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A1.2 Retaining walls A1 Foundations and basement construction

Retaining walls
Summary: This section provides an overview of the struc-
tural requirements of basement and retaining walls with
illustrative examples, including free standing cantilevered
designs.

Uniformat: A1010
Key words: retaining walls, basement walls, lateral pres- G2040

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sure, Rankine theory, weep holes. MasterFormat: 02450

Retaining walls hold back or retain earth between disparate grade level. The importance of effective water drainage and release of any hydro-
Typically, the wall is cantilevered from a footing extending up be- static pressure behind the wall can not be overemphasized. Weep holes
yond the grade on one side and retaining a higher level grade on the through the vertical wall along with footing drains used in conjunc-
opposite side. Basement walls may also be considered retaining walls, tion with gravel or crushed stone backfill allow water to drain away
However, they are supported at the lowest end by the basement floor from the wall.
slab and at the top by the floor framing system. Both types of walls
must resist the lateral pressures generated by loose soils or, in some A wide variety of site conditions and retaining wall requirements in-
cases, by water pressures. The soil being retained should be well fluence the design of retaining walls. The determination of the
drained in order to minimize the forces of water and ice. specific’s site variant conditions along with the applicable wall de-
sign criteria require consideration by an engineer experienced with
A basement wall must be designed to resist lateral pressures from soil mechanics.
adjacent earth. Typically the wall spans from the basement floor to

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the first floor, depicted in Fig. 1(a), and acts as the structural element To illustrate the design of one simple type of cantilevered retaining
between those two points. Fig. 1(b) illustrates typical forces on a base- wall, the example of Table 2 takes one set of assumptions and varies
ment wall. The first-floor structural plane must act as a diaphragm the wall height. This freestanding retaining wall is designed so that
able to transfer the reaction from the top of wall to the end walls, or to the resultant of the force of the soil pressure and the gravity loads
intermediate cross walls. The diaphragm plane must be secured to the passes through the middle third of the footing, preventing uplift. The
top of the end walls which in turn act as shear walls transmitting the advantage of this approach is to easily proportion the footing and wall
forces down to the footings. To offer an insight to wall thickness and based on the limit of the peak allowable soil bearing pressure. Where
the reinforcement required relative to wall height, Table 1 lists sev- the soil is particularly compressible, the resultant should pass near
eral cases which have been analyzed for the lateral loads shown. the center of the footing to give uniform soil loading. With the result-
ant at the edge of the middle third, compressible soils may give dif-
Free standing cantilevered retaining walls rely on the weight of the ferential settlement, causing the wall to tilt. Such rotation is very det-
wall plus the weight of earth over the footing for stability. In addition, rimental to a retaining wall.
the friction between the earth and the footing is essential to resist
sliding of the footing. The characteristic elements of a retaining wall Retaining wall may also be built with masonry. Stone masonry, con-
design are shown in Fig. 2(a). The Rankine theory of earth thrust, crete masonry or brick masonry may be used. The latter two materials
represented in Fig. 2(b). assumes that the thrust is zero at the top and may also be reinforced. When using a built-up modular unit for a
a maximum at the base, giving a triangular loading. The thrust is pro- retaining wall always means that the wall must be thicker and mas-
duced by the sliding of the wedge of soil between the earth below the sive. For walls of shorter height, these materials can be interest-
angle of repose and the ground surface. The thrust for earth backfilled ing and successful. Because they are more vulnerable for crack-
against the wall is commonly computed as 28.6 psf per foot of height ing and breaking, these materials are often used creatively using

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of grade above the footing. If groundwater saturates the soil through- undulating or zig-zag plan forms. The masonry TEK (NCMA
out this height the design lateral force against the wall increases to 1996) notes should be referenced for further structural design and
62.5 psf per foot of height of grade above the footing. detailing opportunities.

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i Author: Martin D. Gehner, P. E.
W References: ACI. 1989. Building Code Requirements for Reinforced Concrete. ACI 318-89. Detroit, MI: American Concrete Institute.
CRSI. 1996. CRSI Handbook. Schaumburg, IL: Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute.
NCMA. 1996. TEK Manual for Concrete Masonry Design and Construction. Herndon, VI: National Concrete Masonry Association.

Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Use of this product is subject to the terms of its License Agreement.Click here to view.
Time-Saver Standards: Part II, Design Data A-9
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INTERIORS A1 Foundations and basement construction A1.2 Retaining walls

(a) Typical basement wall reinforced concrete (b) Typical forces on a basement wall

Fig. 1. Basement foundation wall

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A-10 Time-Saver Standards: Part II, Design Data Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Use of this product is subject to the terms of its License Agreement.Click here to view.
 SUBSTRUCTURE
A1
A1.2 Retaining walls A1 Foundations and basement construction

Table 1. Basement wall resisting lateral pressure (ASI 318-89. Strength design: f’c = 3,000 psi; Fy = 40,000 psi.)

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(a) Essential elements of a retaining wall (b) Essential forces for a retaining wall

Fig. 2. Retaining wall

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Time-Saver Standards: Part II, Design Data A-11
 SUBSTRUCTURE
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A1 Foundations and basement construction A1.2 Retaining walls

Table 2. Cantilever retaining walls (ACI 318-89). Strength design: f’c = 3,000 psi; Fy = 60,000 psi.
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A-12 Time-Saver Standards: Part II, Design Data Copyright © 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Use of this product is subject to the terms of its License Agreement.Click here to view.