18-08-2006

14/11/2006

The use of segmental retaining walls in Northern and Southern Ireland's fastest growing housing development market has seen spectacular growth over the last five years.

Why use retaining walls?  Well, retaining walls allow otherwise difficult sloping sites to be readily re-contoured, creating better site layout and allowing the maximum number of units per hectare to be built.  However, conventional in-situ concrete walls generally need temporary sheet piling to protect the working area during construction together with substantial concrete foundations, both of which add to costs and slow down the building schedule.

On the other hand, segmental retaining walls from Anchor are dry built and made up of concrete facing blocks that work together with geogrids and compacted back-fill to form a highly efficient, engineered retaining wall.  Anchor walls are quick to install with the minimum of skilled labour and plant and can also cope with complex curves that would make in-situ walls uneconomic to build.

Anchor walls do not require concrete foundations so temporary shuttering is not needed to retain the excavation while the concrete footings of conventional walls are allowed to cure.

Housing developers in Northern Ireland and ROI are full of praise of the flexibility and ease of construction of the Anchor system and several were keen to share their enthusiasm 'Housebuilder' readers.

"We needed walls that weren't going to be an eyesore, especially at the entrance where a retaining wall greets every visitor.  With Anchor, the style, aesthetics and quality are there.  It's an awesome product that we will use again and again," said Stephen Richmond, Site Manager, F T Ferguson & Co Ltd, builders of the Green Village Development, Templepatrick, County Antrim.

At Airside, Dublin, The Albany Group chose Anchor 'Vertica' Walling for the entrance to their prestige development on the edge of Airside Retail Park.  Anchor's flexibility made it easy to create retaining walls to follow the new road and roundabout layout and to enclose the project's raised garden features.

Developer, Whitemountain construction Ltd of Belfast used Anchor at their Georgian style St Inn's development in Moira, County Down.  Commenting on the scheme, Malachy Toal, Project Manager said, "in housing developments where Anchor products have been used, we've made the retaining walls look attractive and  a positive feature of the development, adding to the look of the overall scheme in a positive way."

The piece-de-resistance of retaining walls in the island of Ireland is the record breaking 10m high Anchor Landmark Wall at Mulan Mor in Galway.  This is the tallest structure of its kind anywhere in the world outside the USA and it allowed the developer, Michael Fitzgerald & Sons of Galway to create access steps and terrace features to the back of the site.

"A retaining wall of this scale would normally be reinforced concrete faced with brick or stone.  Anchor's Landmark was built more cost effectively and faster.  In addition, its attractive colour and finish enhanced the overall aesthetics of this residential development" said Tony Walsh, Puchasing Manger for Michael Fitzgerald & Sons.

The scale of the 250m long wall provides a truly breathtaking demonstration of Anchor Wall systems expertise in partnership with manufacturer, Acheson & Glover Group of Dungannon, County Tyrone and Geotechnical Engineers, Maccaferri.