Retaining Wall Designs
– by Licensed Engineers in One Day (M-F)!
Retaining walls not only add visual interest to your business or home, but they can help to control your landscape, make better use of your available space, and even improve drainage. But if your retaining wall will be more than 4 feet high, your local building codes almost certainly require that it must be designed by a licensed engineer.
Xpress Engineering specializes in fast, professional retaining wall designs for far less than most qualified engineers will charge. So if you’re looking for an engineering company you can trust, we can help.
Professionally Engineered Retaining Wall Designs – Fast and Affordable
No one likes waiting around for ages when they want to get a project started. If you’re like most people, you want to hit the ground running, and get your retaining wall project started quickly and with full confidence. While most engineers require a month or more to develop a retaining wall design, often at a cost of $1000 or more, we will provide your design with all calculations and specifications for your project in just 24 hours (excluding weekends), and guaranteed to be less than any other engineered plans!
Despite the quick turnaround and very low price, we sacrifice nothing in quality. Our retaining wall engineering staff will provide a cantilever retaining wall design that is tailored to your project. Our engineers will make certain that your project is correctly designed and safe from common errors that can result in retaining wall failures – or worse.
So let us help you enhance your landscape or business with a stylish and graceful retaining wall, hassle-free and and long-lasting, with a proper and safe engineering design behind it.
Custom Retaining Wall Designs
Xpress Engineering offers custom cantilever retaining wall designs for the most popular types of retaining walls: Poured Concrete, CMU Block, and Wood.
Structural Engineer Retaining Wall Designs
Retaining wall materials can include various types of blocks, concrete, wood, and more. However, creating a fantastic retaining wall design isn’t just about the materials you use. Without an underlying structurally sound engineering design, you run the risk of failure from soil shift or pressure, or drainage issues that can pull the whole wall down without warning.
Of course, you don’t need to have the skills of a structural engineer yourself, because Xpress Engineering will provide that for you – quickly and inexpensively. Our engineers will create a professional retaining wall design for you in one day that will meet or exceed your local building code requirements. It will allow you or your contractor to build a beautiful and structurally sound wall designed to fit your specific needs.
A great retaining wall design allows two different elevations of ground to transition seamlessly into each other without soil slippage or risk of collapse. This means that they hold back an immense amount of pressure from the soil as well as gravity. When designed correctly, they help you maximize land usage on your property, boosting both curb appeal and property values.
The Cantilever retaining wall design is probably the most popular retaining wall design style available, and for good reason. Most of the magic happens under the soil, where the footing works to reduce pressure on the wall itself and keep everything firmly anchored in place. When combined with the correct wall materials, this ensures a strong, steady retaining wall that will last for decades.
Interested to learn more about the cantilever retaining wall design style?
Our Retaining Wall Design Types
Retaining walls are critical elements of our infrastructure. That doesn’t mean they have to be an ugly mismatch to your house or property! There are plenty of retaining wall materials and types to choose from, so you can create a landscape you’ll love.
Xpress Engineering can provide input upon request on the best materials for your design, but we know how much aesthetics matter, too. Your contractor or landscaper can help you to make the right choice of materials to fit your personal style.
Poured Concrete Retaining Wall Designs
Poured concrete retaining walls are likely the most versatile, capable and popular retaining wall type available. Adaptable to any shape and size needed, they have a classic feel that’s hard to beat.
With modern materials and veneers, a concrete retaining wall can emulate a brick retaining wall, brick, natural stone, and many other styles you may prefer. Dye it, texturize it, paint it, stucco it, or add a natural stone or brick veneer. Or enjoy it as it is. You have lots of choices with this popular and versatile design choice for your retaining wall.
Block CMU Retaining Wall Designs
Block retaining walls are one of the oldest types of retaining wall available. While soil pressure can cause blocks to dislodge when used incorrectly, a well-designed block retaining wall can last for years when properly designed. We recommend Concrete Masonry Units (CMU’s) that include voids to allow for ideal reinforcement, especially for walls that are 4 feet or more in height.
Today, there are many styles of block available, and each brings its own character and style to the project. Many block retaining walls can offset plants beautifully, and may even bring a dash of old-world charm to your space. Fantastic for landscaping, or just providing an airy look to your yard, you’re sure to find the perfect materials and style of retaining wall to match your style.
Pressure Treated Wood Retaining Wall Designs
Wood retaining walls have a beautiful, sleek look that’s tough to beat. However, such walls can sometimes be prone to rot and require replacing all too frequently. By harnessing the best of modern pressure-treated wood technology, your wood retaining wall lifespan can be extended and you can create a wall you’ll love for many years.
Perfect for a patio, near an entertainment area, or simply to showcase beautiful potted plants, a pressure-treated wood retaining wall can be an eye-catching and beautiful design choice.
What is the easiest retaining wall to build?
An Xpress Engineering designed retaining wall, of course! With fast design delivery and assured structural soundness, you’ll love your new wall. While DIYers can often handle a block retaining wall if less than 3 feet tall, the most versatile, strong and secure retaining walls by far are a cantilever design specially created for your installation space.
What is the cheapest type of retaining wall?
Cheap retaining walls are not always the best idea, since cheap can sometimes mean poorly designed and engineered. Many materials, suppliers and labor factors contribute to the ultimate cost of any retaining wall.
For example, a cast-in-place cantilever retaining wall designed by an engineer may be more expensive than a similar wall built with solid (but improperly reinforced) concrete blocks by a well intended builder or landscaper. But if that wall should fail next month or next year, you will likely be forced to rebuild it, making the entire project far more expensive. Similarly, a retaining wall built without considering drainage or with improper backfill may end up causing headaches and additional costs for years to come.
If you are on a tight budget, and especially if your wall will be more than 3-4 feet high, it would be wise to contact several experienced local contractors for ideas and quotes before diving in. With the basic height, length, and type of wall you want, most contractors can provide at least a rough initial estimate. However, for taller walls especially, make certain the quote includes a design by a qualified engineer. It will likely be required by your local building codes. So if an engineer design is not proposed, it would be wise to insist that your new wall should be designed by a qualified engineer such as Xpress Engineering.
About Xpress Engineering
For years we have heard this comment from homeowners, architects, contractors and designers:
“It’s just a small structural design, can we get it back tomorrow?”
For many engineering tasks, this request is hard to accommodate due to the complexities inherent in structural design. A lot goes into creating a strong, safe project, fit for use and beautiful to look at! Most of the work in a project goes on ‘behind the scenes’, and may even remain invisible to the eye when the final product is completed.
Yet clients can’t always hang around waiting forever for the structural engineer to complete your wall design. Some structural design services can definitely be performed in a shorter amount of time than the average structural engineer will quote.
Xpress Engineering was created to provide these services! We know life moves fast, and we’re here to help you bring your building dreams to life without waiting forever for a response.
Xpress Engineering has over 25 years of combined structural engineering experience to insure ideal retaining wall designs for any project.
Our clients include:
- ARCHITECTS
- GENERAL CONTRACTORS
- HOME OWNERS
- DESIGNERS
- LANDSCAPERS
- LAND DEVELOPERS
- And YOU!
What Our Customers Say
“I like to do everything myself around the house. We had a retaining wall that was falling over and leaking water which I decided to replace myself. As I was searching online, I came across Xpress Engineering. I ordered one of their wood wall designs and it provided all I needed to install a new wall myself! I feel good that it was done right and will last the test of time!”
“Ordering anything online is not something I do that often. I am definitely more old school, but the process was very straightforward on Xpress Engineering. After only a few minutes, I had all the questions answered and the next day I received my retaining wall design!”
“As a landscaper, I occasionally need to install a retaining wall. If the retaining wall was to fail, it would not be good for business. Using Xpress Engineering gave me the peace of mind I needed that the wall was constructed correctly.”
“I am a contractor and needed a retaining wall in a rush. None of the local engineers could help, but through Xpress Engineering I had what I needed the next day! I will definitely use them again.”
“We used Xpress Engineering for a concrete block wall in our backyard and I was very happy with how clear the plans were and how easy it was to order the wall design.”
“Easy website to use and place the order. I had reached out to multiple engineers with no call backs. Ordering one online was the answer!”
“We started to grade our lot for our new home and soon realized we would need a retaining wall. Xpress Engineering was able to provide the design we needed within 24 hours and the contractor did not experience any delays.”
“During a new residential build, we found that the retaining wall we built was over the 4ft maximum height per the building department. They required us to provide engineer and details for the wall. Xpress Engineering was able to provide what we needed much quicker than any other engineer I have worked with!”
“Their design was quickly delivered via email and my contractor had no problem following their details to build the wall.”
