strength connections, tested and certified. One source for the design & supply of a complete system
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Full-strength connections between facing systems and MSE structure for security and resistance to dynamic loads
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Reinforced Concrete Retaining Walls
- Rigid structures unable to accommodate settlements, requiring substantial and costly structural foundations
- Slower to construct. Heavy lifting equipment is required. Specialist labour is required. Speed is dictated by curing time and formwork erection. Staged construction further increases costs
- Significantly higher cost and higher energy use and carbon emissions
Tensar Soil Retaining Wall & Slope Stabilisation Systems
- Flexible structures can accommodate minor foundation settlements; typically requires no structural foundation
- Rapid and simple to construct with no specialist skills or heavy lifting plant or supporting formwork required. Well suited to staged construction to suit works program
- Significantly lower construction cost. Lower energy and carbon cost. Often able to utilise site-won fill materials to reduce transport movements on and off-site
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Sheet Piled Walls
- Limited to vertical walls with limited aesthetic-facing options
- Heavy plant required, potentially creating noise and vibration disturbance to neighbours. Access and safe operating platforms for piling rigs are required at extra cost
- Mobilisation costs are high. Staged construction dictated by the works program significantly increases costs
Tensar Soil Retaining Wall & Slope Stabilisation Systems
- Attractive architectural options for facings, or natural vegetated slope face options for aesthetic and environmental benefits
- No heavy plant is required. No vibrations or noise disturbance to neighbouring sites. Construction can be carried out by small teams of labour with light plant
- Mobilisation costs are small, beneficial to smaller projects and well suited to staged construction to suit works program on larger projects