In section 1807.2.3 Safety factor the wording has not changed between the 2009 IBC and the 2012 IBC. It reads:
Retaining walls shall be designed to resist the lateral action of soil to produce sliding and over-turning with a minimum safety factor of 1.5 in each case. The load combinations of...
So least horizontal means "the smallest horizontal dimension"? It doesn't mean "most vertical" dimension? Was this code intentionally written to be as ambiguous as possible?
That said I like your answers. Unless someone else can give a better argument. Thank you.
I work in telecom and oftentimes we put new structures on existing rooftops. We use Figure 29.5-1 (for "Chimneys, tanks, rooftop equipment, & similar structures over 60') a LOT as it's the best description of the kind of work we do much of the time. The question is what do "h" and "D" really...
