Retaining Walls

When it rains, water rolls toward the house, you're straining your back trying to push the lawnmower up the hill, you can't plant anything easily, and most of all, you're wondering how the Hobbits ever managed. Perhaps most situations aren't that drastic, but if Hobbits and their (literally) hillside homes can teach us anything, it is the supreme usefulness of retaining walls.

Retaining walls do just as their name suggests; they retain soil and earth, protecting whatever home, surface, or body might lie on the other side. They most commonly provide a level surface for gardens or landscaping for homes built on slopes or with sloping yards. To find examples, a walk around your city or town can be quite revealing. There you might find a retaining wall keeping soil back from sidewalks, protecting roads, supporting a neighbor's water feature, or lining riverbanks. While there is always function involved, retaining walls may often be purely aesthetic, as part of a sculptured landscape.

This section of our Concrete Library will explore the many characteristics of retaining walls, in which concrete often plays a pivotal role. In most landscaping situations, gravity walls are the style of choice, but don't think there is just one way to build a retaining wall. From cantilever to pre-cast concrete stones, and from terraced to serpentine walls, you'll find information on application, strength, usage, and design for each type, so that when concept turns to design you'll have a healthy head start -- not to mention easy access to free estimates from certified concrete contractors.