Retaining wall failure in Germantown, TN

Challenge

The customer reached out to us, because at the back of his property was a retaining wall that ran the entire length of the property. The other side of the wall was the roughly 15 foot drop off into the woods. The wall had the pressure of the entire backyard pushing up on it. Over time, the wall began to lean outwards. The customer was concerned the wall would eventually collapse. If the wall did collapse, a significant part of his backyard, including a swimming pool would likely collapse and/or wash away with it. 

Solution

Our System Design Specialist carefully assessed the scope of the project to permanently stabilize the wall. He determined our geo-lock wall anchors would be the appropriate solution, specifically, 12"x18" Wall Plates with 16"x16" Earth Anchors. To accomplish that they would need to remove a significatn amount of dirt from the backyard to gain clear access to both sides of the retaining wall (the backyard ran all the way up to be flushwith the top of the wall). Separately, they would also need to divert roof water away from the foundation with buried downspouts. 

Once the wall anchor system was installed, a significant difference could immediately be seen in how straight the retaining wall was. With the wall anchor system, there are 2 options:

1- fully straighten the wall during installation which is more disruptive to the surrounding area and is a signiciantly more labor.

2- stabilize the wall, achieving some or significant straightening, and as the anchors are tighted over time, the wall will continue to lift back to straight on its own. 

(This customer opted for the first option). 

You can read more HERE about the geo lock anchor system, and how it stabilizes and straightens walls. 

Project Summary

Foreman: Philip King

Foreman: Jason Autry

Crew member: Rafael Taylor

Crew member: Danny Wilkins

Solution: Geo lock wall anchor system