Landscaping Retaining Walls Important To Keep The Dirt In

Landscaping retaining walls can be built with many different materials. Stones, bricks, inter-locking blocks or stones, railroad ties are just a few examples of materials that can be used to retain the dirt in. Depending on the materials used you budget and the method of erecting the wall differs but the basic concepts remain the same. The retaining wall will require a strong foundation if it has stand strong and hold all the dirt and water in. Without the strong foundation it will just slip and topple over. If the soil is soft or pliable don’t raise the wall on it. Excavate the dirt for at least 2 feet and put in a granite stone foundation or some other compact materials. The height of your retaining wall depends on how strong the foundation is. If you need high walls then you need strong foundation to for wall to be able to carry huge amounts of dirt without slipping or collapsing.

Basically, there are three types of retaining walls, which can be used to keep the earth in. Gravity walls where the base is thicker and it becomes as it goes up. This requires a lot of materials so it is more practical for constructing short walls only. Cantilever walls are l-shaped with steel footing running along the base and into the soil being retained. As the soil is piled up the footing is driven into the soil. The wall also, needs to be strong. The third type is the sheet piling where steel or wood or stone is pounded into the earth up to two thirds of its height. The rest of the wall pushes back the earth. Again, if the height is too high then the wall has to be held back by ties or some other design structure.

Retaining walls are also important is case you have back yard pond and the soil is loose to keep the water from breaking the banks.

Another option in building retaining walls for landscaping is using retaining wall blocks. These are great alternatives to concrete masonry walls. Concrete walls need stones, mortar, bricks and labor to build them. These pre-cast wall blocks don’t need any mortar. The interlocking mechanism that the blocks have allows the walls to be held in place by due to sheer weight of the blocks. There’s nothing new in interlocking mechanism used in construction walls and buildings. They have been used thousands of years ago by man and those building still stand tall to this day in several corners of the world.

These blocks have caught on in a big way and you will find many different uses for them especially in landscaping retaining walls. They work very well in retaining dirt and to create layered gardening at many different levels. Apart from this they are useful to create boundary walls and making partition walls. They come in a variety of finishes and look great too as no concrete or mortar is used. For many years now these interlocking stones have been used for creating sidewalks and pathways in gardens and roads.

You need heavy interlocking blocks when used in landscaping retaining walls and this will need some heavy labor to put them up. But, the construction cost is much lower when compared to masonry walls. Choose whichever material is best suited for your needs.

Landscaping Retaining Walls Important To Keep The Dirt In

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