King post retaining walls are fast, cheap and easy to install, making them a popular choice for general retention purposes.
A king post retaining wall consists of a number of king posts – steel columns installed vertically like fence posts – and usually steel-reinforced concrete panels placed between the steel columns.
The result is a strong and long-lasting wall which, if designed properly for the intended load it needs to carry, should stay in place for many years to come.
How to install a king post retaining wall
The process of building a king post retaining wall is quite simple and is very similar to building a fence:
- Bore a vertical hole using a piling rig or auger.
- Pour wet concrete into the hole to secure the steel column.
- Insert the steel column and temporarily support it in a vertical position.
- Once the concrete has set, lower the wall panels into place.
- Fill in behind the retaining wall with soil or earth.
King post retaining walls are used in a variety of settings, from holding back embankments on industrial sites and large-scale infrastructure, to creating a stepped or terraced garden in residential properties.
Decorative retaining walls with king posts
Once your steel king posts are in place, you can use any suitable wall panels to fill in the space between them – the panels just need to offer enough strength to hold back the infilled soil behind them.
Rather than a single vertical slab of reinforced concrete, decorative retaining walls are often filled in using gravel boards of fixed heights, which can be placed one on top of the other to reach the full height of the wall.
These modular panels can have different textures, colours and aesthetics, to give the illusion of a timber fence, or of a wall built using individual stones, often with very convincing results.
Find out more
To find out more about steel king posts for retaining walls, or steel columns for any wall or fence project, contact James Dunkerley Steel today and speak to a member of our team.
