Drainage
Retaining Walls
Holding back soil, and letting the water through.
Holding back soil, and letting the water through.
Quick answer: Retaining Walls. Southeastern Renovation is a licensed South Carolina general contractor (CLG.127339) serving the Charleston Lowcountry, SC. Work is coordinated by Southeastern Renovation as the general contractor. Licensed trade subcontractors handle work requiring their trade credentials; permit responsibilities depend on the project scope and jurisdiction. Call (843) 718-8177 for an estimate.
Saturated soil is dramatically heavier than dry soil, and the pressure it puts on a wall rises sharply as it wets. A wall designed for the dry weight of a bank and built without drainage is a wall being asked to do a different job every time it rains.
That is what the gravel backfill, the drainage pipe behind the wall and the weep holes through it are for. They are not finishing details; they are the structure.
Height changes everything. Above a certain height a retaining wall becomes an engineered structure with permitting attached, and that threshold varies by jurisdiction — worth establishing before a design is settled.
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Water, nearly always. Saturated soil weighs far more and pushes far harder than dry soil, so a wall built without drainage behind it is being asked to hold a load it was never sized for.
The gravel and the drain pipe are structural, not optional.
Above a certain height, generally yes, and it can require engineering. The threshold varies between jurisdictions here, so it is worth establishing before the design is fixed rather than after.
Letting water out. A wall with no weeps and no drainage behind it becomes a dam, and the pressure behind a dam is what pushes walls over.