Retaining Wall Design
Retaining walls are critical structural elements essential for supporting unstable ground, creating level sites on sloping terrain, and managing elevation changes. Our specialised structural engineering team at Focus 360 Energy provides rigorous, certified retaining wall design, calculation, and detailing services. We cover all common types, including gravity walls, cantilever walls, and counterfort systems. We ensure your design is safe, stable against overturning and sliding, compliant with Eurocodes, and provides a durable, long-term solution for ground stability.
What is Retaining Wall Design?
Retaining Wall Design is a specialised form of structural engineering that focuses on designing a structure to resist the lateral pressure of soil and water behind it. The process involves comprehensive geotechnical and structural calculations to ensure the wall is stable and prevents failure modes such as overturning, sliding, excessive settlement, or internal shear. This design service selects the appropriate wall type and details its dimensions, material (concrete, masonry, steel), and internal reinforcement to safely manage the significant forces exerted by the retained earth and any additional loads (surcharges) acting on the ground above.
What Does the Retaining Wall Design Service Include?
Wall Type and Material Selection: Advising on the optimal wall solution (e.g., cantilever concrete, gravity masonry, sheet pile) based on site conditions and height requirements.
Geotechnical Load Calculations: Precisely calculating the lateral earth pressure, surcharge loads, and hydrostatic forces acting on the wall face.
Stability Analysis: Performing rigorous checks against overturning, sliding, and bearing capacity failure to guarantee the wall’s long-term stability.
Structural Detailing and Reinforcement: Producing detailed technical drawings and schedules specifying steel reinforcement bar (rebar) size, spacing, and concrete grades.
Certified Compliance Report: Issuing a comprehensive report signed off by a qualified structural assessment engineer for submission to local planning and building control authorities.
Why Retaining Wall Design Matters
Accurate retaining wall design is essential for safety. A poorly designed or constructed retaining wall is a major structural failure risk, leading to collapse, significant property damage, and potential injury. Professional design guarantees the wall meets all mandatory Building Regulations and Eurocodes, which is non-negotiable for approval. Furthermore, bespoke calculations ensure the material optimisation of concrete or reinforcement, avoiding costly over-engineering while providing a durable solution that is fit for purpose over its full design life.
How Our Accredited Assessors Support You
Our structural engineers are experts in ground mechanics and certified to design complex retaining structures. We utilise inputs from geotechnical surveys (where available) to accurately model soil conditions, ensuring our design reflects the real-world pressures. Every design is subjected to rigorous internal checks, culminating in the sign-off by a dedicated structural assessment engineer. This rigorous oversight ensures the design is technically sound, fully compliant, and provides the necessary certified documentation that building control officers require to approve construction.
Related Services
Retaining Wall Design is frequently combined with the following additional services:
Structural Design & Calculations
Find out moreStructural Drawings
Find out moreStructural Inspections & Reports
Find out moreLand Contamination Reports
Find out moreFlood Risk Assessments
Find out moreBeam Calculations
Find out moreOur Process
Book your Retaining Wall Design service today.
Ensure your ground stability project is safe, compliant, and engineered to last. Contact Focus 360 Energy today to commission expert retaining wall design and calculations, and partner with a team committed to certified structural excellence.
Click the Get a Quote link to access our online portal, or use the form to share brief details about your project and we will respond promptly.
Why choose Focus 360 Energy
Safety and Compliance Guarantee: Our designs meet the latest Eurocode standards, ensuring safety and compliance for building control approval.
Expert Geotechnical Insight: We integrate available soil data to provide a design that is safe and specific to your ground conditions.
Optimised Material Use: Precision calculations ensure the most efficient use of concrete and steel, reducing construction costs without compromising safety.
Comprehensive Detailing: We provide clear, detailed reinforcement drawings that are easy for contractors to follow on site.
Structural Assessment Engineer Oversight: Every design and calculation is certified by a qualified engineer, guaranteeing the highest level of structural integrity.
Frequently Asked Questions
The two most common failure modes are overturning (the wall tipping over from pressure) and sliding (the wall being pushed horizontally along its base).
Yes. Any wall retaining soil higher than one meter, or any wall supporting an additional load (like a driveway or structure), requires certified structural calculations for Building Control.
A gravity wall relies entirely on its massive weight for stability. A cantilever wall uses a structural footing and steel reinforcement to resist the earth pressure.
We require the height of the retained ground, details of the surcharge (any load on the ground above), and ideally, a geotechnical or soil investigation report.
Yes. All our calculations and drawings are certified by a structural assessment engineer to comply with the relevant Eurocodes, making them suitable for direct submission.
Yes, adequate drainage (often via a French drain or weep holes) is a critical part of the design, as water pressure is one of the most significant loads the wall must resist.
A surcharge is any additional load acting on the ground surface immediately behind the retaining wall, such as a vehicle, a building, or stored materials, which increases the pressure.
Yes, our final report includes detailed reinforcement schedules specifying the size, type, and exact placement of all steel rebar required for construction.
The design process typically takes between 1–2 weeks, depending on the complexity of the geometry and the availability of necessary site information (e.g., soil reports).
