Increased demand for retaining walls

Incidents of severe flooding leading to extensive damage to infrastructure and buildings have resulted in an increased demand for concrete block earth retaining systems.

Corobrik notes that its GEOLOK retaining wall system was highly sought after following the recent flooding in KwaZulu-Natal, where the blocks are also manufactured.

Its GEOLOK 300 concrete block is used for walls up to 2 m high and the GEOLOK 400 for walls higher than 2 m.

The company says that its concrete blocks were recently modified and improved, with the face of the blocks all the same dimensions of 400 mm in width by 200 mm in height, and only the depth of the blocks varying in size – allowing the blocks to be interchangeable on the vertical plane.

Corobrik also extended its range by introducing the GEOLOK 500 concrete block, which is designed for specialised applications where the required slope of the wall could exceed an angle of inclination greater than 70°.

The benefits of the new GEOLOK range include:

• Layout flexibility: three different sized blocks provide walling solutions for different site conditions.
• Interlocking: GEOLOK 300 and 400 have a visible mechanical interlock in the form of a nib for additional shear resistance to block-on-block sliding.
• Versatile: the 300 and 400 models have a nib designed to ensure a maximum angle of inclination of 70° when laid horizontally. The new 500 model excludes a nib, allowing for an angle of inclination greater than 70°.
• Cost-effective: the open face application is designed to reduce the number of blocks required for a square meter, making it more cost competitive than closed face retaining block applications.
• Plantable: low water-use plants can be planted in between the bricks, allowing water to drain back into the ground.

Corobrik adds that the performance of a GEOLOK wall depends on the adequacy of the overall system and not the block alone, and recommends the use of concrete retaining blocks that are SABS 508:2012 certified and that all concrete block earth retaining walls above 1 m in height should be designed by an engineer or a geotechnical engineer.