Retaining walls offer property owners several benefits including the control or prevention of soil movement and erosion, the prevention of water run-off, added beauty to a property, increased property value, space savings, and minimised disruption to natural vegetation.
But in order to achieve these benefits from the use of retaining walls, you need to take various factors into careful consideration, especially during the planning stage.
What are these key considerations?
Which materials to use?
In order to achieve the best results, it is imperative to choose materials that are perfectly suitable for the purpose you have in mind. And in order to get better returns on your investment, you would want to opt for durable materials like flagstone rocks, modular concrete units and brick veneer.
Which type of wall?
There are several types of retaining walls that are used in the residential setting. It is crucial to understand the advantages of each while taking into account the prevailing conditions on the property.
Site placement
And speaking of prevailing conditions, property owners should factor this in, as well as future conditions, in order to determine the best area to place retaining walls. This will allow them to save time, money and effort that is associated with relocating a wall.
Drainage
In order to ensure that the retaining wall can withstand pressure caused by moisture build-up in the soil, it is necessary to put into place a drainage system that will drain water away from the wall through the use of a variety of techniques like the use of gravel backfills or drain pipes.
It begins with the foundation
To put it succinctly, a retaining wall is as good as its foundation. Before the retaining wall is built, it is imperative that a suitable foundation be put into place. This means choosing a suitable sub-base material like compacted earth or gravel fill and preparing the site well. Ideally, the material that will serve as the foundation should be placed at least 0.3 metres beyond either side of the wall's base width.
Sloping back into the retained slope
In order to ensure the stability of the retaining wall, it is advisable to slope back into the retained slope or allow for variance which is called batter or cant.
Use of anchors
Anchors or deadmen are typically used for timber retaining walls. Anchors extend back into the slope of the soil and allow the retaining wall to withstand pressure that may cause it to move forward or distort it.