Concrete Work and Retaining Walls: A How-To Guide
Retaining walls are wall sections that are created in order to landscape an inclined lawn. Many times these are used simply to prevent erosion, and other times they simply add a nice addition to one's landscaping. The materials used can vary. Some are made of concrete, large-scale rocks, and even decorative stone slabs.
Designing the retaining wall is usually done according to the home owner's proposal, depending upon what the usage will be. If it is for protecting from weather related erosion, usually simple concrete blocks will be used. If the wall is being built for purposes of decoration, the more stone slabs will be utilized.
The contractor will begin building by digging out the inclined area, which can be done by hand, bobcat, or other type of digging equipment. Depending upon the purpose for the retaining wall, sometimes some different levels will be dug to create a stairway effect.
Once the incline is dug out, the contractor will level out the remaining ground to ensure a level retaining wall. The bottom row only will be laid to ensure that the ground has been leveled properly before proceeding.
Then construction will continue and the ground on the incline will be built back up behind the wall to maintain the original incline.
In other instances, a retaining wall is just for leveling out and uneven inclined lawn. The wall will be built and filled with dirt, covered with sod, and then the yard will be evened out.