Engineering Redi-Rock Retaining Walls on a Challenging Vail, CO, Site

The Challenge: Tight Site, Tough Wall Design

The engineering team for this Vail, Colorado residential Redi-Rock project had their hands full. From existing utilities to massive boulders, this site posed some serious challenges–challenges they’d need to create innovative retaining wall solutions for. Luckily, the engineering team formed a strong bond with their local Redi-Rock producer to:

• Create a custom wall system in an extremely confined site
• Design complex 90-degree back-to-back corners into the walls
• Address tight radii and design with parking area pavement abutting the walls

Why Redi-Rock? When Retention Calls, Redi-Rock Shows Up

The project’s engineer, Soil Structures Engineering, teamed up with Colorado Redi-Rock producer Signature Stone to develop a plan that would ensure the site’s walls were built with longevity in mind and exactly to the homeowner’s wishes.

To address the back-to-back 90-degree corners, the project's design included near-vertical blocks in the upper six courses, with Redi-Rock XL blocks hidden below grade to provide the total base preparation required for external stability.

For the other tight radii and curves, the retaining wall design incorporated hollow core blocks through the curves to cut the units and solidify the radii.

With the wall design challenges addressed, the finished project features:

• The power of the Redi-Rock block library: 28 in (710 mm), 41 in (1030 mm), 52 in (1320 mm) XL, 72 in (1830 mm) XL, and various Freestanding blocks were used to create the site's two gravity retaining walls
• Earthy, natural stone looks of the Ledgestone texture complement the home’s alpine architecture
• 1216 Sq ft (112.9 sq m) total of retaining wall blocks
• Parking area retaining wall featuring a poured pavement parking deck
• Driveway and front entrance retaining wall featuring top-of-wall fencing and full abutment to driveway pavement

The entire project was completed in just 3 months—a remarkable achievement, especially given the intricate retaining wall design and site challenges.

“Throughout the process, we worked with the installer, the homeowner, and the manufacturer to modify the block accordingly and to kind of transition throughout the design to make sure the finished product is what they were looking for.”

-Benjamin Daiss, Owner, Soil Structures Engineering