Located in Virginia Reinhardt Elementary School in Rockwell, Texas, this retaining wall project utilized precast concrete for a durable option to complete the recently renovated school. The goal of introducing the retaining walls was to create a better flow of pedestrian traffic. Superior Concrete Products engineered, manufactured, and installed five retaining walls varying in length and height from 130 feet long by 15 feet high, to 210 long feet by 16 feet high Northshore Granite Recon Retaining Wall. The retaining walls were designed as gravity walls, meaning the soil was excavated and cut on the existing site. The gravity walls are built with Recon blocks and can stand up to 45 feet high and 20 feet high without a geogrid.

 
As part of the construction process, the design plan required wall inspections at various stages. The critical design elements of the project emphasized the importance of the leveling pad meeting the applied bearing pressure supported by the foundation soil. The walls were designed with a flexible road base material TX-DOT item #247 and compacted at 95 percent. The backfill material was ?,? 3/4 '' free-draining limestone, one foot behind the wall, with a 4'' drainage pipe to allow proper drainage along and through the wall. TenCate Mirafi filter fabric was placed between the drainage rock and natural soil.
The wall construction started in August 2018 and was completed in November 2018.
The company prides itself on not only manufacturing a well-made product in the USA, but they also take it to another level by ensuring the products are installed while upholding design standards and, without building codes that will stand the test of time.
Precast concrete is gaining popularity because it is manufactured in a controlled environment, so the quality of finish is superior, and it requires less manpower at the time of installation while reducing the impact of labor and material waste. Sustainable materials such as green cement uses less carbon and are used to reduce the environmental impact while meeting the required concrete specifications, staging, and scaffolding. In residential projects, walls made from precast reduce block work, formwork, and masonry labor time tremendously while keeping prices and budgets competitively in line.