The effectiveness of retaining walls in Pittsburgh, PA
Concrete, boulders, stones, railroad ties, slabs and limestone – these are only some of the materials that can be used for building retaining walls. As you are probably aware, retaining walls enhance the visual appearance of any outdoor space and also improve the privacy and security in that area. There are many homeowners who use retaining walls as the main decoration in their yard, but using special plants, fountains and other elements. The walls made from natural materials can easily blend in the landscape.
Installing a retaining wall in your yard will bring many benefits. In other words, the effectiveness of retaining walls is unquestionable. Now let’s see what makes this wall so effective.
To start with, designing such walls is quite easy and it is very simple to make them appear as an element of the exterior walls. In addition, the design is closely related to the wall’s function and use. For instance, in case a homeowner wants the wall to become a natural part of the landscape, using retaining wall stones is the best option.
In case the retaining wall has only one purpose – to be a separate retaining wall, the area of the wall is dug manually or with digging equipment. It all depends on the size of your project. The slope’s side is dug to create a level area for proper installation of the retaining wall. In some cases, homeowners decide to dig out this area on different levels so they can get a cascade effect.
When the area is dug out, the process continues with leveling the ground in order to get a perfectly straight wall. Some professionals use sand with the help of a yard roller for better leveling.
The next step is to build the wall with the selected material. After the wall gets its intended height, you should use a large quantity of dirt or some backfill for filling. The slope of the landscape will determine the quantity of these supporting materials.
There are situations in which retaining walls are used just for leveling a very uneven sloping garden and the owners can create an extremely level garden if they make the retaining wall a little bit higher than the slope itself with the help of dirt and sod.
A small retaining wall is made on the ground to enhance landscape designs. It is interesting to know that in cases like this, landscape professionals use mud for flowers beds. Generally speaking, this type of walls is about two feet tall and they only have decorative role.
When it comes to taller and larger retaining walls, they are usually made along the edges of the slopes so they can prevent erosion or washing away of the land in a specific area. Ground water as well as rain water can erode the soil located on the slopes and result in landslides. This is where retaining walls come into play. Concrete walls are especially helpful for this purpose.
As you can see, retaining walls can be quite helpful and useful. With a good hardscaping/landscaping company homeowners can get the best retaining walls.