EVail, CO

Engineering Redi-Rock Retaining Walls on a Challenging Vail Hillside

Project Overview

Location: Vail, CO
Project Name: Vail Hillside Home
Owner: Residential
Manufacturer: Signature Stone
Wall Type: Gravity & Freestanding Retailing Walls
Engineer: Soil Structures Engineering
Texture: Ledgestone
Wall Area: 1,216 sq ft
Year Built: 2025

The Challenge:

The engineering team for this Vail, Colorado, residential project had their hands full. Tasked with building essential structural walls on an extremely confined, steep mountain site, the team had to navigate around existing underground utilities and massive natural boulders. To successfully support the home’s footprint, they needed an innovative retaining wall solution that could:

Be installed efficiently in an extremely tight workspace.
Accommodate complex 90-degree back-to-back corners.
Manage incredibly tight radii and curves.
Safely support heavy structural loads, specifically where parking area pavement would abut directly against the wall face.

The Solution:

The project’s engineer, Soil Structures Engineering, teamed up with Signature Stone to develop a custom plan that would ensure the site’s walls were built with absolute longevity in mind while hitting the exact aesthetic the homeowner wanted.

Key technical aspects of the design included:

Complex Cornering: To address the back-to-back 90-degree corners, the project’s design included near-vertical blocks in the upper six courses.
High-Mass Base Support: Massive Redi-Rock XL blocks (52 in and 72 in) were hidden below grade to provide the robust base preparation required for total external stability.
Mastering the Curves: For the other tight radii and curves throughout the property, the retaining wall design strategically incorporated hollow-core blocks to allow for custom cutting and solidifying the radii.

The Installation:

The entire project was completed in just 3 months—a remarkable achievement given the intricate retaining wall design and strict spatial limitations of the site.

Versatile Block Library: The installation utilized a wide variety of blocks to optimize the build, including 28-inch, 41-inch, 52-inch XL, and 72-inch XL blocks, alongside various Freestanding blocks for the site’s two primary gravity retaining walls.
Integrated Infrastructure: The installation crews successfully integrated top-of-wall fencing along the driveway and front entrance, ensuring full abutment to the driveway pavement.
Unmatched Collaboration: As Benjamin Daiss, Owner of Soil Structures Engineering noted, “Throughout the process, we worked with the installer, the homeowner, and the manufacturer to modify the block accordingly and to kind of transition throughout the design to make sure the finished product is what they were looking for.”

The Outcome:

With 1,216 total square feet of block installed, the finished walls effectively tamed a difficult slope, turning a tough hillside into a beautiful, functional residential space.

Alpine Aesthetics: The earthy, natural stone look of the “Ledgestone” texture perfectly complements the home’s stunning alpine architecture.
Safe, Functional Space: The parking area retaining wall safely and securely supports a poured pavement parking deck.
Long-Term Stability: By combining massive XL base blocks with custom-cut radii, the property benefits from an engineered solution designed specifically to withstand the rigors of its mountain environment for decades to come.