There are several different brands of prefabricated concrete blocks on the market in a variety of shapes, textures, and colors. These blocks can be used to create sturdy, long-lasting retaining walls. Each brand has its own way of connecting the blocks together, but the general method of building modular walls is the same. The size of the wall will depend on the site. It is usually better to build two shorter, terraced walls rather than one tall wall. The size of the wall will determine the size of the blocks. Like larger walls require a soil retention grid mat (geogrid) to hold the wall in place. A drainage tile is often specified behind the wall.

More about the system:
One area that can be commonly overlooked, or at least underestimated, is the necessity to drain the backfill of rainwater and/or groundwater. Hydrostatic pressure can cause or induce retaining wall failure, or at least damage. Drainage of water as a result of rainfall or other wet conditions is very important to the stability of a retaining wall. Without proper drainage the backfill can become saturated, which has the dual impact of increasing the pressure on the wall and lessening the resistance of the backfill material to sliding. Granular backfill material offers the benefits of good drainage, easy compaction, and increased sliding resistance. Once made almost exclusively of large sections of poured-in-place concrete along highways or shorelines, retaining walls now get all dressed up to satisfy the architects and engineers who specify them, as well as the consumer end user. Designers and contractors now can choose from dozens of types of retaining walls, including various segmental blocks and facial styles. The opportunity now exists to carry a design through many areas of a site, such as from the patio to the garden retaining wall on a residential site.

Weepholes:
Weepholes actually penetrate the retaining wall and drain the area immediately behind the wall. Weepholes should have a minimum diameter so as to permit free drainage; for large walls, 4 inch weepholes are common. Adequate spacing between weepholes allows uniform drainage from behind the wall. Weepholes should always have some kind of filter material between the wall and the backfill to prevent fines migration, weephole clogging, and loss of backfill and caving. Drainage lines are often perforated and wrapped in geotextile or buried in a granular filter bed, and serve to carry water to the weepholes from areas deeper within the backfill.

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