King post wall
King post walls contain main columns (king posts) installed in equal spaces at a few metres, along the line of a retaining wall, the space in between is filled with concrete panels, blocks or stone and acts as a retaining wall. Specification for king postwalls can be found in the British standards or Eurocode 7 for temporary or permanent conditions.
Generally the king posts are driven into the ground, thus also referred to as king piles, and connected with a beam, to form H shapes, as such one might refer to the lower half as king piles and the upper half as king posts. The upper part of the H structure is normally then in filled with precast concrete panels and may sit above ground, as was the case in the earlier designs used in the construction of the Berlin wall (also sometime used to describe this construction method). The same design approach may also be entirely back filled and located underground for the construction of retaining walls, often referred to as king post piles, or pile walls, soldier walls or just retaining walls.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
- Bearing capacity.
- Building foundations.
- Compensated foundation.
- Continuous flight auger piles.
- Driven piles.
- Footings.
- Geothermal pile foundations.
- Ground anchor.
- King post.
- Micropiles.
- Pad foundation.
- Pile foundations.
- Principles of foundations.
- Raft foundation.
- Rubble trench foundation.
- Screw pile foundations.
- Stepped foundation.
- Strip foundation.
Featured articles and news
Cutting construction carbon footprint by caring for soil
Is construction neglecting one of the planet’s most powerful carbon stores and one of our greatest natural climate allies.
ARCHITECTURE: How's it progressing?
Archiblogger posing questions of a historical and contextual nature.
The roofscape of Hampstead Garden Suburb
Residents, architects and roofers need to understand detailing.
Homes, landlords. tenants and the new housing standards
What will it all mean?
The Architectural Technology podcast: Where it's AT
Catch-up on the latest episodes.
Edmundson Apprentice of the Year award 2026
Entries now open for this Electrical Contractors' Association award.
Traditional blue-grey slate from one of the oldest and largest UK slate quarries down in Cornwall.
There are plenty of sources with the potential to be redeveloped.
Change of use legislation breaths new life into buildings
A run down on Class MA of the General Permitted Development Order.
Solar generation in the historic environment
Success requires understanding each site in detail.
Level 6 Design, Construction and Management BSc
CIOB launches first-ever degree programme to develop the next generation of construction leaders.
Open for business as of April, with its 2026 prospectus and new pipeline of housing schemes.
The operational value of workforce health
Keeping projects moving. Incorporating unplanned absence and the importance of health, in operations.
A carbon case for indigenous slate
UK slate can offer clear embodied carbon advantages.
Costs and insolvencies mount for SMEs, despite growth
Construction sector under insolvency and wage bill pressure in part linked to National Insurance, says report.