Installation Guide

Retaining Wall Project Materials Calculators
1. Plan the length and height of the wall, accurate to nearest inch.
2. Select retaining wall product, then calculate number of blocks needed for project.
3. Calculate
base material (paver base or
3
/
4
-inch minus [with nes] aggregate) needed for project. For blocks with through-
cores, add 15 percent to the volume of base calculation to account for lling the cores.
calculate exposed area of wall
exposed area of wall (sq. in.)
calculate area of block face
area of block face (sq. in.)
minimum # of blocks*
wall length
(in.)
______ X ______ =
exposed wall
height (in.)
block length
(in.)
______ X ______ =
block height
(in.)
+
calculate number of blocks needed
for buried base course
# of blocks needed for base course
wall length
(in.)
______ ______ =
block length
(in.)
_
:
estimated # of blocks
4. Calculate drainage aggregate (
3
/
4
-inch angular/crushed free-draining aggregate) needed for project. For blocks with
through-cores, add 15 percent to the volume of drainage aggregate calculation to account for lling the cores.
6. Calculate exterior-grade concrete adhesive needed.
length of courses to glue (lin. ft.)
use approximately 3 ounces of
exterior-grade concrete
per linear foot
3
ounces of adhesive
_
:
10
=
=
minimum # of 10-oz. exterior
-grade concrete adhesive tubes
ounces per linear foot
calculate total length of courses to
glue, including cap course
wall length
(in.)
______ X ______ 12 =
# of courses
to glue
=
* It is recommended that you purchase 5 percent more product than estimated to account for cutting and breakage. Add an extra 10 percent for curved walls.
1.05
*
X
_
:
5. Select wall cap product, then calculate number of caps needed for project.
calculate linear coverage of cap
wall length (in.)
linear coverage of cap (in.)
minimum # of caps*
cap length (front) (in.) +
cap length (back) (in.)
______ 2 =
_
:
estimated # of caps
=
1.05*
X
_
:
wall length in inches
X
* It is recommended that you purchase 5 percent more product than estimated to account for cutting and breakage.
=
=
calculate volume of base
volume of base (cu. in.)
cubic inches of base material
_
:
1,728
=
=
total amount of base material (cu. ft.)
+
calculate volume behind
base course
volume behind base course (cu. in.)
block depth (in.)
(front to back)
x 2
______ X ______ =
compacted base
depth (in.) (Table 1)
x wall length (in.)
block depth (in.)
(front to back)
2
______ X ______ =
height of block (in.)
x wall length (in.)
+
compensation for compaction (cu. in.)
_
:
calculate compensation
for compaction
volume of base + volume
behind base course
______ X 0.25 =
volume behind wall (cu. in.)
X
compensation
for compaction
compensation for compaction
cubic inches of drainage aggregate
_
:
1,728
=
=
total amount of drainage aggregate (cu. ft.)
calculate volume
behind exposed wall
wall length
(in.)
______ X ______ X 12 =
exposed wall
height (in.)
1.25
_
: