Does My Home Need a Retaining Wall?

If you're currently attempting to discern whether you could reap the benefits of creating a retaining wall, try answering the following questions:

1. Do you own a house or property situated on or near sloped, uneven ground?
2. Do you reside in an especially wet climate where flooding and soil erosion are prevalent?
3. Are you looking to include some uniqueness and beauty to your yard and/or property?

If you've answered "yes" to any among the questions above, it's time to consider installing one.

The advantages of a Retaining Wall
Retaining walls have several uses and offer many practical benefits to the homeowner. Generally, the main purpose is to prevent the erosion of sloped earth which could threaten to shift and slide; thereby, potentially damaging or destroying your house or property. Also, they are particularly effective tools in climates with heavy precipitation, e.g., the Pacific Northwest. Not only will an effective one properly support sloping earth, but it will also act as an effective means of draining water runoff and reducing hydrostatic pressure. Furthermore, they provide several agricultural benefits. For warmer, dryer climates, a wall can delay seepage of water from land, and for wetter climates, properly drained walls can divert water from areas susceptible to flooding.

In addition to practical purposes, these structures maintain a certain aesthetic value aswell. As such, adding you can raise the resale value of your home, while also enhancing your own enjoyment of one's property. For instance, a wall can be constructed in a series of steps or levels, granting you unrestricted creativity to add an array of plantings, flowers, or other elements which will add texture, color, and new lease of life to each successive level. Not forgetting, stepped retaining walls are actually a more effective form of erosion control.

Retaining Wall Options
Since these structures provide support for vertical grade changes, an effective one should be constructed so as to accommodate and redistribute the lateral pressure caused by sloping. Consequently, they vary in proportions and type, and often include materials like stone, brick, concrete, vinyl, steel, and pressure treated timber.

If you are brainstorming ideas for a retaining wall, the following are commonly used types.

Gravity retaining walls depend on their mass to hold back pressure. Often these walls are constructed from large bits of stone, concrete, or other heavy materials which are ordinarily a composite of elements including steel, rock, timber, soil, and concrete.

Sheet pile retaining walls are utilized for soft earth and limited space. These walls are typically constructed from thin sheets of steel, vinyl, or wood which are driven in to the ground.

Cantilevered retaining walls were popular prior to the introduction of gravity walls. These walls are usually taller and fashioned from thin stems of steel-reinforced concrete often cast in the shape of inverted T. In effect, they'll "cantilever" loads, diverting pressure downward toward the strong base instead of forward. The advantage to this particular type of wall is that it uses less material than most others.

Anchored retaining walls employ using anchors placed behind the wall (in to the earth) for support. The decoration of anchors vary, and a variety of methods are used to place them. https://dhallwalling.uk/best-dry-stone-walling-yorskhire/ are typically used when either high loads are anticipated or the wall itself must be thin, making it too weak to standalone.

Finally, soil nailing is a technique actually used to reinforce the wall. Usually, numerous relatively slender elements, like steel bars, are installed through the wall at a downward angle. This enables them to be easily modified during the construction process and, typically, built from the most notable down.