Sloping-site dwelling and retaining structure

A new dwelling on a sloping site with integrated retaining, used here to demonstrate how new-build residential projects are presented.

Placeholder entry. This page demonstrates the project detail layout. The project name, location, year, scope and any client attribution are outstanding and must be confirmed by the practice before publication.

Role

Structural engineer

Structural system

Reinforced concrete retaining walls and piered footings supporting a framed dwelling

Structure type

New dwelling on a sloping site

Footing system

Piered footings

Stage

Design and documentation

Scope

Footing and pier design for the sloping site
Reinforced concrete retaining wall design
Subfloor and framing design
Drainage and surcharge coordination with the civil scope

The constraint

A sloping site turns the footing system into the main structural problem. Level changes have to be retained, the retained soil surcharges anything near it, and water has to be given somewhere to go.

Structural approach

Piered footings take vertical load down to competent material below the fill. Reinforced concrete retaining walls hold the cut, designed for the surcharge imposed by the dwelling above and by any vehicle loading at the boundary.

Drainage

Retaining design assumes drainage will actually work. Subsoil drainage and backfill requirements were specified as part of the structural documentation rather than left as a builder’s allowance, because a blocked drain turns a designed wall into an undesigned one.