Function

• A cantilever retaining wall holds back dirt, on a sloped elevation, to allow a level surface in front of the wall for home or commercial building construction, or sometimes for a backyard. Its design resembles an upside down T, with the top of the letter buried in the soil for stability. Design of the wall must be precise to prevent the structure from being overturned.
  
  

Features

• One major design procedure is determining how much of a load, or weight, will be pressing against the wall. This information determines the next design procedure of deciding how thick, tall and long the cantilever wall components need to be constructed.
  
  

Considerations

• Additionally, designers need to know the percentage of slope of the debris pressing against the wall to determine a safe height of the wall. Other factors that come into consideration are seismic, or earthquake, activity of the area, as well as annual rainfall and wind speeds..