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Leverage our expertly engineered big block retaining wall system to turn your vision into reality. This solution maximizes efficiency, ensuring you deliver durable, dynamic walls that stand the test of time and remain a source of pride for generations.

 

Turn Saturated Sites into High-Value Real Estate

Waterlogged soils, high water tables, and flood risk often stop site development before it starts. MagnumStone’s engineered precast big-block retaining wall system provides the structural strength, internal drainage, and durability needed to stabilize soft ground and reclaim buildable acreage.

Why Wet Land Is Considered "Undevelopable"

Developing in or adjacent to wetlands, floodplains, or low-lying drainage zones presents three major failure risks:

  • Hydrostatic Pressure: Trapped water behind traditional solid walls creates immense lateral pressure, leading to wall bulging or catastrophic tipping.

  • Low Soil Bearing Capacity: Saturated, soft clay or muck subgrades cannot support heavy structural loads without extensive, expensive over-excavation.

  • Freeze-Thaw & Erosion Degradation: Continuous moisture saturation causes dry-cast concrete walls to crumble over repeated winter freeze-thaw cycles.

How MagnumStone Solves the Water Challenge

MagnumStone was engineered specifically to solve complex site conditions where water and tight space constraints collide.

Unlocking Undevelopable Wet Land with MagnumStone®

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1. Superior Vertical & Horizontal Internal Drainage

Standard solid concrete blocks trap water behind the wall facing. MagnumStone features a hollow-core design filled with free-draining angular aggregate. Water moves vertically through the core and horizontally out via drain pipes, eliminating hydrostatic pressure and handling rapid drawdown during flood events without compromising stability.

2. High-Strength Wet-Cast Concrete Mix (4,500+ PSI)

Unlike dry-cast segment block walls that absorb moisture and spall, MagnumStone uses a durable wet-cast concrete matrix (4,500+ PSI with air entrainment). It is completely resistant to continuous water submersion, freeze-thaw cycles, and aggressive soil conditions.

3. Gravity Wall Extenders for Minimal Excavation

When working near sensitive wetland boundaries, deep geogrid excavation isn't always possible. MagnumStone’s gravity extenders attach directly behind the main unit, allowing contractors to build taller, heavier gravity walls with up to 40% less rear excavation footprint.

4.40% Lighter Footprint on Soft Subgrades

Despite covering 8 sq. ft. of face area per block, MagnumStone uses 30–40% less concrete than solid blocks due to its hollow core. This lighter per-unit mass reduces soil compaction pressures on soft wet subgrades and allows lighter equipment (like small excavators or skid steers) to install the wall without getting bogged down.

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Gravity Extender System

  • Enables Taller Gravity Walls: They increase the depth and mass of the wall's base in 2 ft. or 4 ft. increments, which significantly enhances stability..

  • Minimizes Excavation and Maximizes Space: By replacing traditional geogrid reinforcement in many applications, they drastically reduce the required excavation area (sometimes as low as a 40% base-to-height ratio compared to 70% for geogrid designs). This maximizes usable land above and in front of the wall and allows construction closer to property lines.

  • Simplifies Installation and Access: The concrete tongue-and-groove system is simple to install, reducing labor and equipment costs. Without layers of geogrid, it also provides easier installation and access to utilities, pipes, and drainage systems located behind the wall for maintenance.

  • Increased Flexibility and Strength: The extenders, available in multiple lengths, can be overlapped to provide additional strength and flexibility, especially for complex sections like outside corners

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Fast Installation

  • Reduced Labor Costs: A large block that covers 8 sq. ft. of wall face per unit means fewer blocks need to be handled, significantly speeding up the process. Some 2 to 3 person crews can install over 1,000 sq. ft. per day.

  • Shorter Project Timelines: The speed means the project is completed faster, reducing overall site time, labor hours, and disruption.

  • Lower Equipment Costs: The hollow-core design makes the blocks up to 40% lighter than solid concrete systems. This allows contractors to use smaller, more affordable equipment (like a standard Bobcat that can lift two blocks at once), instead of larger, more expensive excavators.

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Preliminary Design

The MagnumStone Design and Analysis Software is a comprehensive tool specifically created for retaining wall engineers. Its core purpose is to provide a detailed, site-specific, and structurally sound design, moving the project from concept to construction-ready plans efficiently.

The program allows engineers to input and calculate for complex site conditions to ensure wall stability:

  • Site-Specific Inputs: Users can customize and edit detailed information for soil compositions (reinforced, retained, and foundation soils), slopes (above and below the wall), and water analysis (internal and external drainage).

  • Load Calculations: It accurately factors in various loads, including live loads (like traffic or parking lots) and dead loads (like structures or existing fill).

  • Stability Checks: It performs rigorous analysis, including External Stability (sliding, overturning, bearing capacity) and Internal Stability (geogrid strength/pullout).

  • Global Stability & Seismic: It includes features to perform global stability analysis and input seismic factors (peak acceleration) for regions prone to earthquakes.​

The program is designed to deliver construction-ready documents quickly:

  • Accurate Quantity Takeoffs: Generates precise lists for all required materials, including the exact number of blocks, extenders, and the specific lengths and layers of geogrid needed for quoting (as discussed previously).

  • Export Functionality: Designs can be easily exported to AutoCAD, allowing the engineer to integrate the wall plan directly into the overall site plan and construction drawings.

  • Detailed Reports: Provides comprehensive reports containing all design calculations, cross-sections, and material summaries for submission to the engineer of record or regulatory bodies.

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