Guide to choosing the best retaining wall solution for agricultural crop storage

Typically there are two main options for storing grain: in silos or on the floor in a grain store

The latter offers the benefits of lower storage costs per tonne, and also means that when the grain store is emptied, the space can be used to store machinery and crop inputs until the next harvest comes around.

Concrete retaining walls are an important part of on-the-floor storage. The need to store different crops or different types of grain (such as milling wheat and feed wheat), means that barriers are required to keep them separate from each other to avoid cross-contamination of the produce.

There are several factors that will influence what’s right for you when deciding which is the best retaining wall solution.

1. Flexibility – do you want a permanent wall which cannot be moved, or do you want to be able to move the units around which make up the wall so that you can change the size of the bays you have?
2. Height of wall required
3. Value of the crop – if you are a seed grower you will want to make sure the wall totally prevents any risk of cross-contamination. Some solutions are better than others.
4. Budget and cost

Permanent retaining walls for crop storage

If you have a steel framed building or simply require bay walls and have no need to change the layout in the future, then our permanent precast concrete walls could be the solution you are looking for. Prestressed panels, L-blocs and Shuttabloc are proven systems, each offering specific advantages depending on your own individual crop storage requirements.

Prestressed panels

If you have a steel-framed building using RSJs, prestressed panels are a popular and cost-effective choice for the outer walls. The panels can be attached to the steel frame and have an interlocking tongue and groove, which prevents the leakage of produce. They offer a permanent and fixed solution for a retaining wall.

Advantages of concrete panels

• The walls can be loaded with produce on one or both sides. When planning to use panels always make sure you let us know which you require as this will influence which panel is the most suitable for you.
• Per metre of wall panels are typically the cheapest form of retaining wall, but clearly need a supporting structure.

The panels are easy to install and are available in custom lengths from 1m to 6.6 metres long. The panels can be between 1m to 1.5m high. Poundfield Precast manufacture concrete panels in five widths from 100mm to 250mm, depending upon the load-bearing strength required.

L-walls

An alternative to prestressed panels, L-blocs are free-standing and are bolted to a suitable concrete foundation. L-blocs have a unique tongue and grove joint which reduces the risk of crop leakage in between the units.

Advantages of L-blocs

• L-blocs are easy to install
• They do not have a reverse heel, which means if they are being loaded on just one side, produce doesn’t get stored on the heel.
• L-blocs can be loaded one or both sides.
• The units are manufactured from high-strength C60 concrete
• Available in heights from 1.2m to 6m

Factors to consider

• L-walls require a suitable concrete foundation
• The foot of the L bloc can make unloading more difficult if the units aren’t set flush into the base concrete

Shuttabloc

Shuttabloc is our heaviest-duty retaining wall system. It is ideal for silage clamps where significant amounts of pressure can exist on the walls, especially when clamps are being compacted with heavy machinery during the filling process.

Shuttablocs are cast into the ground slab using reinforcing bars built into the base of the units. The hollow cores of the precast concrete units are pumped full of concrete once in place, resulting in a solid push wall, and can be designed and manufactured in a variety of heights (from 3m to 6m tall), with lengths tailored to suit your needs.

Advantages of Shuttabloc

• Up to 50% reduction in build time compared with in-situ concrete
• Heavy-duty walling system capable of withstanding significant loads
• Can be loaded on one or both sides
• Available in heights 3m – 6m

Freestanding retaining walls for crop storage

One of the big advantages of being able to move a retaining wall is the ability to cater for different storage requirements as harvest progresses.

Poundfield Precast offer a range of concrete walls which can be moved as circumstances change, creating a truly flexible storage solution.

Alfabloc

Alfabloc, our A-shaped retaining wall, offers the best of both worlds in being able to be used and moved around easily with the right equipment, as well as being able to be bolted to the ground for a more permanent solution.

Alfablocs are our most popular system and offer many advantages. Its A-shape means that when emptying a grain store, less time is required to clean the store as grain will naturally flow off the wall. As it doesn’t have a heel or foot, there is much less chance of damaging the units by a grain bucket catching them.

Advantages of Alfablocs

• Very flexible system, can be easily maneuvered
• Alfablocs have a patented jointed mechanism which provides a seal between each unit. When the plates have been added, the load is spread horizontally against the wall
• Can be loaded on one or both sides
• Can be ground-fixed for high-loading applications
• You can have the option of using them without having to secure them to the ground, or they can be used freestanding.
• Alfablocs are available in 8 heights ranging from 1.22 m to 6.0 metres high.
• Alfablocs can withstand heavy loads and are a more robust solution compared with rocket-shaped walls

Taperbloc

Taperbloc is a more economic alternative to Alfablocs and are suitable where less onerous storage requirements are needed. Available in 2 heights 2.44m and 3.05m

Advantages

• Can be loaded on one or both sides
• Great value for money
• Simple to maneuver

Factors to consider

Taperblocs cannot be secured together and, therefore, don’t offer as high a performance solution as Alfablocs would.

As they don’t have an interlocking tongue and groove system, if you are growing high-value crops when identity preservation is essential, you may need to use polythene sheeting to prevent cross-contamination. In this situation Alfablocs would be a better option.

Betaloc

Often referred to as a well-known children’s building block, Betalocs are a cost-effective and quick way to build a retaining wall. Available in two sizes, 1600mm x 800mm x 800mm, as well as a half block (800 x 800mm), these interlocking blocks can be picked up and repositioned very easily and quickly using cast-in lifting points.

Advantages of Betaloc

• Can be loaded on one or both sides
• Easy to move and reconfigure

Factors to consider

We don’t recommend stacking these blocks more than 3 high (which gives a wall height of 2.4 metres).

Often regarded as a cheap and quick way to construct a wall, Alfabloc, Taperbloc and L-bloc actually offer a lower cost per metre of wall.