UndergroundQ We are working on a geotechnical project in the northwest to repair an existing rockery retaining wall. The wall is around 750 ft (229 m) in length and up to 12 ft (4 m) in height. The issue is that some of the basalt boulders within the wall are weathered soft and falling apart. The total weathered rocks that are falling apart comprise approximately 7% of the wall. Can we use shotcrete on the weathered rocks to give them more stability as a repair process? If not, is there a process we can use with shotcrete to repair the wall without having to rebuild the entire wall?
Shotcrete has been used in the Northwest to strengthen and overlay existing rockery walls. The need to remove the weathered material is dependent upon the need for the overlay to bond with the existing wall, which is an engineering issue and not a shotcrete issue. Shotcrete can and is shot successfully against soil and other weathered surfaces.