Difficult-access works

Soil nailing works — nailed walls & ground retaining

Q: What is the difference between a nail and a ground anchor?

A nail is passive and spread over the whole surface: it works when the ground moves. An anchor is usually tensioned and concentrates a larger force at one point.

Q: Is soil nailing suited to urban areas?

Yes: little vibration, no heavy plant, a footprint limited to the foot of the slope.

Q: How is soil nailing checked?

By pull-out tests on test nails, which check the soil-grout friction used in the design.

Soil nailing and nailed walls: retaining slopes and excavations, stabilising existing walls.

Soil nailing reinforces a mass of soil with steel bars grouted into the ground, combined with a shotcrete facing. It allows a steep slope to be cut, an excavation to be retained or an existing wall to be stabilised, including where access is difficult.

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Reinforcing a soil mass with grouted nails

What is soil nailing or a nailed wall?

A nailed wall is built from the top down: the ground is excavated in lifts, then each lift receives a row of nails, steel bars drilled and grouted with cement, and a reinforced shotcrete facing. Nails are passive: they work as soon as the ground starts to move, in tension and through friction along the borehole.

Design is governed by French standard NF P 94-270 (soil-nailed structures) and execution by standard EN 14490. Drainage is part of the structure: weep holes and drains stop water building up behind the facing. The same principle is used to stabilise an existing wall that is tilting, with nails drilled through the wall.

What defines a nailed wall

Each structure is designed from the geotechnical study and the height to be retained.

Steel nails

Solid or self-drilling bars, drilled and grouted, inclined downwards.

Built from the top down

Excavation and nailing lift by lift: the slope stays stable at every stage.

Shotcrete facing

Reinforced with welded mesh, it holds the ground between the nails.

Drainage

Weep holes and drains behind the facing: water is the first cause of failure.

Existing wall stabilised

Nails drilled through the wall, heads connected by a steel section.

Pull-out tests

Test nails are loaded in tension to check the friction assumed in the design.

Our expertise

Know-how in special works

We build nailed walls and soil-nailing stabilisations, on slopes, in excavations and on existing walls, from drilling to the shotcrete facing.

Our key skills

Nailed walls and slope nailing
Stabilising walls by passive nailing
Shotcrete facing
Pull-out tests
Works in difficult access

How a Sirianni Travaux project unfolds

Design

Geotechnical study, slope geometry and nail design: length, spacing, inclination.

Excavation in lifts

Excavating one lift, of limited height, before any nailing.

Nailing and facing

Drilling, grouting the nails, mesh and shotcrete, drains; then the next lift.

Checks

Pull-out tests on nails and construction monitoring (G3 mission, French standard NF P 94-500).

Frequently asked questions

What is a nailed wall for?

To retain a steep slope, an excavation or sloping ground by reinforcing the soil itself rather than building a wall.

What is the difference between a nail and a ground anchor?

A nail is passive and spread over the whole surface: it works when the ground moves. An anchor is usually tensioned and concentrates a larger force at one point.

Can an old wall be stabilised by nailing?

Yes. Nails drilled through the wall and connected by a steel section take up the earth pressure, without demolishing the wall.

Is soil nailing suited to urban areas?

Yes: little vibration, no heavy plant, a footprint limited to the foot of the slope.

How is soil nailing checked?

By pull-out tests on test nails, which check the soil-grout friction used in the design.

Let’s talk about your project or structural issue

From first contact to quote, you speak directly with the people who will carry out the works — precise, concrete, straightforward.

Phone06 59 90 51 91 Emailcontact@sirianni-travaux.fr

Address113 Allée des Cigales, 06700 Saint-Laurent-du-Var