What Are the Signs of Damage to a Retaining Wall?

The signs of damage in a retaining wall are much the same as signs of damage in any wall in your home. This is because they are subject to the same pressures and forces. Of course, external retaining walls are far more exposed than your property walls and they often stand alone, which makes otherwise small signs of damage even more concerning. The most pressing signs of damage are: 

• Bulging or Bowing 

Bulging, leaning, and bowing within a retaining wall are, of course, incredibly worrying signs of structural damage and instability. Caused by an excess of lateral pressure on the wall, leaning, bulging, and bowing are different variations of the same problem. The area of the wall which shows the most obvious signs of deviation is likely the weakest. 

In these cases, you must seek to stabilize and repair the wall as quickly as possible. Any kind of unevenness in a retaining wall is likely to develop with alarming speed and could reasonably end in a large section of the wall collapsing entirely. If this happens, the wall may need to be completely replaced (which is both a costly and lengthy process). 

• Stair-Step Cracking 

Stair-step cracking refers to wide or spreading cracks that move through the mortar between bricks or concrete blocks. Cracks begin here because it is the weakest point of a wall, but once the mortar has begun to crack it weakens the structure as a whole. One of the most common causes of stair-step cracking is an excess of lateral pressure, but there are others. 

Another common and destructive cause of cracking is tree root invasion. If you have bushes or trees in and around your yard their powerful roots can spread and put pressure on any retaining walls in their way. If you are lucky the roots will pass under the wall, but if they press against the retaining wall, they can cause cracks and even gaps to open up.