Patent ID: 6874975

Claim:
A soil reinforced earthen retaining wall comprising: a. an earthen embankment having a face and successive upper and lower courses; b. a first plurality of nails driven through the face and into the upper course at spaced intervals, the nails in the first plurality each having an elongate body with a generally spiral-shaped thread extending therearound screwed into place within the embankment, a distal end terminating within the embankment, and a proximal end at the face of the embankment; c. face elements secured in place over the face at the upper course of the formation by connection to the proximal ends of the first plurality of nails; d. a second plurality of nails driven through the face and into the lower course at spaced intervals, the nails in the second plurality each having an elongate body with a generally spiral-shaped thread extending therearound screwed into place within the embankment, a distal end terminating within the embankment, and a proximal end at the face of the embankment; and, e. face elements secured in place over the face at the lower course of the formation by connection to the proximal ends of the second plurality of nails; and wherein: i. the body of each nail is tubular and has an outside cross-section of two or more inches; and, ii. the distal end of each nail is closed by a tip which converges to a point.