Retaining Wall Design With SRW & Soldier Pile Engineering

Retaining Wall Structural Design Services With 98% Accuracy

Q: Do you provide structural calculations for segmental retaining wall (SRW) systems?

Yes. Internal and external stability are calculated, including geogrid reinforcement length and connection strength, per the NCMA SRW Design Manual methodology for the wall's height and surcharge condition.

Q: Can you design a soldier pile and lagging wall for a tight urban excavation?

Yes. Soldier pile and lagging wall design services are provided detailing pile spacing, embedment depth, and lagging sizing, including tieback anchor layouts where passive soil resistance alone isn't sufficient.

Q: Do you stamp or seal retaining wall structural plans?

No. CAD Drafter is a retaining wall structural design company, not a licensed engineering office. Plans are prepared for the client's engineer of record's review and approval.

CAD Drafter’s retaining wall structural design services turn your site’s soil data, wall height, and surcharge conditions into a structural package that resists overturning, sliding, and bearing failure, not just one that looks like a wall on paper.

Gravity, cantilever, segmental block, poured concrete, or soldier pile and lagging: whichever system your site and budget call for, our drafting team works from your geotechnical report and grading plan to produce permit-ready retaining wall plans your engineer of record can stamp and your building department can approve.

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What Our Retaining Wall Structural Design Company Actually Does

CAD Drafter is a retaining wall structural design company, not the geotechnical lab that ran your soil borings. Landscape contractors, homeowners, site developers, and engineers send us a grading plan and a wall height; we draft the section, the reinforcement, and the drainage detail that get reviewed, sealed, and released to the field.

Why Contractors Outsource Retaining Wall Drafting

Most jurisdictions require engineering the moment a retaining wall crosses roughly four feet in height, or the moment it carries a surcharge from a driveway, deck, or structure above it. That threshold catches contractors who’ve never needed a stamped wall before, which is exactly the gap outsourced retaining wall engineering services exist to close.

Our Retaining Wall Structural Design Services Include

Gravity Retaining Wall Design Services
Cantilever Retaining Wall Structural Design
Segmental Retaining Wall (SRW) Design Services
Concrete Block Retaining Wall Design
Poured Concrete Retaining Wall Engineering
Soldier Pile & Lagging Wall Design
Retaining Wall Structural Calculations
Permit-Ready Retaining Wall Plans

Sample Upload Plan

Get Your Retaining Wall Plans Engineered

Our Retaining Wall Structural Design Services

Every retaining wall system resists the same lateral earth pressure in a different way. Here’s how we approach the wall types that make up most of our workload.

Gravity Retaining Wall Design Services

Mass concrete, stone, or heavy block sections sized so the wall’s own weight alone resists overturning and sliding, without relying on a reinforced footing or buried reinforcement to do the work.

Cantilever Retaining Wall Structural Design

Reinforced concrete stem and footing designed as an L-shaped or T-shaped cantilever, with the backfill’s own weight over the heel adding resisting moment against overturning.

Segmental Retaining Wall (SRW) Design Services

Interlocking block course layout with geogrid reinforcement length and vertical spacing calculated per the National Concrete Masonry Association’s SRW design methodology for the wall’s height and surcharge condition.

Concrete Block Retaining Wall Design

Reinforced CMU stem design with vertical and horizontal rebar spacing, grout cell layout, and footing sizing checked under TMS 402 masonry design provisions.

Poured Concrete Retaining Wall Engineering

Cast-in-place stem and footing reinforcement, construction joint layout, and waterproofing coordination for walls built where formwork access allows a monolithic pour.

Soldier Pile & Lagging Wall Design

Drilled pile spacing, embedment depth, and timber or concrete lagging sizing for temporary or permanent retention on tight urban sites where a spread footing isn’t an option.

Outsource Retaining Wall Design Without Slowing Down Site Work

Segmental retaining wall design and cantilever retaining wall structural design are the two scopes we take on most, alongside soldier pile and lagging packages for tight urban lots where excavation can’t lay back a slope.

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Code-Referenced Detailing

Every Retaining Wall Checked Against The Standard That Governs Its System

A block wall and a soldier pile wall don’t answer to the same design method, so we reference the standard that actually applies to the system your site is built with.

IBC 2021 & IRC 2021

Retaining wall height thresholds and surcharge provisions that determine when a wall crosses from a landscape feature into a structure engineering structure requiring a permit.

ASCE 7-22

Surcharge, seismic, and live load provisions used to calculate lateral earth pressure increases from structures, vehicles, or slopes above the wall.

ACI 318

Reinforced concrete design provisions applied to cantilever and poured concrete retaining wall stems and footings.

TMS 402

Masonry design provisions referenced for reinforced concrete block retaining walls, governing rebar spacing and grout cell requirements.

NCMA SRW Design Manual

National Concrete Masonry Association methodology for segmental retaining wall geogrid reinforcement length, connection strength, and internal and external stability checks.

AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications

Load and resistance factor design provisions referenced on larger civil, roadway, and MSE retaining wall projects where governing agencies require AASHTO methodology.

Drawing Types

Retaining Wall Plan Drawing Types We Produce

Every retaining wall package is broken into the sheets your permit reviewer and your field crew each need, coordinated from one grading plan.

All

Retaining Wall Plan & Layout

Overall wall alignment, height transitions, and corner conditions referenced to the site’s grading plan and property lines.

Wall Section & Reinforcement Detail

Stem thickness, footing width, and rebar or geogrid placement detailed for the tallest and most heavily surcharged section of the wall.

Drainage Detail

Weep hole spacing, drainage aggregate, and perforated pipe layout designed to relieve hydrostatic pressure before it becomes lateral load.

Global Stability Analysis

Slope stability screening confirming the wall and the soil mass behind it won’t fail as a combined slip surface on sloped or previously disturbed sites.

Surcharge Load Analysis

Structural load calculations deal with added lateral pressure calculated for driveways, decks, pools, or structures placed within the wall’s influence zone above it.

Tieback / Anchor Plan

Anchor spacing, angle, and capacity detailing for soldier pile and lagging walls that need lateral support beyond passive soil resistance alone.

Retaining Wall Structural Systems

Gravity Retaining Wall

Mass Concrete, Stone, Heavy Block
Typical Height: 2–6 ft

Cantilever Retaining Wall

Reinforced Concrete Stem & Footing
Typical Height: 4–20 ft

Segmental Retaining Wall (SRW)

Interlocking Block with Geogrid Reinforcement
Typical Height: 3–15 ft

Concrete Block (CMU) Retaining Wall

Reinforced Masonry Stem & Footing
Typical Height: 2–10 ft

Poured Concrete Retaining Wall

Cast-in-Place Reinforced Concrete
Typical Height: 4–20 ft

Counterfort Retaining Wall

Reinforced Concrete with Counterfort Ribs
Typical Height: 15–30 ft

Residential & Commercial Site Applications

Residential Yard & Slope Wall

Segmental Block, CMU
Active Earth Pressure

Driveway & Grade Change Wall

Cantilever, Poured Concrete
Surcharge · Active Pressure

Pool & Terrace Retaining Wall

CMU, Poured Concrete
Surcharge · Hydrostatic

Multi-Family Site Development

Segmental Block, Cantilever
Active Pressure · Surcharge

Commercial Parking & Grading Wall

Cantilever, Gravity
Live Load Surcharge

Road & Right-of-Way Wall

Cantilever, MSE
AASHTO Live Load

Specialty & Reinforced Systems

Soldier Pile & Lagging Wall

Drilled Steel Piles, Timber/Concrete Lagging
Tight Urban Excavation

MSE (Mechanically Stabilized Earth) Wall

Geogrid or Strip Reinforced Fill
Roadway & Large Grade Change

Sheet Pile Wall

Driven Steel Sheet Piling
Waterfront · Shoring

Tieback-Anchored Wall

Soldier Pile or Sheet Pile with Ground Anchors
Deep Excavation

Gabion Wall

Wire Basket, Stone Fill
Drainage-Critical Slopes

Basement / Below-Grade Wall

Reinforced Concrete
Foundation-Integrated Retention

Our Process

How CAD Drafter Delivers Retaining Wall Structural Design

Our drafting workflow is built around one goal: a retaining wall plan your crew can excavate, form, and backfill from without a mid-build phone call to the engineer. Here’s the 4-step process our drafters follow:

Grading Plan & Soil Data Review

We review your grading plan, geotechnical report, and any surcharge condition above the wall, confirming the governing wall type before drafting starts.

Package Quote & Timeline

You receive a scoped price and a release date broken down by wall section, drainage detail, and reinforcement schedule.

Drafting & Internal QC

Our drafters produce the plan set and pass every sheet through an internal dimension and stability-check review before it reaches your desk.

Release & Revision Rounds

You receive editable plan files, with revision rounds included per your project’s drafting agreement.

3,400+

Retaining Wall Plans Released

1,200+

Segmental & Cantilever Walls Engineered

250+

Soldier Pile & Lagging Packages Drafted

24-48 Hrs

Standard Package Release

98%
Permit Approval
First Time

WHY CHOOSE US

Why Contractors & Site Developers Choose CAD Drafter For Retaining Walls

Landscape contractors, general contractors, and civil engineers keep sending us their retaining wall drafting scope for a specific reason. Unlike retaining wall structural design companies working off one generic wall detail, our drafters size the section to the actual soil pressure, surcharge, and drainage condition on your site.

We Draft, Your Engineer Confirms

We never alter design intent. Every retaining wall plan carries the soil bearing capacity, earth pressure coefficients, and surcharge criteria your engineer of record or geotechnical report issued, ready for their review and stamp.

Code-Referenced Wall Drafting

Sheets reference IBC 2021, IRC 2021, ASCE 7-22, ACI 318, TMS 402, and the NCMA SRW Design Manual as each applies to the wall system on your project.

Every Wall System, One Drafting Team

Gravity, cantilever, segmental block, poured concrete, and soldier pile projects, drafted by a team that already knows where each system’s failure mode and detailing differ.

Scalable Drafting Capacity

Take on a single yard wall or a full commercial site retention package without adding headcount to your own drafting floor.

Software Our Retaining Wall Drafters Model In

AutoCAD

Civil 3D

RISAFoundation

ENERCALC

MSEW / ReSSA

Benefits Of Outsourcing To The Team

Why Firms Choose Outsourced Retaining Wall Structural Design

Keeping a drafter on staff who’s fluent in earth pressure theory, geogrid reinforcement, and masonry detailing is a narrow hire against a retaining wall workload that swings with the grading season. Outsourced retaining wall engineering services let contractors and developers flex drafting capacity without carrying that specialty as fixed overhead.

Lower Drafting Overhead: A per-plan-set rate instead of a salaried retaining wall drafter on staff.

Faster Plan Release: A dedicated drafting team means your retaining wall plans aren’t waiting behind someone else’s grading deadline. Standard packages release in 24-48 hours.

Built-In QC Review: Every plan passes an internal dimension and stability-check review before it reaches your desk for approval.

Technologies Our Retaining Wall Drafters Work With

Active, Passive & At-Rest Earth Pressure Modeling
Geogrid Reinforcement Length & Connection Design
Global & Slope Stability Screening
Overturning, Sliding & Bearing Capacity Checks
Drainage & Hydrostatic Pressure Relief Design
Cloud-Based Plan Review & Markup

Sample contact Us

Our Certificate

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Client Feedback To Our Retaining Wall Structural Design Services

★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Segmental wall plan spelled out geogrid length at every course, so our crew never had to guess how far back the reinforcement needed to run.

Nathan RuizLandscape Contractor

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Cantilever wall design came back with the drainage detail already coordinated to our site’s grading plan, which the county reviewer approved without a single comment.

Carla DevineGeneral Contractor

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Soldier pile and lagging package matched our shoring subcontractor’s pile spacing exactly, which kept the excavation schedule from slipping a single day.

Owen BaptisteCivil Site Developer

Frequently Asked Question

Do I need an engineered retaining wall design, or can a contractor build it without plans?

Most jurisdictions require an engineered retaining wall plan once the wall exceeds roughly four feet in height or carries a surcharge from a structure, driveway, or slope above it. Below that threshold, requirements vary by county and should be confirmed with your local building department.

What’s the difference between a gravity and a cantilever retaining wall?

A gravity retaining wall relies on its own mass to resist overturning and sliding, while a cantilever retaining wall uses a reinforced concrete footing and the weight of backfill over its heel to resist the same forces with less material.

Do you provide structural calculations for segmental retaining wall (SRW) systems?

Yes. We calculate internal and external stability, including geogrid reinforcement length and connection strength, per the NCMA SRW Design Manual methodology for the wall’s height and surcharge condition.

Can you design a soldier pile and lagging wall for a tight urban excavation?

Yes. We provide soldier pile and lagging wall design services detailing pile spacing, embedment depth, and lagging sizing, including tieback anchor layouts where passive soil resistance alone isn’t sufficient.

Do you stamp or seal retaining wall structural plans?

No. We are a retaining wall structural design company, not a licensed engineering office. Plans are prepared for your engineer of record’s review and approval.