How to Properly Construct a Retaining Wall
Discover the simple landscaping hack you can do yourself with the correct supplies if you live on hilly terrain and help prevent soil erosion at the same time.
Retaining walls have best realtor in pitt meadows, including preventing soil erosion, transforming steep slopes into terraced backgrounds, and serving as landscape focal points. They are, in fact, very common solutions to issues brought on by mountainous terrain. When constructed properly, retaining walls allow previously inaccessible slopes to be used as garden space.
Despite their apparent simplicity, these walls necessitate careful planning and, in some cases, skilled engineering to maintain their shape. A standard retaining wall (four feet in height and fifteen feet in length) may have to withstand as much as twenty tons of soil pressure, given that soil is heavy both while dry and after a rainstorm. The soil pressure significantly increases with each extra foot of height. If you don't pay attention to detail during building, you could wind up with a wall that is too weak to prevent bulging or even collapse. This is why any retaining wall higher than four feet should be built by experts.
However, eager do-it-yourselfers with minimal construction knowledge can build shorter retaining walls. Are you that person? These tips for building a retaining wall can get you off to a solid start if you want to get your hands dirty and improve your landscape by constructing one.
Make sure to double-check with the law enforcement.
Some municipalities require homeowners to get a permit prior to construction since the retaining wall's impact on the natural flow of water could affect your neighbors. To be sure that constructing a retaining wall won't cause drainage issues, you may need to submit drawings for the wall and schedule a property inspection.
Pick something that won't be a pain to manipulate.
Many different materials, including concrete, massive timbers, natural stones, and bricks, can be used to build retaining walls. Select factory-made blocks with a locking flange along the bottom edge for a strong connection between rows if you're creating a retaining wall on your own. These blocks (which can be obtained in The Home Depot and other home improvement stores) come with either a smooth or textured face and are widely available.
Establish solid groundwork first.
The stability of your retaining wall depends on its foundation. If your retaining wall is little more than four feet in height, you can prevent it from shifting and settling by filling a ditch with three inches of crushed rock. However, as a general rule of thumb, the trench should be about half as deep as the projected height of the wall. An eighth of the wall depth plus three inches must be dug as a trench. Digging a trench eight inches deep to accommodate three inches of crushed rock and about five inches (or an eighth of the visible retaining wall) to start the wall below grade is necessary if the finished height of the wall is to be three feet (36 inches).
