Wellington Wall Repair

A cast in place concrete retaining wall running along the property line of a multi-unit residential property in Bethesda, Md. was showing signs of distress and possible failure. Terra Constructs was asked to provide a proposal to remediate the structure for an additional twenty five years of service.

The Owners of the property have plans to eventually build a new residential building at this site, so their need was to preserve the existing retaining wall structure for another fifteen to twenty years until the new building could be built. The site is located in a congested area of Bethesda where parking is at a premium, and since the failing retaining wall ran adjacent to a parking lot, a minimum time of construction was needed to reduce impact to the residence as much as possible. It was also desired to provide a visually attractive repair at an economical price.

Terra Constructs proposed, designed, and installed a pressure relief structure behind the existing C.I.P Wall to stabilize it. A new cast in place concrete moment slab, curb, and railing was then installed on top of the retaining wall, further supporting and stabilizing it. Finally, the exposed surface of the wall was patched and coated to provide a consistent new look. The parking area at the top of the wall was also resurfaced and new striping applied.

The work on site was completed in less than three weeks, minimizing inconvenience to the residents. The finished repair is virtually indistinguishable from new and is more stable than the original structure as the cause for the failure of the existing wall was identified by Terra Site (inadequate drainage and water sensitive backfill) and remediated by the free draining character of the new load relief structure.