CECCO Construction designs and builds poured concrete cantilever retaining wall systems throughout Northern Virginia for residential and commercial properties. When a project requires a strong structural retaining wall capable of holding back substantial soil loads, a reinforced poured concrete cantilever wall can provide an extremely durable and long-lasting solution. CECCO Construction has the concrete forming equipment, construction experience, and project coordination capabilities necessary to build these systems according to engineered plans and site-specific specifications.A cantilever retaining wall is constructed using a reinforced vertical concrete stem connected to a reinforced concrete footing. The footing typically includes a heel extending beneath the retained soil and a toe extending toward the exposed side of the wall. Together, the wall stem and footing resist lateral soil pressure, sliding forces, and overturning forces. Because every site is different, wall thickness, footing dimensions, concrete strength, and reinforcement requirements must be determined based on the height of the wall, soil conditions, surcharge loads, drainage, and engineering requirements.Reinforcing steel is one of the most important components of a poured concrete cantilever retaining wall. CECCO Construction installs vertical and horizontal rebar according to the engineered specifications for the project. Vertical reinforcing steel helps the wall resist bending pressure from retained soil, while horizontal rebar helps distribute loads throughout the wall. Additional reinforcing steel is installed within the footing, and dowels connect the footing reinforcement to the vertical wall stem. Rebar size, spacing, lap lengths, concrete cover, and placement are all critical to the structural performance of the finished wall.Proper drainage is also essential. CECCO Construction can install free-draining gravel, geotextile filter fabric, and perforated drainage pipe behind the retaining wall to help relieve hydrostatic pressure and direct water away from the structure.These reinforced concrete retaining walls can be used for driveways, basement walkouts, steep grade changes, landscape elevations, commercial sites, and residential properties throughout Northern Virginia. The finished concrete can remain exposed or be enhanced with architectural finishes. Depending on the project, the top of the wall can be capped with brick, natural flagstone, precast concrete, or other masonry materials.The illustration shown represents a typical cantilever retaining wall system that CECCO Construction can construct. Final wall dimensions, footing design, reinforcement, drainage, and structural requirements are built according to the approved engineering and applicable project specifications.