Helpful Hints and How to Read Your Estimate
Estimating a Landscape Retaining Wall
- Review the AB Landscape Wall Guide for information regarding the construction of your landscape wall.
- If you are estimating a patterned wall:
- The base course will be the full size block (AB Classic or AB Dover) for the standard pattern. Lite patterns will use the half length block (AB Jumbo Junior or AB Palermo).
- It is assumed the wall will be built using the 2 course pattern. If your wall has an even number of courses, the top course will be estimated using the 1 course pattern
- When your wall has a surcharge above the wall, the top layer of geogrid is lengthened by 3 feet (0.9 m) to add stability to the structure above the wall.
- Geogrid placement is noted on the upper right side of the estimate. All geogrid is assumed to start on the base course (course #1) and every other course thereafter.
- If your retaining walls is using the AB Fieldstone Collection with the long anchoring unit, the top course will be the short anchoring unit to allow planting. If you have any 90-degree outside corners, add an additional 1.5 short anchoring units per course.
Estimating a Commercial Retaining Wall
- Review the AB Commercial Wall Manual for information regarding the construction of your commercial retaining wall.
- If you are estimating a patterned wall:
- The base course will be the full size block (AB Classic or AB Dover) for the standard pattern. Lite patterns will use the half length block (AB Jumbo Junior or AB Palermo).
- It is assumed the wall will be built using the 2 course pattern.
- If your retaining walls is using the AB Fieldstone Collection with the long anchoring unit, the top course will be the short anchoring unit to allow planting. If you have any 90-degree outside corners, add an additional 1.5 short anchoring units per course.
- Adding more stations to your wall will increase the accuracy of your estimate. This may not affect the block quantities as much, but the geogrid quantities are based on the highest point of each station.
- See the opening disclaimer for additional estimate assumptions regarding geogrid type and length.
Estimating an AB Fence
- Review the AB Fence Installation Guide, Installation Guide for AB Fence, and the AB Fence Design Manual for installation and estimating information.
- Most often is is easier to start your commercial AB Fence estimate by entering the site parameters into the residential estimate and calculating the quantities. Then, go to the commercial estimate and modify the fence to meet the engineered drawings.
- If you are estimating a patterned fence:
- The first course will always be be the full size block.
- The Design Parameters chart gives you the assumed pattern for the estimated quantites. As metioned, the base course will not have a pattern, so it has the pattern of “0”. The next course will have a 1 course pattern to make the bond beam, designated by the “1”. Now the dry-stacked courses are designated by another pattern number. For example a assumed pattern of 012411 would be:
0 - a base course of all standard blocks
1 - a one course pattern
2 - a two course pattern
4 - a four course pattern
1 - a one course pattern
1 - a one course pattern