The need for luxurious and comfortable exterior space and the increase in spending ability of homeowners has increased the demand for extravagant landscaping options. The constant lifestyle changes and shifts in demographics are expanding the landscaping and gardening opportunities.
Even with small exterior space, people living in urban households now have a variety of options such as a garden, fire pit, stone patio, outdoor decks, retaining walls, hammocks, and artificial grass. A beautiful landscape design uplifts the beauty of the house and adds to the aesthetic appeal.
Why Landscaping Matters
The landscape is all about how to plan the exterior or surrounding area around the house properly. Traditionally, most homeowners used to spend more time, effort, and money on extravagantly improving the interior space of the house and not much care about the exterior space.
However, for the last 10 to 20 years, cost-effective solutions have allowed homeowners to install exclusive new features to make outdoor living space beautiful and relaxing for family and friends to sit around. The trend of barbecue parties in the outdoor space never gets old, and people who like to invite their friends would want to invest in outdoor furniture and stylish landscaping options.
The landscaping industry has grown tenfold in recent years, and its market size has grown fasters compared to business support and waste management services. The landscaping industry is expected to register $100 billion in revenue in 2021.
A landscape designer's main focus is to effectively use the natural lay of the land and use modern tools, either natural or human-made, to ensure aesthetic pleasure. In simple terms, landscaping is defined as lawns, gardens, walks, shrubs, retaining walls, and flower beds to provide a healthy environment for the occupants of the house and increase the visual outdoor living space.
A landscape architect or designer has insight and knowledge on the soil, hydrology, and geology to determine what landscaping option would suit a particular house. The landscape architecture is not limited to gardens and flowers but also involves installing walls, pavement, and walkways that can complement the natural features surrounding the house.
Why ‘Retaining Walls’ becoming a Trendy Landscaping Option
Adding a structure always diversifies the look of the entire house, and one such is installing ‘retaining walls’ that help to hold the soil behind them and prevent the soil from sloping. Retaining walls are used in places to bound soil present at different elevations.
A terrain with uneven topography and undesirable slopes may be an ideal place to put up a retaining wall that will not only serve a functional purpose but keep the soil from sloping. Retaining walls are used to increase the usable area around the house and reduce soil erosion and saturation. Some of the things you need to consider when thinking about landscaping and retaining walls are:
Need to be specific
The natural curve, unevenness, and slight slopes of terrain have their charm and can easily be used to exude an astonishing display of nature’s beauty. The sculptural quality adds subtle attractiveness to the outdoor living space.
You need to be specific and consult with an experienced landscape designer on the use of either concrete block, rock retaining walls, wood retaining walls, or terracing. If the wall you proposed to build is 4 to 5 feet in height, you need to employ a contractor who can timely assist with building codes and regulations. The concrete or wood retaining walls are best for a wall that is less than 4 feet. But the wooden walls tend to deteriorate faster and have drainage issues as compared to concrete walls.
The retaining wall must slope at the hill at least 1 inch of every 12 inches of height to ensure that the load is effectively balanced and prevents the wall from sloping inwards. The slight lean in the wall will also improve the drainage when the soil becomes saturated.
However, you can redesign the slope's grade before installing the wall, which would prevent the saturation of water altogether and minimize the slope of the wall. You should also consider placing drainage tiles behind the wall to keep the water from saturating the soil.
Analyze the lay of the land
When thinking to put up a retaining wall, you need to scale the entire exterior space in the surrounding of the house and emphasize the slopes already present that would be ideal for the placement of a retaining wall.
You need an expert landscaping contractor if the slope is greater than 3:1 as it would require the use of special equipment and technique to install a suitable retaining wall. The drainage system is the crucial aspect of the project as water constantly saturating the soil can lead to faster deterioration of the retaining wall.
If the water flows swiftly and heavily on the soil, then you need to install extra drainage and keep on checking if it’s functioning correctly or not. A soil analysis is also needed; sandy soils are prone to erosion but draw water out efficiently, while clay soils are not susceptible to erosion but do not drain the water effectively.
Types of Retaining Walls to Chose
The cost of installing retaining walls will depend on the functionality and height of the wall and the type of building materials used. If the retaining wall is used for aesthetic and styling purposes, then any material would be suitable.
However, you need to use durable materials for the walls that will be supporting larger loads. Some of the common retaining walls to consider are
Gravity walls
The gravity walls come in the form of large rocks or pavers and will effectively hold the weight of the soil. But gravity walls are only suitable for slopes that are 3 feet or less.
Anchored walls
The most robust and most durable are the anchored walls where a heavy anchor is tied around the wall, and the base is erected deep into the ground of the hill.
Cantilever walls
The piling walls are also called ‘cantilever walls’ and give additional strength to the retaining wall. An arm extends from the hill and stabilizes the load on the wall due to its capacity.
Conclusion:
Retaining walls are best to reduce soil erosion and, most importantly, expand the functionality and improve the looks of the outdoor living space. You have numerous options to make the retaining walls more stylish such as mortared stone, interlocking concrete, or stacked limbers. You can even use modular blocks to give a distinct look to the exterior space.
