Retaining Wall Tips - Straight Walls - 17/03/2009

There is today a wonderful array of retaining wall styles to choose from, and each style has a particular method to get the best effect, look and durability of your wall. Most retaining walls are built for holding back soil on a slope, whether that be terracing a yard or creating the foundation for a block of land, for controlling erosion, or for aiding drainage. They can also be used to give you new planting areas or raised beds where improved soil and drainage allow more plants to grow.

Once you have decided on what style of materials you want to use for your wall I would recommend having a look at some guides to see if the application of the wall is suitable for your lifestyle, and to see if you are confident to do it yourself, or hire a tradesperson to do the work for you. Click here to see the DIY Guides here on our site. This may provide you with some help and ideas in choosing how to go about the next stage.

We have had some new wall displays added to the yard this week and today I want to give you some tips when planning to build a straight wall.

Firstly, the foundation: The foundation is very important - the ground under the wall must be firm and solid, and if the wall is sitting on filled ground it must be well compacted. The ground in front of the wall should not slope away and avoid digging service trenches immediately in front of wall.

The image below shows a Link block retaining wall with the first course in place, you can see how straight the back edge is.

I talked with the tradesmen as they were placing the wall in, and asked them "How difficult is it to get the edge of the wall straight?". Their reply "If you use a string line, and just take your time placing them, it's not too hard at all." I also noticed that as they placed each block, they would take their time butting them up against each other, and would tap them with a mallet where necessary to get it into position.

Taking that extra time getting the edges aligned is well worth it, you can see what a difference it makes in the end result.

Happy Landscaping!
Karen Francis
Marketing and Design
Centenary Landscaping Supplies

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