Retaining Walls Engineered for Contractors
Reno, Nevada
Engineers have a ton of choices when it comes to specifying retaining walls. Contractors have a ton of challenges when it comes to installing them. Now there’s a one ton solution to align these two realities: Redi-Rock blocks.
“Many infrastructure projects require an earth retention solution in the form of a precast concrete wall,” says George Kehagias, Technical Sales Manager for Jensen Precast in Reno, Nevada. “We recommend Redi-Rock Integrated Wall Solutions for fast installation with minimal crew resources. These walls are great for residential and business sites because they’re aesthetically attractive to developers and meet all the engineering requirements for long-term durability.”
Jensen Precast installs Redi-Rock walls across the Western United States. Recent projects include the Hyatt Place hotel at The Summit Shopping Center in Reno, Nevada, and the Waterfront at Sparks Marina in Sparks, Nevada.
Choosing the right retaining walls for your projects can positively impact costs, resources, deadlines, aesthetics, and system failure rates. Here are four types of Redi-Rock walls for engineers to consider before committing contractors to a system with little consideration for long-term customer satisfaction.
Gravity Retaining Walls
- Build walls over 20’ tall
- Reduce excavation and use a smaller footprint without geogrid
- Install quickly with a machine and small crew
- Construct walls closer to property line
Freestanding Walls
- Integrate parapets with other walls seamlessly
- Build standalone structures
- Create great looking results with texture on multiple sides
- Provide strong barriers for heavy impacts
Reinforced Retaining Walls
(MSE WALLS)
- Build walls over 50’ tall
- Reduce excavation and use a smaller footprint without geogrid
- Support heavy live loads
- Prevent wall failures due to seismic activity
Hybrid Walls
- Blend gravity and reinforced sections
- Combine precast concrete modular blocks with cast in place and soil anchor walls
- Maintain seamless appearance
- Create space for utilities or adapt to circumstances at jobsite
Redi-Rock Integrated Wall Systems are efficient, long lasting, and easier to install than many other rock wall products. The massive scale of the retaining wall system allows wall construction without using geogrid to achieve heights unattainable by other gravity wall systems. Redi-Rock has developed its retaining wall product line with attention to natural hardscapes.
Hyatt Place in Reno
Canyon Building and Design, a design-build general contractor, recently tapped Jensen Precast to build a Redi-Rock wall for a new Hyatt Place hotel being built at The Summit Shopping Center in Reno. The precast concrete wall spanning 275’ and standing 15’ tall was manufactured by the Jensen Precast facility in Sparks, Nevada, and installed by Standard Rock, a general engineering contractor.
“These blocks are pretty easy to use,” says Augusto Magana, Standard Rock’s Lead Installer for the project. “We only need like three or four guys to work with these blocks. The process is simple. You don’t put as many blocks down and get more surface area.”
Waterfront Marina in Sparks
The Waterfront at Sparks Marina initiative replaced an old failing wall with a new Redi-Rock structure where visitors can walk alongside the marina on the western side of the property.
The new wall is approximately 4.5’H x 200’L with some portions of it moving down to 4’H to allow for the lower level residential areas that line the waterfront to gain optimal viewing of the marina.
Jensen Precast is a licensed manufacturer of Redi-Rock Integrated Wall Solutions.
