While anchoring systems are essential for retaining walls, they are also used in many other commercial structure applications. A proficient and conscientious engineer will often place wall anchors in the design of large retaining walls when excessive pressures are anticipated. Wall anchors are a method of achieving the first of the three requirements of a complete wall repair plan that we discussed above.
The first thing to do is to secure a wall. While wall anchors are not always part of the solution, large structural walls with excess pressure that have mild to moderate displacement provide a way of securing the wall in its current position.
Wall anchors may make mild improvements in cracks and the displacement of a damaged wall, but they are never used in an attempt to put a damaged wall back in its original position. No company can achieve this short of removing and replacing the wall. The more cost-effective solution is often to secure the wall where it is, improve drainage to decrease pressure, and then deal with the cosmetic aspects of the wall to return things to a structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing state.
Whether used to stabilize a retaining wall, basement wall, or other structure, an anchoring system requires several feet of access to stable soil outside the wall or the structure being supported. Depending on the type of structure and exterior landscaping, wall anchors may be installed as horizontal helical piles screwed into the soil from the structure’s interior extending outward to dense, stable soil. The wall plate is added, and concrete deadman anchors are poured at the steel rod’s end to hold back the wall. If access by small compact machinery especially made for interior placement of anchors, is not available, wall anchors may also be dug exterior to the structure and placed through the wall from the exterior to the interior.
Commercial structures use various building materials for retaining walls and foundations, and different materials call for a properly engineered anchoring system to fit the many variables encountered in today’s structures. Block walls are commonly used in commercial buildings and come in hollow and solid block styles. Hollow blocks call for anchoring plates and ties capable of providing load support across the entire wall surface. After stabilizing the wall with anchors, we often drill a hole at the top of each column in the wall and fill it with concrete using a long hose and a concrete pump. This improves the structural integrity of the entire wall and allows the anchors to hold back the full structure effectively, not just the blocks in contact with the wall anchor plate.
