Retaining Wall Details
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Enter your wall dimensions to see blocks and base gravel needed.
Plan a segmental block retaining wall: enter your wall length and height and the face size of your block to get the block count with waste, cap blocks for the top course, and the gravel for the base trench.
Enter your wall dimensions to see blocks and base gravel needed.
Block count is the wall face area divided by one block’s face area, plus your waste percentage for cuts and breakage. Cap blocks cover the top course, calculated from wall length. Base gravel fills the leveling trench — commonly 6 inches deep and wide enough for the block plus a few inches front and back.
Most jurisdictions allow gravity block walls up to 3–4 feet without engineering; taller walls need design and often permits. Every retaining wall needs drainage — clean gravel backfill directly behind the blocks and, for taller walls, a perforated drain pipe at the base. Water pressure, not soil, is what topples walls.
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