Compare Systems Against Site Constraints

Name the complete system

Ask proposals to identify the wall family plus base, reinforcement, drainage, backfill, caps, transitions and edge details. A material label alone is incomplete.

Match the site inputs

Compare what each proposal assumes about soil, groundwater, slope, surcharge, wall geometry and retained uses—and who verifies those assumptions.

Plan access and sequence

Record excavation width, material handling, temporary conditions, neighbour interfaces, haul routes and restoration. Tight access can change feasible methods.

Coordinate drainage

Require the wall and water-management concepts to agree on collection, filtration, outlets and maintenance access. Avoid treating drainage as a generic add-on.

Compare finish and upkeep

Record visible face, coping, joints, staining/weathering expectations, vegetation interfaces and stated maintenance tasks without inventing lifespan.

Create a submittal register

List drawings, calculations where required, product data, samples, installation requirements, field reviews and closeout records proposed for each system.

Compare complete assemblies

Create one row for each proposed wall assembly, including bearing preparation, structural elements, reinforcement, retained fill, collection drainage, outlets, caps, transitions and restoration. Do not score a facing material separately from the hidden components that make its proposed system work.

• Use the same wall limits
• Separate verified data from design
• Mark missing inputs unresolved

Fit construction to the property

Map equipment reach, excavation width, temporary support, stockpile space, soil export, neighbour access and utility constraints. A finished wall may fit the footprint while its safe construction sequence does not; require the proposer to show how access and temporary conditions are handled.

• Draw staging and haul routes
• Protect occupied routes
• Assign temporary water control

Create a product evidence register

For every specified product, file current technical data, installation requirements, compatible accessories, environmental limitations and written substitution rules. Link those documents to the project drawings, while keeping product literature distinct from the professional decisions required for actual geometry, soil, loading and drainage.

• Record exact model or system
• Check document revision dates
• Review substitutions before installation

Record the accepted wall assembly

Once a system is selected, create an assembly schedule naming bearing preparation, structural or facing components, reinforcement, retained fill, filter and drainage layers, outlets, transitions, caps and surface restoration. Link each item to the accepted drawing and current product document. State substitution rules, inspection or photograph points and future maintenance access. Keep aesthetics and sales descriptions outside the technical evidence column. The schedule should let a later reviewer see what was proposed and documented without suggesting that product data alone establishes design suitability, installation quality or lifespan.

• Use exact product and system names
• Link components to drawing callouts
• Identify concealed-work evidence
• Record reviewed substitutions
• Keep maintenance requirements with closeout