What does this retaining walls rough-in checklist cover?

15 items across 5 sections, covering design and excavation, foundation and base course, reinforcement, drainage, and more. Each item spells out what the person walking the job is actually looking for, not just a box to tick.

Who should run this inspection?

The GC's superintendent walking the wall with the installing crew's foreman, releasing each lift before backfill covers it.

When in the schedule should this walk happen?

As the wall is built: the leveling pad and base course before the second course goes on, then each geogrid or reinforcement layer and drainage detail before the lift above it is backfilled and lost.

Why do these items ask for a photo?

8 of the 15 items call for photo evidence, 12 photos in all. A checklist answer without the photo is a claim; the photo is what makes the record worth something in a dispute and lets a reviewer approve work without re-walking the job.

What most often fails a retaining walls rough-in inspection?

Geogrid or reinforcement embedment length short of the design, hidden the moment backfill goes over it and impossible to prove later. Base course set fast to grade instead of level, so every course above steps out of level and the batter walks off. Backfill placed in one deep lift and tracked with the loader rather than in the specified lifts, leaving the wall un-compacted behind the units.

Can I use this checklist in RTI?

Yes. Start a free RTI workspace, build this list as a checklist, and the Photo Gate holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and its photos are attached. Approved inspections roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident audit trail.

Free checklist

Retaining walls

Retaining walls rough-in inspection checklist

Retaining walls rough-in is the last time the work is fully visible. Once the cover inspection passes and the walls, ceilings and slabs close, every defect left behind becomes a demolition bill. This checklist walks the rough-in in the order the work goes in, with the photo each item needs before it gets buried. Work is commonly verified against the project geotechnical report and specifications, the applicable building code. Confirm the edition your authority having jurisdiction has adopted.

Start free with this checklist Download as PDF

The checklist

Every item, and the photo evidence it needs

The photo count on each row is what RTI would require before the item can be submitted. Work the list here and watch the gate hold, or load it into RTI and let it enforce the real thing.

Design and excavation

Approved wall design on site for the stations being built
The wall engineer's design at its current revision on hand, and the section being built (height, grid layout, surcharge) is the one that applies at these stations.
No photo
Backcut excavated to the limits the wall design needs
Cut laid back for the full reinforced zone, sloped or benched as the competent person set it before anyone works at the wall base, sloughed soil cleared, observed from the top.

Foundation and base course

Leveling pad on approved subgrade, to line and grade
Bearing soil at the design elevation and approved by the geotech, pad material and thickness per the plan, top screeded level.
Base course level, aligned and seated
First course checked level end to end and front to back, units in full contact with the pad, alignment string set for the batter.
Toe embedment below finished grade matches the design
Depth from the finished grade in front of the wall to the bottom of the base course or footing checked at each step against the approved wall design.

Reinforcement

Geogrid or reinforcement layer at the correct elevation
Layer placed at the course called out on the design, correct grid strength and roll orientation for the section of wall.
No photo
Embedment length into the backfill zone verified
Grid run back the full design length into the reinforced zone, pulled taut with no wrinkles, before any fill covers it.
No photo
Block and grid pallet tags matched to the approved wall design
Unit type and reinforcement product on the pallet and roll labels read against the wall design and submittal, any substitute reported to the wall engineer before it goes in.
Grid pulled to the face and captured by the course above
Where the design uses geogrid, the grid laid to the front of the unit's connection and held by the next course before it is tensioned back, none ending short of the face.
No photo

Drainage

Drainage aggregate and pipe placed behind the wall
Free-draining aggregate zone the specified width directly behind the units, perforated collector pipe laid to drain, wrapped or bedded per the detail.
Drainage aggregate delivery ticket matches the wall design
Ticket and stockpile checked against the gradation on the approved wall design, dirty or fines-laden stone kept out of the drainage zone.

Backfill and compaction

Backfill placed and compacted in lifts as the wall rises
Fill built up in the specified lift thickness, compacted each lift, heavy equipment kept back off the reinforced zone near the face.
Density test passing on this lift before the next course goes on
Testing agency's result for the reinforced-zone lift read against the compaction on the wall design, a failing lift reworked and retested before it is covered.
No photo
Engineer's field observations logged for the lifts they must see
Where the wall design requires the engineer or special inspector on site, their visit for the base, each grid layer or the drain recorded before that work is buried.
No photo
Seepage or soft soil in the backcut reported to the wall engineer
Groundwater, wet seams or soil unlike the geotechnical report noted with location and course, and the engineer's direction recorded before building above it.
No photo

What usually sends this back

The failures are almost always the evidence, not the work

Geogrid or reinforcement embedment length short of the design, hidden the moment backfill goes over it and impossible to prove later.
Base course set fast to grade instead of level, so every course above steps out of level and the batter walks off.
Backfill placed in one deep lift and tracked with the loader rather than in the specified lifts, leaving the wall un-compacted behind the units.

Common questions

6 answers

What does this retaining walls rough-in checklist cover?: 15 items across 5 sections, covering design and excavation, foundation and base course, reinforcement, drainage, and more. Each item spells out what the person walking the job is actually looking for, not just a box to tick.
Who should run this inspection?: The GC's superintendent walking the wall with the installing crew's foreman, releasing each lift before backfill covers it.
When in the schedule should this walk happen?: As the wall is built: the leveling pad and base course before the second course goes on, then each geogrid or reinforcement layer and drainage detail before the lift above it is backfilled and lost.
Why do these items ask for a photo?: 8 of the 15 items call for photo evidence, 12 photos in all. A checklist answer without the photo is a claim; the photo is what makes the record worth something in a dispute and lets a reviewer approve work without re-walking the job.
What most often fails a retaining walls rough-in inspection?: Geogrid or reinforcement embedment length short of the design, hidden the moment backfill goes over it and impossible to prove later. Base course set fast to grade instead of level, so every course above steps out of level and the batter walks off. Backfill placed in one deep lift and tracked with the loader rather than in the specified lifts, leaving the wall un-compacted behind the units.
Can I use this checklist in RTI?: Yes. Start a free RTI workspace, build this list as a checklist, and the Photo Gate holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and its photos are attached. Approved inspections roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident audit trail.

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Run it with the Photo Gate

A checklist nobody can submit half-finished

Load this list into RTI, stick a QR tag on the area it covers, and the submit button stays locked until every mandatory item is answered and the 12 required photos exist. Approved walks roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident record behind every line.