The geometric steel areas corresponding to horizontal reinforcement for walls have been duplicated in the EHE code with respect to the EH-91 code. This is to reduce cracking due to problems with temperature and retraction.

However, as the code refers to external soil retaining walls, not to basement walls (their conditions are very different), these steel areas are only applied if the wall has lateral pressures applied to it. If not, the program applies the criteria established in the EH-91 code and, as a minimum amount, places half of the geometric steel area.