What is the difference in role of earth anchors and geotextiles in the construction of retaining wall?
Geotextiles prevent the infiltration of the natural, insitu soil into sand or structural gravel that you may place as a foundation to the retaining wall. You can think of it as a membrane that keeps the two types of material of different densities, from gradually mixing together. A free standing retaining wall will likely not be successful as the pressure of the retained soil behind the wall will build up due to settlement, and eventually cause the wall to topple. Earth anchors that tie into the wall and extend into the backfill material (retained earth) serves to support the wall and keep it from failing.
