Benefits and Effectiveness of Retaining Walls Explained

Retaining walls can be constructed from a wide variety of materials including boulders, limestone, stones, and slabs but the best ones are those which are made using concrete. This is because not only do such walls look attractive, but they also provide better security.

There are a number of advantages of getting a retaining wall installed, a few of which along with the methods of constructing a wall are as follows –

Simple to Design — Retaining walls are very easy to design and can be made to look like a part of the exterior walls of your property very effectively. The design depends on the desired use and function of the wall. For instance, if you want the wall to be part of the landscape then, using stone slabs can turn out to be a good choice.

Different Digging Options — If the wall is to be used solely as a retaining wall, then the wall area can be dug out using a bobcat or other digging equipment, whose use would totally depend on the size of the project. The area can even be dug out at different levels to create the impression of stepping stones. Once the area has been dug out, the ground is leveled so that the wall can rise straight up to the designated height.

For Leveling Uneven Yards — Many times, the retaining wall is used to level out a yard which is sloping can be leveled by making the retaining wall higher than the slope. This is achieved by adding dirt along with sod.

Small Retaining Walls — Retaining walls which are small in size are created on the ground to create beautiful landscape designs. Such smaller sized retaining walls are filled with mud to create raised flower beds. A fountain area can also be created next to the entryway or patio. Such decorative retaining walls are usually two feet tall.

Large Retaining Walls — Walls which are larger and taller are usually built along the sloping edges to prevent soil erosion. This is done because rain and ground water can very easily erode the soil on slopes which can create massive landslides. Thus, in such cases, retaining walls turn out to be highly advantageous. Such kind of retaining walls are usually made of concrete and are constructed by placing forms at the designated spots and then pouring in concrete. Once the concrete hardens, the forms are removed to expose the new concrete retaining walls.

Wide Uses — Apart from the above-mentioned areas, concrete walls are also used in places where streets need to be widened or new roads need to be added.