Verti-Block design guides

Real numbers for real walls.

Block data, wall heights and application guides for engineers, contractors and developers. Every number sourced, nothing padded.

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7 min read · 10 sections

Verti-Block design data

Verti-Block is a hollow-core precast retaining wall system. The standard unit is 2 ft high, 4 ft wide and 3 ft deep and weighs about 1,760 lb. Published design tables show gravity walls from 5.5 ft to 19 ft without geogrid, depending on soil, surcharge and slope, and geogrid-reinforced walls to 30 ft and beyond.

Standard unit: dimensions and weight
The Verti-Block family
Design basis and material properties
How tall can a Verti-Block gravity wall be?
Standard batter vs. the 12-inch setback
Mass extenders

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Guides

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Buying guide

How to choose precast retaining wall blocks

The seven things to compare before you specify a block system, plus the questions to ask any supplier.

Gravity height without geogrid
Unit size, weight and equipment
Connection and setback control

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Application guide

Verti-Block for highway and roadway retaining walls

Dry-stack walls with no forms or cure time, built inside tight right-of-way and designed to AASHTO LRFD.

What roadway walls have to get right
Set, not poured
Gravity walls inside the right-of-way

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Application guide

Verti-Block for commercial site grade changes

Gravity walls that sit close to property lines and parking lots, with curves, steps and stairs.

Why grade changes get expensive
Gravity walls where a reinforced zone won't fit
Parking lots, drive aisles and buildings above the wall

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Quick answers

Straight answers to the questions we hear most

How tall can a Verti-Block gravity wall be without geogrid?

The published design tables show gravity walls from 5.5 ft to 19 ft at the standard 5° batter, depending on soil strength, surcharge and backslope, with mass-extender base courses. Gravelly soils reach the top of that range. With the 12-inch setback option, published heights reach 24.5 ft in gravelly soil. Every wall needs a site-specific design.

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How much does a Verti-Block block weigh?

A standard unit (2 ft high, 4 ft wide, 3 ft deep) weighs about 1,760 lb empty and about 3,035 lb once its cores are filled with gravel. Mass extenders for the base course weigh from 2,674 lb (48 in. deep) to 5,098 lb (84 in. deep).

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Are large precast blocks cheaper than a cast-in-place wall?

In our experience, large-block walls usually come in under poured walls on installed cost per square foot, mainly because there are no forms, rebar or cure time. Compare on your own project: our free preliminary designs include a budget number.

How to choose precast retaining wall blocks →

Is Verti-Block designed to AASHTO?

Yes. The published design tables use NCMA (3rd Edition) and AASHTO LRFD methodology, and the free Verti-Block analysis software designs walls to AASHTO ASD and LRFD, NCMA and CAN-CSA, with seismic and global-stability checks.

Verti-Block for highway and roadway retaining walls →

How close to a property line can a Verti-Block wall go?

A gravity wall's footprint is the block depth (3 ft for a standard unit, up to 7 ft with the deepest mass extender) plus any drainage aggregate the design calls for, with no reinforced zone behind it. The exact limits come from the site-specific design.

Verti-Block for commercial site grade changes →

Who can install Verti-Block?

Any qualified contractor can install it, and there is no exclusive-installer lock-in, so the spec stays open to competitive bids. Natrix can recommend experienced installers.

How to choose precast retaining wall blocks →

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