4 Tips To Choosing The Right Materials For Different Retaining Wall Designs And Needs
Posted on: 26 July 2019
Retaining walls are used for different needs in landscaping, which hold back soil to prevent problems like erosion, to give you more valuable space, or to add unique usable space to uneven terrain. Depending on the design and what you are building your retaining wall for, you will want to use different materials. The following tips will help you choose the right materials for the type of retaining wall you are building:
Installing Concrete Footings to Support Shorter Walls With Wood Timbers
The easiest type of concrete retaining wall that you can build is a timber wall. This type of wall should have excavations done to allow the wall to go down below the soil at the bottom to support soil loads. With any retaining wall that you build, a good concrete footing is the best option to support the wall that is going to be built, but wood timbers are not the best option for taller walls that need to hold soils back.
Building Stone Retaining Walls and When They Should Be Concrete
Stone can be a great solution for shorter retaining walls, but it can be dangerous once the wall gets too high. For walls above a few feet, have retaining wall excavations done and a concrete retaining wall built. The concrete can be stamped concrete with a stone pattern in the finish, or you can face the concrete wall with a thin stone veneer or concrete layover for an attractive natural stone finish.
Landscaping Retaining Wall Systems That Are Attractive Solutions to Retain Soils
There are also retaining walls that are specially designed to hold soils and be attractive solutions for landscaping. These systems are usually concrete blocks with decorative textures on the face or other synthetic materials. These types of retaining wall systems are a great solution for a uniform look with the design of your new walls and an effective solution that is engineered to hold back the weight of soils and other installations like driveways and paths that are sometimes installed above a wall.
Installing Walls With Concrete Footings and Different Materials for a Unique Design
The retaining wall you build to hold back soils can also be a combination of materials, such as stone at the base and wood timbers at the top. To do a wall this way, you first need to start with excavations and install good footings to support the wall. The wall should start with stone slightly inclined against the soil and then be finished at the top with a small section of wood.
These are some of the different options that you will want to consider for different retaining wall designs and uses. If you need retaining walls built to improve your outdoor spaces, contact a retaining wall excavation service to start preparing the terrain and installing the concrete footings that will support the new walls.
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