CA2504456A1

CA2504456A1 - Retaining wall system

Info

Publication number: CA2504456A1
Application number: CA 2504456
Authority: CA
Inventors: Leonard Browning
Original assignee: Hengestone Holdings Inc
Current assignee: Hengestone Holdings Inc
Priority date: 2005-04-12
Filing date: 2005-04-12
Publication date: 2006-10-12

Abstract

The invention provides a block, for constructing a retaining wall of aligned rows of said blocks stacked with interlocking dowels engaging adjacent blocks. The block has a trapezoidal body with: parallel broad and narrow presentation faces each having a width; opposing lateral side faces disposed at a side angle relative to the presentation surface; and opposing parallel top and bottom surfaces defining a block thickness. A pair of parallel elongate grooves in the top surface extend between the lateral side surfaces, each of the grooves disposed equidistantly from one presentation face. A
number of locator sockets extending between said top and bottom surface receive dowels to locate and arrest movement of the stacked blocks.

Description

RETAINING WALL SYSTEM
TECF~1ICAL FIELD
[0001] The invention relates to a retaining wall system of blocks stacked together with interlocking dowels.
BACKGROUND OF THE ART

[0002] The invention relates to improvements in a retaining wall system that is generally of the type described in United States Patent No. 5,984,589, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. Earth retaining walls are commonly constructed of cast concrete blocks or stones which are stacked in rows vertically upon each other. The finished surface of the wall may have a batter angle where each row of stones is set back or staggered a slight distance toward the retained earth to produce a slanted wall face.

[0003] Many different systems of interlocking are used between the stacked rows of stone in the prior art such as interlocking tongue and groove systems. However, in the present invention the system utilizes dowels in a receiving socket or slot which project downwardly into a longitudinal groove in the top surface of the underlying block. The dowels serve to locate the blocks in position and anchor the layered rows of blocks together to resist lateral pressure exerted on the retaining wall by soil pressure, ground water pressure and superimposed loadings. Examples of such retaining wall blocks are described in United States Patent No. 5,984,589; 5,528,873; and 5,282,700, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. Such blocks may have tapered sidewalls disposed at varying angles to the _2_ front face, the tapered sidewalls may not be arranged to abut against one another depending on the wall's curvature, and may not be readily aligned to produce a straight wall as a result.

[0004] The specific blocks of prior art U.S. Patent No.

5,984,589 include a single outwardly facing or presentation face that has an irregular surface to present a broken stone finish as opposed to a smooth cast surface. The broken stone or irregular surface is produced by casting the stone in concrete with a split line groove along which the block is split during manufacture or during construction. Such blocks are trapezoidal in shape to permit construction of wall configurations that are curved, straight or double curved in S-shapes generally by placing the blocks in the desired configuration with minimal cutting and fitting.
[0005] The disadvantages of existing trapezoidal shape blocks include a limited degree of curvature to which outside curves can be formed due to the angle at which trapezoidal side walls are positioned. To achieve a tighter curve, smaller blocks may be used or the edges of the blocks may be trimmed. However, trimming the edges of the blocks may also trim off the sockets that receive dowels and so interferes with placement of the interlocking dowels.

[0006] Conventional trapezoidal shape blocks have only one finished or outward facing presentation face. Therefore to build an inside curvature, the blocks are fanned apart and laid with the rear end spaced apart thereby reducing the mass of the wall and introducing the potential for moisture penetration or in-growth of roots.

[0007] Further when only one finished or outward facing presentation face is used, and the tapered sidewalk are not at a uniform angle relative to the finished or outward facing presentation face, alignment and construction of a straight wall requires more skill and attention than when rectangular blocks are used for example.

[0008] A further disadvantage of the conventional trapezoidal shape blocks is the limited design potential since blocks of various widths may be laid in horizontal rows only.

[0009] Objects of the invention will be apparent from review of the disclosure, drawings and description of the invention below.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

[00010) The invention provides a block, for constructing a retaining wall of aligned rows of said blocks stacked with interlocking dowels engaging adjacent blocks. The block has a trapezoidal body with: parallel broad and narrow presentation faces each having a width; opposing lateral side faces disposed at a side angle relative to the presentation surface; and opposing parallel top and bottom surfaces defining a block thickness. A pair of parallel elongate grooves in the top surface extends between the lateral side surfaces, each of the grooves disposed equidistantly from one presentation face. A
number of locator sockets extending between said top and bottom surface receive dowels to locate and arrest movement of the stacked blocks.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[00011) In order that the invention may be readily understood, one embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings.
[0010] Figure 1 is a top perspective view of a trapezoidal shaped block in accordance with the present invention showing the broad presentation surface forward with dowels placed in the two receiving sockets adjacent to the broad presentation surface .
[0011] Figure 2 is a like perspective view of the same block viewed from the narrow presentation face.

[0012] Figure 3 is a perspective view of a trapezoidal shaped block without beveled top and bottom edges with the broad presentation surface and dowels removed to better illustrate the receiving sockets in hidden lines.

[0013] Figure 4 is a plan view showing an example row of blocks having three different widths in a configuration which can be used for constructing inside or outside curves.

[0014] Figure 5 is a plan view of the same three blocks shown in Figure 4 but arranged in a straight line layout where the triangular spaces between the blocks faces into the earth slope.

[0015] Figure 6 is a plan view showing an alternative arrangement for straight line blocks and corner formation.

[0016] Figure 7 shows a straight line layout of blocks with the subsequent row of blocks superimposed.

[0017] Figure 8 is a sectional view along lines 8-8 of Figure ?.

[0018] Figure 9 is a sectional view along lines 9-9 of Figure 7.

[0019] Figure 10 is a top plan view of two trapezoidal shaped blocks formed into a blank and showing the three parallel split lines along which the blocks can be separated to reveal the broad and narrow presentation faces for each of the two blocks.

[0020] Figure 11 is a like plan view of a blank which is molded to form two corner pieces with split lines along which two mutually perpendicular presentation faces are formed.

[0021] Figure 12 is a top perspective view of a corner block produced from the blank of Figure 11, showing the two adjacent presentation surfaces with receiving sockets open to the two lateral side surfaces.

[0022] Figure 13 is a plan view of a molding arrangement where blocks having three different widths are formed together in two block pairs of blanks which are split into individual blocks along the split lines to reveal the broad and narrow presentation faces of each block.

[0023] Figure 14 is a top perspective view of a trapezoidal shaped block produced from the blank shown at the top left of Figure 13, with split line in the top surface to produce two partial or corner blocks.

[0024] Figure 15 is an elevation view illustrating the means by which the trapezoidal block can be positioned in a vertical position using a circular support engaged in a recess to produce a vertical presentation surface.

(0025] Figure 16 is a like elevation view showing views of a circular support and a second recess to produce a sloped or battered presentation surface.

[0026] Figure 17 is a top perspective view of a block shown in Figures 15-16 with recesses in one lateral side face.

[0027] Figure 18 is an elevation view of a wall assembly showing the lay pattern which is achieved by stacking rows of blocks having three different widths in a vertical pattern, with a coping block on the top level.

(0028] Figure 19 is an alternative pattern which is achieved by laying some of the blocks on edge, as in Figs. 15-16, whereas the remaining blocks are laid horizontally.

[0029] Figure 20 is a further example of the pattern achievable by laying blocks on edge in adjacent pairs.

[0030] Figure 21 is an alternative elevation design view using the coping blocks which are one half the height of the regular blocks to produce pattern variations.

(0031] Figure 22 is a further elevation example of a design possible using half height coping blocks and blocks laid on edge in combination with horizontally laid blocks.

[0032] Figure 23 is a perspective view of a coping block having the same trapezoidal shape as blocks in Figs. 1-3 but with reduced height and absence of grooves, sockets and slots.

_7_ [0033] Further details of the invention and its advantages will be apparent from the detailed description included below.
DETAINED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0034] Figures 1 to 3 show the general arrangement of a block 1 for constructing a retaining wall. Aligned rows of such blocks 1 are stacked with interlocking dowels 2 engaging the grooves 8 of a downwardly adj acent row of blocks 1 as indicated in Figures 8-9 for example.

[0035] Each block 1 has a trapezoidal shaped body defined by the broad presentation face 3 and a parallel narrow presentation face 4, each having a width W, and opposing lateral side faces 5 disposed at a side angle a relative to the presentation surfaces 3 and 4. Opposing top surface 6 and bottom surface 7 define the block thickness H.

[0036] A pair of parallel elongate grooves 8 are disposed in the top surface 6 of the block 1 and extend between the lateral side surfaces 5. Each of the grooves 8 are disposed substantially equidistantly from one of the presentation faces 3 and 4. The positioning of the grooves 8 and equal distance from the presentation faces 3 and 4 enables the blocks 1 to be rotated 180° so that the builder can chose to expose the broad presentation face 3 or the narrow presentation face 4 as desired without interfering with the operation of the dowels 2 and grooves 8 in interlocking the layered rows of blocks together.

[0037] For example, comparison between Figures 5 and 6 reveals that in Figure 5 the broad presentation faces 3 are aligned in a straight line and the grooves 8 of all three blocks _ _g_ 1 are aligned to receive the subsequent row of blocks 1 laid upon them. In a like manner, rotation of the middle block in Figure 6 does not interfere with placement of the dowels 2 since the grooves 8 remain aligned in either position. The locator sockets 9 extend the full height H between the top and bottom surfaces 6 and 7 and receive the dowels 2 which extend downwardly to engage the grooves 8 of the underlying layer of blocks 1. The distance between the groove 8 and the broad presentation face 3 is substantially equal to the distance to between the groove 8 and the narrow presentation face 4, while the side angle a (see Fig. 1) remains constant, so that 180°
rotation of the middle block in Figure 6 enables a straight wall to be easily constructed with side walls of the blocks engaging and both presentation faces 3, 4 presenting a finished wall face.

[0038] As best seen in Figures 7-9, the selection of the sockets 9 adj acent the broad presentation face 3 will result in the stepped or slanted front wall surface shown in Figure 8, while the selection of the sockets 9 adjacent the narrow presentation face 4 will result in the vertical front wall surface shown in Figure 9. In the illustrated embodiments, the sockets 9 adjacent the broad presentation face 3 are offset slightly forward of the associated groove 8 and this offset dimension "x" establishes the step for each row of blocks when the dowels 2 are inserted through the sockets 9 into the grooves 8 of the underlying row of blocks, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8.
However, the sockets 9 adjacent the narrow presentation face 4 are aligned centrally with the associated groove 8 and therefore the interaction of the dowels 2 in the grooves 8 produces a vertically aligned and stacked row of blocks as shown in Figs. 7 and 9.

[0039] Referring to Figure 10, the trapezoidal block 1 of Figures 1-3 is preferably constructed with both the broad presentation face 3 and the narrow presentation face 4 formed with irregular split or broken surfaces. The irregular split surfaces are defined by vertically splitting a cast blank 10 along a broad split line 11 and a narrow split line 12 to expose the broad presentation surface 3 and narrow presentation surface 4 respectively. The blocks 1 may be split along the split lines 11 and 12 during manufacture, with hydraulic press equipment for example, after being removed from the mould but usually before the concrete fully cures. Alternatively, split lines 11 and 12 may be molded, as illustrated, into the surface of the blocks 1 as a shallow groove. When the split lines 11 and 12 are molded, the builder on the construction site, hammers a cold chisel along the split lines 11 and 12 to separate the blocks 1 on the broad split line 11 and to separate the discarded layers 13 from the block 1 along the narrow split line 12. As seen in Figures 1 and 2, a chamfer on the top and bottom edges may be formed by molding the split lines 11 and 12 as a triangular groove, which adds a possible design feature. The alternative block 1 shown in Figure 3 and the coping block 18 shown in Figure 19, show the resulting edge without a chamfer, which may be produced by splitting the blocks 1 and 18 during manufacture.

[0040] As best seen in Figures 6 and 10, the broad split line 11 and the narrow split line 12 are disposed equidistantly from the nearest associated elongate groove 8. As mentioned above the equidistance spacing is advantageous in that the broad presentation face 3 and narrow presentation face 4 can be both utilized by rotating the block 1 180° to achieve various configurations without detrimentally affecting the location of the grooves 8 into which the dowels 2 are inserting to interlock the overlying stacked layer of blocks 1.

[0041] Also, as best seen in the example of Figure 10, the sockets 9 in the embodiment shown are shown cylindrical in shape to engage with the cylindrical dowels 2. Different shapes of sockets 9 and dowels 2 are possible. In order to enable trimming of the lateral side faces 5 with a concrete circular saw for example, the sockets 9 are positioned inward from the lateral side faces 5 by a substantial distance "T", for example, 1.5 inches. The locator sockets 9 advantageously communicate with a lateral slot 14 which creates a keyhole shape with the slot 14 extending to the adjacent lateral side surface 5. This configuration of socket 9 and lateral slot 14 simplifies the construction of concrete molds and removal of the cast blanks 10 from the molds. By configuring the sockets 9 open to the lateral side faces 5 via the slots 14 the sockets 9 may be formed completely during the forming of the block 1 in a single operation. For example, the block forming mold can have side walls that include lateral protrusions or removable inserts to form the slots 14 and sockets 9. The slot 14 has a length "T"
defined between the locator socket 9 and the adjacent lateral side face 5 which defines a maximum lateral block trimming allowance "T" such that the lateral edge can be trimmed without cutting into the socket 9 and interfering with the operation of the sockets 9 and the dowels 2.

[0042] As indicated in Figures 10 and 13 it is advantageous in the construction and in the manufacture of blocks 1 that the side angle a at which the lateral side faces 5 are oriented relative to the broad presentation face and narrow presentation face 4 is a standard consistent angle. It has been found by experience that an acceptable angle is 7.5° from perpendicular resulting in a side angle a between 82.5° and 97.5°. A narrower range of angle a will result in a block 1 that is more rectangular in shape and therefore cannot accommodate inside and outside curvatures as readily and a larger angular variation will result in a more triangular shaped block which accommodates curvature more readily however requires a larger number of smaller sized blocks to be used during construction.

[0043] Figure 13 shows three different sizes of blocks formed from nested blanks 10. For example, 10 inch blocks 15 are nested with 12.5 inch blocks 16 which are also nested with 15 inch blocks 17 in a compact rectangular molded shape.
Construction of retaining walls with some variations in the sizes of blocks 15, 16 and 17 is desirable to prevent a monotonous finished wall appearance. The coping blocks 18 (see Figure 23) which are laid to finish the top of a wall usually have a lip or slight overhang but do not include grooves 8, sockets 9 or lateral slots 14. Coping blocks 18 are formed simply of a solid layer of the same trapezoidal shapes shown in Figure 13 with broad and narrow split lines 11 and 12. Coping blocks 18 are thinner and in the embodiment illustrated in Figure 21-23, the coping blocks 18 are of height equal to one half the height H of the other blocks 15, 16 and 17. The coping block 18 as shown in Figure 23 includes a trapezoidal body with broad and narrow presentation faces 3 and 4, opposing lateral side faces 5 disposed at the same side angle a relative to the presentation surfaces, and has opposing top and bottom surfaces 6 and 7 defining a thickness that is preferably one half the thickness of the other blocks 15, 16 and 17.

[0044] The retaining wall system also includes a corner block 19, shown in Figures 11-12 and installed in Figure 6. Split lines 20 and 21 define mutually perpendicular presentation faces 3 and 4, side faces 5 are mutually adjacent, and one side face 5 is disposed at the side angle a relative to one of the presentation surfaces 3. Opposing top and bottom parallel surfaces 6 and 7 define the corner block thickness H which is the same as the thickness for blocks 15, 16 and 17. Left and right corner blocks 19 are formed together, then split along split lines 20 and 21 to create mirror image configurations.
The grooves 8 in the corner blocks 19 do not extend the full length of the corner blocks 19, to preserve the uniform appearance of the full height of the presentation faces 3 and 4 and since the position of the interlocking of dowels 2 does not require the grooves 8 to extend all the way along the length of the block 19. Sockets 9 and slots 14 are provided on the two side faces 5 which when constructed in the outside corner of a wall, are hidden from view. The relative positions of the sockets 9 in the corner block 19 are identical to such sockets in the other blocks, namely to produce a vertical stacking of blocks or alternatively a stepped or slanted finished wall face as illustrated in Figures 9 and 8 respectively. Of course in the case of the corner block 19, the builder has the option of selecting a vertical or a stepped wall face on each of the mutually perpendicular presentation faces 3 and 4, independently of each other (i.e.: both sides vertical, both sides stepped, or one side stepped and one side vertical depending on which two of the four sockets 9 are selected).

[0045] Referring to Figures 15-17, edge laid blocks 22 may be laid on edge with the top and bottom surfaces 6 and 7 positioned substantially vertically. In Figures 15 and 16, a horizontal reference line is indicated. In Figure 15, the batter angle achieved is 90° between the broad presentation surface 3 and a horizontal plane 23 representing the top surface 6 of a footing or underlying row of blocks 1. Two recesses 24 are formed in the lateral side face 5 in order to position the broad presentation face 3 at a batter angle i3 of 90° in Figure 15 and a batter angle f~ of 84° in Figure 16 by inserting a cylindrical support 25 into the recesses 24. To minimize the number of components required for the retaining wall system, the supports and dowels 2 can be formed of the same cylindrical shape.
Different shapes of supports 25 and dowels 2 are within the contemplation of the invention.
20 [0046] Turning to the patterns shown in Figures 118 through 22, different wall lay patterns are possible as a result of the different relative sizes of the blocks 15, 16 and 17, coping blocks 18, and corner blocks 19 and the use of some blocks as edge laid blocks 22.
25 [0047] In the first example shown in Figure 18, rows of equal thickness H are laid horizontally and stacked upon each other with the top layer being a coping block 18 layer of one half the height of the remaining blocks 15, 16, 17 in the retaining wall.

Some variety in the appearance is providing by using different widths W of blocks which in the example provided are 10 inch blocks 15, 12.5 inch blocks 16 and 15 inch blocks 17. As shown in Figure 13, it is preferably to form blocks of different sizes nested together in a standard sized pallet for use in a concrete molding machine. For this reason, the three different sizes 15, 16 and 17 of blocks are nested together in a compact mold configuration. In a laying the blocks as well, as shown in Figure 14 for example, an equal number of all three sizes 15, 16 and 17 are utilized to provide visual variety and as well to use the same proportion of each block 15, 16 and 17 during manufacture and installation. Of course, when features such as stairs or corners are necessary, cutting of the stones is possible with a chisel or saw as required. As indicated in Figure 6, to form a corner in the wall, it may be necessary to trim edges along cut line 26 for example. Since the dowels 2 and sockets 9 are spaced inwardly by the lateral slot 14, minor trimming of the edges along cut line 26 does not interfere with the operation of the dowels 2.
[0048] Turning to Figure 19, a degree of variety in pattern design is provided by introducing edge laid blocks 22. In the example shown, the height H of all blocks is equal, such as 5 inches. Therefore, the edge laid blocks 22 in the example Figure 15 are the 10 inch blocks 15 so that their vertical extent is equal to exactly twice the height H of the other blocks 15, 16, 17 laid horizontally. Of course, further variety can be achieved by using the 15 inch blocks 17 as edge laid blocks 22 and the vertical extent of the edge laid block 22 in such case would be three times the height of the horizontally -IS-laid blocks. In the examples shown however, all the edge laid blocks 22 are the 10 inch blocks 15. To maintain the same proportion of 10, 12.5 and 15 inch blocks (15, 16 and 17) most of the horizontal laid blocks are the larger 12.5 and 15 inch blocks 16 and 17.
[0049] In the pattern shown in Figure 20, edge laid blocks 22 are positioned in pairs to provide further pattern differentiation. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, since in the example shown (Figure 13) the number of different sized blocks 15, 16 and 17 are equal, it is more convenient to design laying patterns where an equal number of the three different size blocks are used in the final wall assembly.
[0050] Figure 21 shows further variation where edge laid blocks 22 are used singly and further visual variation is provided by using coping blocks 18. In the example illustrated the coping blocks 18 have a height H which is exactly one half the heights H of the remaining blocks 15, 16, 17, 22. In this manner narrow bands of coping blocks 18 break up the appearance of the finished wall. As will be apparent from Figure 23, the coping blocks 18 may have the same variety of sizes namely, 10 inch coping blocks, 12.5 inch coping blocks and 15 inch.
[0051] In the final example shown in Figure 22, edge laid blocks 22 are used and the coping blocks 18 are provided in double layers to provide further visual variations.
[0052] The relative dimensions of the blocks stated mathematically is: D is a selected dimension (2.5 or 5.0 inches) ; the block height H is defined as H - Dn; and the width W of at least one of the broad and narrow presentation surfaces is defined as W - Dn, where n is an integer. Therefore all relevant dimensions are multiples of 2.5 inches. It will be understood that any selected dimension or multiple thereof can be used if desired.
[0053] An advantage of the invention is apparent in the construction of seat walls or stone fences. In such an application, the wall is constructed of a single wythe of blocks 1 stacked to a selected height and capped with a row of coping stones 19. In contrast, a retaining wall has aggregate and soil in contact with one side of the wall (Figures 8 and 9) and therefore the visual appeal and appearance of the hidden side of the wall is of little consequence. Since the blocks 1 of the present invention have two presentation faces 3 and 4, seat walls or stone fences can be constructed with two exposed sides using the arrangements of blocks shown for example in Figures 4 and 6 for curved and straight walls respectively. The ends of the seat wall or stone fence can also have a finished roughened presentation face as follows.
[0054] With reference to Figures 13-14, the block 17 in the top left corner of Fig. 13 is shown with an optional split line 27 molded into the top surface of the block 17 as a shallow groove. By splitting the blocks 17 along this split line 27, the resulting partial stones 28, 29 have three broken presentation faces, all arranged vertically. The partial blocks 28, 29 therefore can be used at the ends of such seat walls or stone fences to present a finished broken surface on the _ 1~ _ vertical exposed ends as well as the two vertical sides of the wall.
[0055] Although the above description relates to a specific preferred embodiment as presently contemplated by the inventor, it will be understood that the invention in its broad aspect includes mechanical and functional equivalents of the elements described herein.

Claims

1. A block, for constructing a retaining wall of aligned rows of said blocks stacked with interlocking dowels engaging adjacent blocks, said block comprising:
a trapezoidal body defined by: parallel broad and narrow presentation faces each having a width; opposing lateral side faces disposed at a side angle relative to the presentation surface; and opposing parallel top and bottom surfaces defining a block thickness;
a pair of parallel elongate grooves in the top surface extending between said lateral side surfaces, each of the grooves being disposed substantially equidistantly from one said presentation face; and a plurality of locator sockets extending between said top and bottom surfaces.

2. A block according to claim 1 wherein a center of a first locator socket is offset towards the broad presentation face from a center of one of said pair of grooves, and a center of a second locator socket is aligned with a center of another of said pair of grooves.

3. A block according to claim 1 wherein both the broad and narrow presentation surfaces are irregular split surfaces defined by vertically splitting a cast blank along a broad and narrow split line to expose the presentation surfaces, the broad and narrow split lines being equidistant from the elongate grooves in the top surface.

4. A block according to claim 1 wherein the locator sockets communicate with a lateral slot open to an adjacent lateral side face.

5. A block according to claim 4 wherein the slot has a length defined between the locator socket and the adjacent lateral side face, the slot length defining a maximum lateral block trimming allowance.

6. A block according to claim 5 wherein the a maximum lateral block trimming allowance is not less than one inch (24.5 mm.).

7. A block according to claim 1 wherein the sockets have a substantially circular cross-section.

8. A block according to claim 1 wherein the side angle is between 82.5° and 97.5°.

9. A block according to claim 1 wherein:
D is a selected dimension;
the block height H is defined as H = Dn; and the width W of at least one of the broad and narrow presentation surfaces is defined as W = Dn, where n is an integer.

10. A block according to claim 9 wherein D = 2.5 inches.

11. A block according to claim 10 wherein n= 1 to 2, whereby H = 2.5 to 5.0 inches.

12. A block according to claim 9 wherein n= 4 to 6 whereby W = 10.0 to 15.0 inches.

13. A block according to claim 1 comprising an edge laid block including at least one batter angle member disposed on a lateral side wall.

14. A block according to claim 13 wherein the batter angle member comprises a recess adapted to retain a support when the edge laid block is laid on edge with the top and bottom surfaces substantially vertically.

15. A block according to claim 12 wherein the support and recess dispose the broad presentation surface at a batter angle of 84° to 90° relative to a horizontal plane.

16. A retaining wall system comprising:
a plurality of blocks for constructing a retaining wall of aligned rows of said blocks stacked with interlocking dowels engaging adjacent blocks, each block comprising:
a trapezoidal body defined by: parallel broad and narrow presentation faces each having a width; opposing lateral side faces disposed at a side angle relative to the presentation surface; and opposing parallel top and bottom surfaces defining a block thickness;
a pair of parallel elongate grooves in the top surface extending between said lateral side surfaces, each of the grooves being disposed equidistantly from one said presentation face; and a plurality of locator sockets extending between said top and bottom surfaces; and a plurality of dowels mating said locator sockets, the dowels having a height no greater than the height of the block.

17. A retaining wall system according to claim 16 comprising:
a coping block having a trapezoidal body defined by:
parallel broad and narrow presentation faces; opposing lateral side faces disposed at said side angle relative to the presentation surfaces; and opposing parallel top and bottom surfaces defining a coping block thickness.

18. A retaining wall system according to claim 16 comprising:
a corner block having a quadrilateral body defined by:
mutually perpendicular presentation faces; mutually perpendicular lateral side faces, one side face disposed at said side angle relative to the presentation surfaces; and opposing parallel top and bottom surfaces defining a corner block thickness.

19. A retaining wall system according to claim 16 wherein at least one block comprises an edge laid block including at least one batter angle recess disposed on a lateral side wall adapted to retain a support when the edge laid block is laid with the top and bottom surfaces substantially vertically.

20. A block according to claim 19 wherein the support and recess dispose the broad presentation surface at a batter angle of 84° to 90° relative to a horizontal plane.