Retaining Wall Calculator
Plan retaining-wall blocks, caps, compacted base material, drainage gravel and fabric.
Your retaining wall materials
- Wall blocks
- blocks
- Cap blocks
- caps
- Compacted base material
- cu yd, including allowance
- Drainage gravel
- cu yd, including allowance
- Landscape/geotextile fabric
- sq ft
Plan details
- Whole courses
- Blocks per course
- Wall blocks before waste
- Cap lengths before waste
- equivalent caps
- Entered wall face area
- sq ft
- Entered wall face height
- in
- Whole-course coverage height
- ft
- Whole-block coverage length per course
- ft
- Selected material waste
- %
- Compacted base before allowance
- cu ft
- Compacted base before allowance
- cu yd
- Drainage gravel before allowance
- cu ft
- Drainage gravel before allowance
- cu yd
- Drainage zone height used
- ft
Whole-course and whole-block coverage may exceed your entered dimensions. Many systems require part of the first course to be buried. Check manufacturer/site requirements and adjust the dimensions you enter; this estimate adds no hidden buried course.
Shopping list
Check the block manufacturer’s installation requirements for compatible base material, drainage stone, buried first course, setbacks, reinforcement and maximum wall height.
Wall cross-section
How it works
Enter the wall dimensions and the face size of the retaining-wall blocks you plan to use. RockUtility estimates the number of courses and blocks, then calculates base material, drainage gravel, caps and fabric for your dimensions.
We round courses and blocks per course up to whole units. Purchasing counts include your selected waste allowance and round up. Base and drainage gravel use separate rectangular volumes with the same allowance. Fabric is a simple vertical area without extra allowance.
Actual retaining-wall systems differ; manufacturer instructions control installation details.
Assumptions and useful information
This model assumes a straight wall with uniform face height. Caps are additional to that height. No hidden buried course, corners, stepped foundation, block-core fill, setbacks or reinforcement are added.
Base material is a compacted volume estimate plus your allowance, not a universal loose-to-compacted conversion. Drainage gravel is a rectangular zone behind the wall; we do not subtract wall block volume. Fabric separates soil from the back of that zone only. Zero drainage thickness omits both drainage gravel and fabric quantities.
Check product dimensions, compatible stone, geotextile suitability, drainage components and extra fabric for overlaps or wraps. No prices, delivery weights, structural sizing or universal installation details are assumed.