Smith NW Road Wall

Turner Concrete Products contacted DGL to assist a residential property owner with the design of a Redi-Rock retaining wall along the shoreline of Berlin Lake. The shoreline appeared to be eroding due to the flow and wave action of the lake. The owner had a desire to build a retaining wall to stabilize the hillside leading down to the lake shore. The design seamlessly integrated the retaining wall with a new shoreline patio area, which was connected by a dedicated access path leading down from the client’s new residence atop the lakefront bluff.

DGL performed boundary and topographic surveying work to provide existing site information for design. With that information, DGL prepared a conceptual site design for the layout of the retaining wall, structural design of the retaining walls using a Redi-Rock modular block wall, and preparation of additional calculations and drawings for permitting with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).

The design of the walls was completed as a tiered wall system. The lower 14-foot high wall was a positive connection retaining wall, with stairs leading from the patio area down to the lake shore. The patio area was also designed to access the adjacent boat ramp and included the loading if the owner desired to drive on the area in the future. Flood protection was a priority: the wall's crest elevation was strategically set 1-foot above the regulatory 100-year flood elevation. This critical height was also coordinated with the seasonal and typical lake levels maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Forming the back of the patio area was a second wall that stood approximately 7 feet above the patio level. This wall designed as a gravity wall and used the large setback planter blocks to form a seat 30 inches above the patio level. In the middle of the wall were also stairs that rose up to the top of the wall to join the future stairs or path which was to be constructed with the home.

DGL aided the owner with obtaining the permits from the Army Corps of Engineers by providing the needed drawings, calculations, and responses to questions during the permitting process.