Retaining Walls

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Retaining Walls

Retaining Walls

Tulsa General Contractor and Home Remodeling authority, Sonrise Construction, offers our expertise in Tulsa retaining walls.

VERSA-LOK / LARGE BOULDERS / MORTARED HACKETT / CINDER BLOCKS
Professionally designed and custom built retaining walls in Tulsa are necessary in many cases for leveling your ground, supporting a hill, or to simply replace a rotten and deteriorated tiewall already in place.

Depending on the wall height you need, and the amount of load placed on the wall, today's primary retaining wall systems use the concrete Versa-Lok block; manufactured right here in Tulsa on 15th Street. We also can install Pavestone, Belgard, Midwest, Anchor, Keystone, Windsor; just to name a few others. Most customers though chose Versa-Lok as the cost is so much less since the freight charges are so much lower by not having to have the product shipped in from Dallas or Kansas City.

VERSA-LOK:

  • Rugged Durability - Versa-Lok retaining walls are the only solid, pinned systems on the market. They stand up to the forces of nature, year after year. They are engineered with low-absorption, high-strength concrete, and the Versa-Lok walls are designed to outlast landscaping timbers and remain more flexible than cast-in-place concrete walls.
  • Attractive Appearance - Versa-Lok walls blend wonderfully with existing landscapes thanks to an appealing split-face texture and a natural stone visage. What's more, the color remains consistent throughout each Versa-Lok unit, ensuring your Tulsa retaining wall remains as beautiful as the day it was built.
  • One Unit. Hundreds Of Options - Unlike hollow unit systems, the Versa-Lok solid unit system allows you the freedom to create everything from curves to corners. From steps to freestanding walls. And it is all possible with just one solid unit.
    Virtually Maintenance Free - Versa-Lok walls require no special upkeep. So once they are installed, they virtually take care of themselves. Of course, solid unit construction ensures Versa-Lok walls won't crack, chip, or break. They even resist deterioration. (Try getting that from a treated timber.)
  • Unique Pinning System - Versa-Lok systems don't use mortar or concrete footings. Instead, high-strength fiberglass Versa-Tuff pins connect units and courses-keeping retaining walls in Tulsa accurately aligned and structurally sound.
    Environmentally Safe - Unlike treated timbers, Versa-Lok retaining walls are built with only natural materials. This insures no harmful chemicals or by-products will contaminate your yard.
  • Technical Jargon - The unique beauty and structural integrity starts at the base. Proper preparation of the wall base is critical to the stability and appearance of your Tulsa retaining wall. Careful base preparation also speeds the unit installation and helps avoid wall alignment problems.The retaining walls are installed on an aggregate leveling pad. Rigid concrete footings extending below the frost line are not required nor recommended. The flexibility of the leveling pad and mortar-less units allow the walls to accommodate for freeze and thaw cycles without damage.


Proper installation of the wall included evaluation of the foundation soil, layout of the base wall, excavation, leveling pad construction, and base course installation. Site conditions and design considerations will vary widely.

On many projects, Versa-Lok retaining walls work purely as gravity systems, where unit weight alone provides the resistance to earth pressures. The maximum allowable wall height for gravity walls varies with soiling and loading conditions. Generally, with level back-fill and no excessive loading, the gravity walls may be built to heights of 4'.

When weight alone of the units is not enough to resist the soil loads, then horizontal layers of geogrid are used to reinforce the soil behind the walls. With proper soil reinforcement and design, the Versa-Lok walls can then be constructed to heights in excess of 40'.

Each block is made of high-strength, low-absorption concrete to create a consistently durable product that exceeds industry standards. The solid characteristics provide superior resistance to damage before, during, and after construction in all climates. The transportation department, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers routinely use the Versa-Lok product.

The units are integrally colored and may be easily modified to create an unlimited variety of design elements. The blocks display a natural split-face texture to compliment any environment and, because they are made of concrete, are environmentally safe.

Each block weighs 82 lbs., and has a dimension of 16" wide, 14" deep, and 6" thick, for a total volume per block of .63 sq. ft.

For more information about the Versa-Lok product, go to: www.Versa-Lok.com
or for custom design ideas and additional pictures, go to:www.versa-lok.com/imageLibrary/
The Versa-Lok retaining wall product is manufactured by Chandler Materials of Tulsa on 15th St. This makes their product pricing exceptionally difficult to beat, due to the $100's, or even $1,000's of dollars of shipping costs that are not built into the price; as other product suppliers have had to do after shipping their products to Tulsa from Dallas or Kansas City, or even farther.

We have installed the Versa-Lok product multiples 100's of times. For pictures of projects that we have completed, please visit the Gallery section of our website, and click on the tab.

BELGARD:
Belgard is another product that our customers love, as they manufacture pavers as well as retaining wall blocks. If you have visited us at any of our 100's of trade shows, you have probably picked up one of Belgard's wonderful brochures.

It is chock full of products, colors, ideas, samples, styles, a full collection; this brochure has it all. For an idea, please visitwww.Belgard.Biz

The Belgard product is not available for purchase at big box hardware stores. It is available for purchase in Tulsa by Chandler Materials (the same company that makes the Versa-Lok), and by Hardscape Materials of Bixby. Chandler Materials does not have a website, but Hardscape Materials does. It is www.HardscapeMaterials.com

These two companies are our suppliers. We purchase with a contractors discount, and pass the savings along to you when you hire us as your installer.

We have installed the Belgard product many times. For pictures of projects that we have completed, please visit the Gallery section of our website, and click on the tab.

We are Certified installers by the ICPI for the Versa-Lok, Belgard and Pavestone products.

PAVESTONE:
This is another retaining wall product that our customers love. Please visit www.Pavestone.com for products, colors, ideas, samples, and styles.

The product sold at big box hardware stores is NOT the same product sold by our supplier. These big box retailers sell a smaller version of the product in thickness, and total surface space.

We have installed the Pavestone product many times. For pictures of projects that we have completed, please visit the Gallery section of our website, and click on the tab.

  • Mortared Hackett:
    This is a product available at Hardscape Materials. It is a natural stone, with Hackett itself being gray. Although, chopped tan sandstone is a cousin in shape and size, thus frequently getting called the same thing.
    This type of wall is exceptionally popular, and is usually built with heights up to 4'. It is built upon a concrete base.
  • Mortared Cinder Block:
    For this type of retaining wall, we pour a concrete footing, and reinforcement the blocks with re-bar as the wall blocks are mortared row upon row. These type of walls can also have a matching cap mortared on top. Many times, we have applied a mortared flagstone face to the front of cinder blocks, or had them sprayed with orange peel, or stucco. Plus, mortared cinder blocks are also available in split-face style.
  • Large Boulders:
    For these type of walls, we do not mortar them. These are grande sized boulders placed and stacked by large pieces of heavy equipment. We use large sandstone boulders or large limestone boulders. Both types of boulders will have filter fabric and gravel placed behind them for erosion control.