Services
Engineering for walls, monuments and shade structures
Sealed engineering across Texas. Each service lists the project types, what you receive, what we need from you and who we coordinate with. Our designs are built to be economical, and every one meets the code, the geotechnical recommendations and our own standards.
Retaining wall design
Retaining walls for subdivisions, commercial sites, apartments and residential lots, from short landscape walls to tall walls below roads, parking and buildings.
- Project types
- Stone and masonry gravity walls
- Segmental block walls with geogrid
- Cast-in-place concrete walls
- Gabion walls
- Shotcrete and gunite pond and channel walls
- Tiered walls stepped up a slope
- What you receive
- Sealed wall plans with elevations, sections and details
- Construction notes and material requirements
- Calculations when the city or owner requires them
- What we need from you
- Grading plan with wall locations and top and bottom elevations
- Geotechnical report, if available
- The wall type the contractor plans to build, in any style (see wall types)
- Anything near the top of the wall: fences, pools, drives, parking or buildings
- Coordination
- We work from the civil engineer's grading and drainage plan, match the landscape architect's or architect's layout and finish, and use the geotechnical engineer's soil information and recommendations when available.
More projects: Oxenfree at Stonebriar, Frisco · Lakeside at Silveron, Flower Mound · Menchaca Apartments, Austin · Doe Branch Erosion Mitigation, Celina
Send plansor call 469.834.7446
Global stability analysis
A check of the slope, the wall and the soil together. Every project is screened; a detailed analysis is recommended for tall walls, tiered walls, walls on slopes and walls next to water.
- Project types
- Tall walls and tiered walls
- Walls above or below steep slopes
- Walls along ponds, creeks and channels
- Walls designed by others that need the check
- What you receive
- A sealed analysis for the sections checked
- Fix options when a section comes up short, reflected in the wall design
- Recommended utility setbacks and a plan exhibit showing water and irrigation lines near each wall
- What we need from you
- Geotechnical report with boring logs
- Grading plan and wall sections
- Civil utility plans and the landscape irrigation plan, if available
- Loads near the top of the wall
- Coordination
- This work leans on the geotechnical engineer's soil data. We coordinate with them and the civil engineer when grades or drainage need to change.
More projects: Valley View Industrial, Irving · Doe Branch Erosion Mitigation, Celina
How walls fail, and when a job needs this check →
Send plansor call 469.834.7446
Screen wall design
Brick, stone and CMU screen walls along subdivision perimeters, commercial property lines and thoroughfares, including the piers, columns and foundations.
- Project types
- Subdivision perimeter and thoroughfare walls
- Commercial property line walls
- Masonry walls with columns, on piers and grade beams
- What you receive
- Sealed plans with wall, column, pier and grade beam details
- Reinforcing and construction notes
- What we need from you
- Layout plan showing wall runs, heights and finishes
- Geotechnical report, if available
- Gate, fence or light attachments on the wall
- Coordination
- We follow the landscape architect's layout and finish, check grades and utilities with the civil engineer, and base the foundations on the geotechnical report when one is available.
More projects: Westpoint Park, Fort Worth · Tavolo Park Ph 5, Fort Worth
Take a brick screen wall apart in 3D →
Send plansor call 469.834.7446
Entry monuments, columns and signs
Community entry monuments, logo columns, sign walls and gatehouse walls, including tall columns and overhead features that need a sealed drawing for the permit.
- Project types
- Entry monuments and sign walls
- Logo and feature columns
- Overhead entry features
- Gatehouse and amenity walls
- What you receive
- Sealed drawings for permit
- Foundation, reinforcing and connection details for signs and overhead elements
- What we need from you
- Elevations from the landscape architect or designer
- Sign and lettering details from the fabricator
- Geotechnical report, if available
- Coordination
- We work with the landscape architect on the look, the sign fabricator on attachments, and the geotechnical engineer on the foundation when one is involved.
More projects: Tavolo Park Ph 5, Fort Worth · Westpoint Park, Fort Worth · Normandale Baptist Church, Fort Worth · Lone Star Ranch, Mansfield · Wild Oaks, Shady Shores
Send plansor call 469.834.7446
Pavilions and shade structures
Foundations for manufactured shade structures, and custom steel and timber pavilions, cabanas and amenity center structures.
- Project types
- Manufactured shade structure foundations
- Custom timber and steel pavilions
- Cabanas and amenity structures
- What you receive
- Sealed foundation design
- For custom structures: framing plans, connection details and base reactions
- What we need from you
- Manufacturer drawings and base reactions, or the architectural drawings
- Geotechnical report, if available
- Coordination
- We coordinate with the architect, the shade structure manufacturer and the geotechnical engineer when one is involved.
Recent projects: Legacy Hills Amenity Center, Celina · The Weldon, Denton · Bent Tree Meadows, Celina · Chapel Hills West, Fort Worth · Winding Creek, Rockwall · All pavilion and shade projects
Send plansor call 469.834.7446
Construction observation
Observation of piers, footings and wall construction. This is a separate scope, not part of every design engagement, and is proposed on its own when a project needs it.
- Project types
- Drilled piers and footings before concrete
- Wall construction, drainage and backfill
- Remote documented photo review for projects outside DFW
- What you receive
- A written report after each observation visit, delivered to the party that engaged us
- What we need from you
- Sealed plans for the project
- The construction schedule, with notice before pours and key stages
- Site access and a contact on site
- Coordination
- We work with the contractor's superintendent on timing. Soil and concrete testing stays with the testing lab or geotechnical engineer.
Completed project: Sahota Center at Rattler Road, San Marcos
Send plansor call 469.834.7446
Leaning and failing walls
Investigations of existing walls that are leaning, cracking or failing, with repair recommendations.
- Project types
- Leaning, bulging or cracked walls
- Walls that moved after heavy rain
- Walls built without plans
- What you receive
- A site review and a letter with findings and repair recommendations
- What we need from you
- Photos of the wall, the top and the toe
- Approximate height and length
- When the movement was first noticed
- Any original plans or permits
- Coordination
- If the cause points to the soil, we bring in a geotechnical engineer for borings.
Completed project: Available on request. Existing wall reviews are kept private for the owner.
Final acceptance letters: a letter can only be considered for work we observed during construction, in person or through documented photo review, at the stages that matter for that structure, such as piers and footing steel before concrete and the wall, drainage and backfill as they go up. It covers only what was observed and is issued to the company that engaged us.