Retaining walls are a common sight. You can find them everywhere, in all imaginable sizes. Tall, short and everything in between has a purpose. Everyone of them has a specific job that they do. These embankments are made to handle the job at hand and it is interesting to note the differences between them.
One wall that is less seen is the cantilever wall. They are amazingly high. One has to wonder how they can stay erect with so much weight pushed against it. The secret is what cannot be seen. There is a footing behind them on which tons of earth is placed. In essence, it is the the soil itself that keeps these walls upright and in place.
Construction sights, like highways that are being built, will often use a sheet piling wall. It takes a tremendous amount of force for a crane with an attached hammering device to pound two thirds of steel sheets into the earth's surface. When complete one third of the material used can be seen. This material is usually covered in concrete for added strength and beauty. In a highway overpass the earth itself acts as the holding force for tons of weight.
Smaller walls are gravity walls. Due to the way they are constructed they are always shorter in height. Made of stone or block, the bottom is always thicker than the top. It is the sheer weight of the product used that ensures it can hold the pressure placed against it. Building them with a backward slant gives them an immense advantage in keeping the weight securely immobilized.
If you ever sit and watch a child play with building blocks, you have the idea behind the block wall. As children's blocks snap together so do the concrete pieces of this wall. They will fit one into the other on the top and bottom as well as both sides. What began as a single piece has now become a solid wall.
Abutments are nothing new. It has been proven that the ancient Romans used this same type of wall in much of their construction. Materials have changed from what this old civilization made by hand, to steel, concrete, special woods, and many more. With every wall being dependent on the material it is constructed of, a structural engineer should be consulted to see which is the best style and material that should be used on any project.
Many would think these walls have little to offer in appearance but the opposite is true. The most lovely of walls would be the step wall where each flat surface becomes a garden for planting shrubs and flowers. Being up off the ground it gives the gardener a much easier place to work in. They do a lot to control erosion and do it beautifully at the same time.
There is much beauty to be found in retaining walls. The surrounding material will dictate what type of wall needs to be built, but everyone of them can be made decorative with proper landscaping. Now that you know the measures taken to build an abutment that will serve its purpose efficiently, it is easier to appreciate the work that went into making it.
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