Retaining Wall on Level Ground Simple gravity retaining wall with level ground at the toe and crest.

Wall Profile 1A - Flat ground in front of and behind wall. Building or Vehicle Surcharge: Increased loads, Stronger wall.

Wall Profile 2: Sloping ground in front, flat ground behind. Reduced soil at base to resist sliding. Increased foundation depth.

Sloping ground in front of wall and flat ground behind wall. With Building or Vehicle Surcharge. 1/ Reduced soil at base of wall to resist sliding. 2/ Increased loads on wall. 3/ Stronger wall required than Profile 2.

Flat ground in front, sloping behind. Additional load. Stronger wall required.

Wall Profile 3A: Flat ground, steep batter behind. Avoid consents, strength fails, blue wedge load.
Wall size increases. Height defined from base to topsoil. Engineers unlikely approve this design.

Wall Profile 4 Sloping ground in front of wall, sloping behind wall 1/ Additional load from the blue wedge of soil. 2/ Reduced soil at base of wall to resist sliding. 3/ Increased loads on wall. 4/ Stronger wall required than Profile 2. 5/ Foundation and toe depth needs to be increased over Profile 2 wall.

Terraced Wall Design: Key Considerations for engineers. 1/ High-risk scenarios, requiring specialist retaining walls. 2/ Extreme loads, with lower wall affected by upper wall 3/ Lower wall designed to withstand added upper loads 4/ Walls related if spacing is less than twice upper wall height. 5/ Height regulations based on top to bottom wall distance. 6/ Site checks & engineering plans needed for terraced walls.