The height of a retaining wall depends on various factors, including the type of wall, design specifications, and local building codes. In general, the height of a retaining wall can vary wildly, from 0.3m (1ft), to over 15m (40ft).
Short retaining walls are often used for decorative purposes, garden terraces, or minor grade changes. Due to their smaller scale of use, the don't need to be very tall; most are around 1.2m (4ft). They may be made of materials like timber, concrete blocks, or small stone.
Medium height retaining walls are common for residential applications where more significant grade changes or landscaping are needed. Standing between 1.2m (4ft) and 3m (10ft) tall, they might be made of materials like concrete blocks, poured concrete, or segmented retaining wall systems.
Taller retaining walls, those between 3m (10ft) and 8m (25ft), are typically engineered to support significant soil loads. These may be used in commercial developments, highway construction, or other projects where substantial grade changes are required. Materials can include reinforced concrete or mechanically stabilised earth (MSE) systems.
In some cases, retaining walls can clock in at over 8m (27ft) tall. While these are less common, they are often implemented in large scale infrastructure projects or for areas with particularly challenging terrain. These walls often require extensive engineering, possibly including soil reinforcement anchors, or other specialised techniques.
Any retaining wall, regardless of height, should be designed and constructed with careful consideration of site conditions and proper geotechnical engineering principles to ensure stability and safety. Moreover, assessing how retaining walls are performing in practice can be validated against predictions using remote sensing methodologies such as Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) analysis.
Want to know how we monitored a 70m high retaining wall?
Check out this case study...
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