Retaining walls are structures which hold or retain material such as dirt or water. The purpose of these walls is to keep the ground from eroding or collapsing onto certain structures, buildings, or areas. With retaining wall system, you can create a terraced garden on sloping land. Your home’s landscape will now be a series of steps instead of slopes. Visit retaining wall san diego before reading this.
Systems of retaining walls are constructed using a variety of materials and construction techniques. Even so, there are certain factors that will influence the construction method of your wall. This includes cost, wall thickness, soil properties, and conditions of the groundwater. You will find that most local governments require an approved engineer to approve any building over four feet high. Even those that are less than four foot tall should also be cleared.
When installing retaining walls, it is important to make sure they can handle the backfilling pressure. The majority of the force your wall must bear is also referred to as lateral soil pressure. It is dependent on the amount of weight in the soil unit as well as its slope, soil type and water level. An engineer hired by you will conduct many calculations prior to deciding which design should be used.
At times, cutting costs is something that crosses your mind. The constant need for repair or replacement of your retaining wall will result from hiring a substandard contractor, buying insufficient material, and using low quality elements. These problems include cracking, tilting, and bowing. Retaining walls often fail as they are not able to keep the soil in place.
A drainage problem is also often overlooked or undervalued, and this can result in retaining wall failure. If retaining wall system drainage is inadequate, water can become trapped behind the walls and increase the load that the wall has to hold. Normally, weepholes or drainage pipe are used to flush out rainwater from behind the walls. You should ensure that your drainage system has a filtering barrier to keep dirt out of the drains or weepholes.
Consider concrete walls as a retaining wall option. The concrete used for construction is designed to be durable and last 50 years. You can also use concrete walls to create a number of different decorative designs. After it is cured you can stain, paint, stamp, and lay a pattern on top. Sealing your concrete wall is a great way to prevent dirt from accumulating.
You could also choose block retaining walls. It is important to have an adequate footer for this type of wall to be able to support both the dirt and the wall. They will add a special touch to your home, but you must place a retaining concrete wall behind the blocks if there are any lateral forces. This would allow the concrete to be used as structural support and leave the blocks as an attractive visual element.