For many years the options for engineers specifying retaining wall structures have been limited to time consuming and often expensive solutions such as gabion baskets or crib-wall systems. However, over the last few years more and more retaining wall projects are being completed in record times and below forecast costs by choosing interlocking blocks.

Interlocking concrete lego style blocks (provided they are cast in accordance with BS EN 15258:2008) have a number of advantages over more traditional systems

Speed Retaining wall projects are often time critical not only for cost reasons but also for reasons of safety in that open excavations are relatively unstable and liable to collapse. Similarly retaining wall structures are often required to repair land slips and of course in these cases every day taken to complete the repair can cost huge sums of money. Interlocking blocks are incredibly quick to install (often over 100m2 per day is achieved) and moreover, the method of installing the blocks means that personnel are not exposed to the risk of being trapped by embankment failure.

Cost Quick installation (see above) is by its nature a relatively low cost approach. However the interlocking elements themselves are usually cheaper than alternative materials because they are mass produced in standard sizes. Direct cost comparisons have shown that interlocking block solutions are on average 75% of the cost of more traditional systems.

Availability Modular block systems are mass produced in large numbers for a huge variety of project types. They are therefore always available directly off-the shelf enabling large projects to be completed extremely quickly avoiding long lead time or waiting for a cast in-situ solution to cure.

Flexibility Interlocking concrete blocks offer great flexibility in terms of the finish that can be achieved. Whilst many clients choose the standard smooth concrete finish the blocks can easily be clad in brick, natural block / stone or rendered, according to the requirements of the local planning or conservation officers.

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Interlocking Concrete Blocks for retaining wall structures - Hub 4 (press release)

After initially recommending project, staff objects to building heights, densities and proximity to Sarasota Bay

MANATEE COUNTY Having repeatedly recommended approval of the controversial Aqua by the Bay development, the Manatee County planning staff released a surprising report Saturday stating it now recommends that the County Commission deny the developer's land use application for a 529-acre site.

No one could have been more surprised than the picketers on Cortez Road, who were letting motorists know about their objections to Aqua by the Bay on Saturday afternoon.

While the residents rallied against the project planned to be built along Sarasota Bay, the county staff released the agenda for a Wednesday public hearing for which Aqua by the Bay is the only topic.

After the county Planning Commission voted 3-1 on Thursday to recommend denial, county planners evidently reconsidered their collective opinion. They now agree with the Planning Commission and hundreds of citizens who have expressed objections in person and in writing that the mixed-use community on Sarasota Bay is inconsistent with the countys land development code and comprehensive land use plan. The staff report specifically refers to building heights, the requested densities and the projects proximity to Sarasota Bay.

This is a BIG ONE, former County Commissioner Jane von Hahmann, an organizer of the opposition, quickly stated in an email. Staff is now recommending DENIAL!!!! I dont know about you but for me this is a huge Alleluia Praise the Lord!

Von Hahmann still urged objectors to the project to attend the 9 am. hearing Wednesday and reinforce the county staffs new findings to the County Commission.

Pete Logan, spokesman for the development team, said the county staffs review remains supportive of the plans but appears to be influenced recently by a change in an opinion by a consultant. Weve worked through a public process for 25 months understanding that compatibility and consistency were moving along smoothly, and these recent concerns had not been shared with our engineering team.

We are working to ensure Aqua by the Bay is a neighborhood that will benefit the entire community and the environment. And we remain positive that, in the end, it will be a point of pride for Manatee County.

Developers Carlos Beruff and Larry Liebermans Cargor Partners want to build on waterfront property commonly known as Long Bar Pointe. The county rejected a previous development proposal, called Long Bar Pointe, because it included a marina and a channel that environmentalists and Cortez fishermen said would harm fisheries in Sarasota Bay. The developers sued the county but lost in Circuit Court and appellate court.

Cargorsubmitted a new application called Aqua by the Bay a 529-acre development that could eventually include 2,384 multi-family units, 510 single-family homes and 78,000 square feet of commercial space.

Among other complaints, protestors objected to the height of the proposed high-rises as incompatible with the area and disrupting the scenic vista of the last unspoiled stretch of Sarasota Bay coastline.

In May, the County Commission sent Cargor back to the drawing board saying its original plan lacked details about the number of high-rises. Cargor later stipulated that it was planning four buildings at 145 feet, 12 buildings at 95 feet and an undetermined number of buildings ranging from 36 to 75 feet.

Buildings exceeding 35 feet in height require special approval of the County Commission.

Opponents also strenuously objected to what the developers called an estuary enhancement area or lagoon, and the opposition called a canal or a trench.

The 2.5-mile, man-made waterway running the length of the property would separate existing mangroves from an elevated mainland that would be behind a retaining wall. Separating the wall from the waterway would be a slope of planted native vegetation, the developers stated.

Opponents countered that the barrier would be a common seawall and that it would deprive the mangroves of sediments. The new waterway, they argued,would block the mangroves ability to migrate onto uplands as sea levels rise.

More:
Manatee County planners recommend against Aqua by the Bay - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

A redesigned superhero mural proposed for the retaining wall across from the Blount County Courthouse will be up for a vote again Monday.

The Maryville Downtown Design Review Board will revisit a request from David Laney, co-owner of The Golden Age, 1942 comic book store at 316 Court St., for a superhero-themed mural on the retaining wall that turns the corner at Court and High streets.

The retaining wall is on Laneys property.

While blank walls are discouraged in Maryvilles Office Transition zone, it is up to the DDRB to determine whether painted murals and other wall decorations are appropriate, according to the citys zoning ordinance.

The DDRB has been debating the concept of a superhero mural since their May meeting. Laney heeded the boards feedback, removing urban art elements that some DDRB members said resembled graffiti and, in the process, lost the local artists who designed the original proposal for him.

The mural the DDRB will see Monday is by artist Wesley Stout of Florida, who has 24 years of experience in fine art and murals, according to his website, and runs the Wesley Stout School of Art.

The new mural proposal features several superheroes running towards the viewer with mountains in the background, the citys Development Services staff writes in board members meeting packets. The rendering seems conceptual in style (no detail on superheroes, etc.). Will this be the style of the completed mural?

Appropriate is key

The primary questions before the DDRB, however, are whether any mural is appropriate at the location and, if so, is this particular mural appropriate based on subject matter/content, color and scale.

In many cities, murals are works of art, Development Services staff writes. These can become iconic for a city or district and can withstand changes of ownership.

At the same time, other murals in the past have been approved when tied to the business, staff adds.

One example is the mural the DDRB approved in August 2016 for Bike N Tri at 601 E. Broadway Ave. The mural proposed for the buildings wall facing Washington Street would depict biking, swimming and running with specific downtown Maryville landmarks in the background.

Murals do not count toward a businesss allotted signage if they do not include the business name, Development Services staff have noted at past meetings. Brackins Blues Club got the go-ahead from the DDRB last month to replace its existing mural with a design that eliminates the name of the venue for that reason.

Supporters speak

Supporters of Laneys proposed superhero mural showed up en masse in June, but the DDRB did not have a quorum to take a vote that night.

The board allowed supporters to voice their opinions for the record, however.

Laney pulled his request from the DDRBs July agenda as he continued to look for another artist or artists to complete the mural for him.

The DDRB meets at 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 14, in the Maryville Municipal Centers Council Chambers, 400 W. Broadway Ave.

Any decision made by the board, which is an ad hoc advisory committee, will have to be validated by the Maryville Regional Planning Commission before it is final.

The Planning Commission meets at 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 21, also in the Maryville Municipal Centers Council Chambers.

Read more:
Revised superhero mural due for decision Monday - Maryville Daily Times

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Melbourne Retaining Wall Steel Call Brett on 042 588 ...

A Terre Haute man was injured when he was thrown from his vehicle after it rolled over a retaining wall Sunday evening.

Danny Corbett, 73, was taken to an area hospital for non-life threatening injuries, police chief John Plasse said.

The incident occurred about 7 p.m. at Sycamore Manor assisted living complex. Corbett told police he had stopped his vehicle and got out to pick up something he had dropped. Corbett said he thought he had put the vehicle in park, but it began to roll forward so he tried to get back inside to stop it. He was halfway inside the vehicle as it drove off the ledge and crashed below, throwing him to the ground. The retaining wall is about 6 feet high.

The vehicle continued for several feet before rolling to a stop.

Read this article:
Man injured after vehicle rolls over retaining wall | News | tribstar.com - Terre Haute Tribune Star

Improvements planned at Leclaire Park

Cody King cking@edwpub.net

Photo: Bill Tucker Intelligencer

Leclaire Park will be getting a retaining wall installed in the coming weeks.

Leclaire Park will be getting a retaining wall installed in the coming weeks.

Retaining wall, new sidewalk considered

Leclaire Lake is going to get a significant upgrade in the coming weeks.

As discussed at last weeks Administrative and Community Services Committee meeting, Public Works recommended the approval to award Keller Construction, Inc. the base bid amount of $124,124.33 for the installation of a retaining wall and replacement of the sidewalk.

The wall will be along the east side of the lake, parallel to Madison Avenue and will also include the removal and replacement of the sidewalk, removal and reinstallation of a concrete fence and removal and replacement of the storm sewer.

Alderman Will Krause said this park improvement is definitely necessary to improve the site.

Its got to get fixed and its going to be a park improvement, visually to the area. Aesthetically, I think it will also help cut down on our moss issue that we have on that side for numerous years now, Krause said.

The Leclaire Lake project includes a base bid of 325 feet of retaining wall installation and an alternate bid, which includes 421 feet.

The retaining wall, along with the other park improvements, will improve pedestrian mobility and safety along Madison Avenue and around the park as a whole.

City Engineer Ryan Zwijack said if approved by City Council, prior to the installation, the lake will need to be lowered to accommodate the contractors.

The lake will be slightly lowered to a level of five to six feet. They have a range at which they have to keep it so the contractors dont pump it all out and kill all the fish. They have to keep it within a certain range, Zwijack said.

The project received a total of three bids, with the base bid amounts ranging from $124,124.33 from Keller Construction, Inc., $139,240.41 from RCS Construction, Inc. and $143,259.60 from Stutz Excavating, Inc. The engineers estimate for the base bid was $150,000.

Following approval from Council, Director of Public Works Eric Williams said contractors are hoping to have the project completed before the school year starts.

By the time, if Council approves and contracts are executed, the (time) blocks I believe will be 30 to 45 days, Williams said. I know they were trying to get it done before school starts.

As discussion came to a close, aldermen Will Krause, Art Risavy and SJ Morrison took a vote.

Krause made the motion, seconded by Risavy.

The motion was subsequently approved at Wednesday's Council meeting.

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Retaining wall, new sidewalk considered - The Edwardsville Intelligencer

A 15 foot section of wall is missing at Watertown's Thompson Park. The sight leaves strollers in the park stunned.

"Just shocking. I haven't seen anything like it in all the years I've walked up here," said Tim Shaugnessy, passerby.

The city engineer says this was discovered last weekend.

There's little doubt what happened. A drain pipe ran through the lower part of the wall. If it was broken, Mother Nature did the rest.

"All these heavy rains may have been undermining that wall and washing out the soil through it. The fact that it went was probably just a matter of time, really," said Justin Wood, city engineer.

Any fix looks expensive, but the first steps include careful measurements of the damage and coming up with options, such as...

"Placement of embankment fill to build it back up or building it back up with a retaining wall and then looking at the aesthetics, of course, with the Olmsted design," said Wood.

The famed Olmsted Company designed the park around 1900.

With so much of this stonework throughout the park, all of it about a century old, will this collapse lead to a closer look at it?

"I think that's fair to say. There's an enormous amount of stonework up there that needs to be maintained. And so that's something we need to continue to look at," said Wood.

And continue to hope for kinder treatment from Mother Nature.

See the original post here:
Wet Weather Blamed For Wall Collapse At Thompson Park - WWNY TV 7

A Terre Haute man was injured when he was thrown from his vehicle after it rolled over a retaining wall Sunday evening.

Danny Corbett, 73, was taken to an area hospital for non-life threatening injuries, police chief John Plasse said.

The incident occurred about 7 p.m. at Sycamore Manor assisted living complex. Corbett told police he had stopped his vehicle and got out to pick up something he had dropped. Corbett said he thought he had put the vehicle in park, but it began to roll forward so he tried to get back inside to stop it.

He was halfway inside the vehicle as it drove off the ledge and crashed below, throwing him to the ground. The retaining wall is about 6 feet high.

The vehicle continued for several feet before rolling to a stop.

See the original post:
Terre Haute man injured when car rolls off retaining wall - Terre Haute Tribune Star

1. Incorporate the Wall Into Your Lifestyle

Retaining walls are usually thought of as utilitarian and for merely holding back soil. But you can use them to create beautiful outdoor living spaces and incorporate multi-use spaces.

Retaining walls don't have to be perfectly straight. Add a curve to dress up a boring straight wall and to add a little more texture to your landscape. You can use a garden hose or large rope to set the layout of the curve, then use a shovel to cut through the soil to follow the curve.

Smaller retaining walls, such as those less than four feet, can be easily planned and created without worrying too much about structure. Larger walls above that height may need an engineer's touch. Also be sure to check with local codes before starting one more than four feet tall.

From a lower grade, you'll need to gradually step up the retaining wall to reach a greater slope. Do this in increments and plan for a slight offset for each course change.

Besides offering a consistent look, manufactured blocks and stones for retaining walls offer structural integrity and an even base with which to work. There is little guesswork in installing, plus you'll have less work to do making sure each course is level. Be sure to color match and space out uneven colored stones and blocks for a better look.

Dig out your base several inches below grade and tamp/compact it to level. Add any filler, such as gravel, before adding your first stones or blocks. Remember, the base sets the tone for the entire wall, so spend a lot of time in preparing this key component.

A retaining wall that has a slope dropping to it will need additional drainage at the base. Add gravel and a fabric-covered drainage pipe at the base. The fabric will help prevent clogging of the pipe — a key feature as you will not want to dig out the pipe later to unclog it.

For each course of stones and blocks, be sure to check for level. This will help maintain a sturdy and balanced wall, plus you'll keep an even and consistent look.

Backfilling as you go adds support in success layers, so as you add a new course of blocks or stones, backfill to match this level. Be sure to tamp in/compact the soil as well, so you don't have as much settling later.

Add cap blocks to the top row of a block or stone retaining wall. You can add a layer of masonry adhesive to hold them in place, then back fill. Or you can backfill as you go, then add the cap. Either way, it provides a nice finished look, much like edging added to a paver patio.

Originally posted here:
10 Things You Must Know About Retaining Walls - DIY Com

If you are planning on having retaining walls built on your property, consider using Unilocks premium wall stones. They have the beautiful appearance of natural stones but greater durability than natural materials. Our wall stones also allow for a simplified installation process thanks to their tongue-and-groove design which eliminates the need for mortar. And, because they are available with tapered edges, you can build either straight or curved walls depending on your vision for your property.

Retaining walls can serve many important purposes, including:

Even when you choose the finest wall stones available, its important to have them installed by an experienced professional who is known for performing quality work. To simplify things for you, we have established a network of Unilock Authorized Contractors who you can rely on to build your walls with the utmost skill.

To enhance your residential landscape with beautiful retaining walls, contact Unilock today. We are proud to be a leading innovator in the hardscape industry.

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Retaining Walls - Unilock