Retaining walls serve a variety of landscape designs and requirements. These walls help create artistic landscapes in a yard that would otherwise appear flat and bland. A landscape designer can use retaining walls to prevent erosion of elevated landscape beds.
Retaining walls can be built so they create beds with a step effect. One bed is built higher than the second bed and the second is higher than the first bed. The structure of these walls can be straight, or they can be built in a curved manner to add a visual experience of a wall designed for an unusual effect. Retaining Walls in Charlotte NC can design any of these styles for the wall.
Building a retaining wall can be challenging because of the need for strength, which is caused by the incredible loads they support. Lateral earth pressure must be considered when constructing a retaining wall. This pressure is created not just by the weight of the soil, but the water behind the wall creates a buildup of hydrostatic pressure. Failure to take this into account will result in the failure of the wall.
The wall will stay in place if designed drainage systems are installed, and waterproofing is applied to the side of the wall which is not going to be the decor side. Landscape design experts say that any wall over four feet will require an engineer to specify the proper footings and the type of reinforcing steel known as rebar. Retaining Walls in Charlotte NC will know how to construct the proper footings. The footings must extend to at least 42 inches in the ground in areas where the ground freezes.
There are many types of veneer stone that can be applied to the CMU block. Retaining Walls can show you the brick veneer which is one type, but thin stone veneer has a special look. This veneer can be bought as individual pieces or in prefabricated real stone panels which are very easy to install and less time-consuming. Thin veneer has one drawback, and that is it must be installed with each joint and layer totally cemented to the wall.
Failure to do this will allow water to seep in behind the veneer and crack it when the water freezes. The many retaining wall designs and materials offer the homeowner the advantage of obtaining functionality and style. Visit Charlotte Concrete Designs for more information on retaining walls.
