Retaining wall engineer and global stability analysis for Dallas, Fort Worth, and North Texas

The model building code exempts retaining walls up to four feet tall, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, unless the wall supports a surcharge such as a driveway, structure, or slope. Above that height, or with any surcharge, cities require drawings signed and sealed by a licensed professional engineer. Many cities also require engineering at any height along drainage easements or property lines, so confirm the local rule with the building department, since cities measure height differently.

Three causes account for most failures we review: high-plasticity clay backfill that swells when wet and pushes far harder than the design assumed, no working drainage so the backfill saturates, and tiered walls designed as separate short walls when they act as one tall one. All three are design problems, which is why walls built from a landscape sketch tend to lean within a few seasons.

A wall can pass every check for sliding, overturning, and bearing and still fail because the soil mass behind and beneath it slides along a deep curved surface. Global stability analysis finds that critical surface and reports a factor of safety, commonly 1.5 or more for permanent walls and slopes; the code, the design manual, and the reviewing city set the governing number. It matters most on or near slopes, creeks, soft or expansive soils, tiered systems, and walls carrying a building or pavement.

Yes. Contractors, owners, and cities ask for independent stability checks before construction or after a wall starts to move. We report what the analysis shows, state the parameters, and if the design falls short, describe what would fix it.

Because the wall and the slope are one problem, and the firm's founder trained and practiced on both sides of it. The usual split, a structural firm designing the wall and a geotechnical firm supplying parameters, leaves the global check in the gap between them.

Fees depend on wall height and length, wall type, whether a geotechnical report exists, surcharge conditions, and what the city requires. Each project is quoted in writing after a scope call. To start, send a survey or grading plan, the soil report if one exists, photos, and a description of what sits above the wall. If soil data is missing, say so and we will scope the testing that closes the gap.