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Retaining walls: How much tilt is too much

F

FuzzyOne

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Joined
Aug 30, 2025
Messages
5
Location
Missouri
Have a privately owned retaining wall close to a public road that is leaning.

What has the hive mind done to enforce issues like this in your jurisdiction?
 
FuzzyOne said:
Hadn't considered the Town Engineer avenue, thank you.

Lean is approx 15-20 degrees towards the Public Right of Way
Click to expand...

Does the lean put the top over the property line, into the public right-of-way?

If it falls, will it fall onto/into the public right-of-way?

I would look at IBC Section 116 (Unsafe Structures and Equipment) in concert with your town engineer. At a 20-degree lean, it's very likely that the wall is unsafe -- but unless you are a civil engineer, you're not qualified to make that call. But a building official is authorized (unless your jurisdiction removed that provision) to receive and act on reports from other approved agencies or individuals (this is a bit of an extrapolation from IBC 104.4). So it your town engineer says he/she thinks it's unsafe, you can hang your hat on that. Then you notify the owner that they must either remove it or make it safe.
 
The answer to the question depends on who is answering the question. Architects and engineers think that it is up to them to make predictions about the future. The dilemma usually involves a fence. Most often, a CMU fence next to a sidewalk. A citizen would make the department aware and I would go take a look. Leaning retaining walls and fences are a slow motion event until they are not.
It falls on the inspector to decide a plan of action. The AHJ’s engineers won’t touch it. Causing the owner to hire an engineer to opine on the safety of a leaning wall is not fair. Given that the situation is not going to improve, you must decide when remediation is necessary.
 
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