If you are building a home on sloped land or already live in a home located on or near a hill, then you should learn all about residential retaining walls. These walls can not only help prevent the flooding of homes built on or near steeply graded land, but the addition of a retaining wall to a sloped yard also allows the land to be used in many ways that it could not used otherwise.Read on to learn more about residential retaining walls, including their most common uses, retaining wall types, and the importance of a good drainage system.
Retaining Wall Uses
Retaining walls have many uses in residential construction. These walls are often installed around homes built near the tops of hills to add more usable flat space to the land. When you have more flat land in your yard, you can add a shed, driveway, or other property features that need the support that sloped land cannot provide.
However, retaining walls are also often installed around homes built near the bottoms of hills to prevent the soil erosion and flooding that extensive rainwater run-off from the hill above can cause. Soil erosion around a home’s foundation can jeopardize its stability, and no one wants to worry that their home may flood every time it rains.
If your home is built downhill from a fault line, surrounding your yard in a retaining wall can add stability to both your land and home’s foundation to protect both from the damage that an earthquake can cause.
Retaining Wall Types
The three main materials used to construct residential retaining walls are wood, natural stone, and concrete.
Wooden retaining walls, also called timber walls, are typically more affordable than retaining walls made from other materials and have a natural, rustic appearance. However, since wood is prone to decay and rot when exposed to soil and water over time, wooden retaining walls have relatively short lifespans.
Natural stone retaining walls are attractive and typically have long lifespans. However, stone walls can be more expensive than other retaining wall types.
Concrete retaining walls are durable and also tend to stay in good condition for many years. These walls can be created with interlocking concrete blocks or poured concrete. Poured-in-place concrete walls are ideal for flood prevention. Concrete walls typically cost just a bit more than wooden retaining walls.
While there are many retaining wall styles, gravity walls are common in residential construction. Gravity retaining walls are made from heavy materials and lean slightly back toward the soil they are supporting to eliminate the need for a special reinforcement system.
The Importance of Retaining Wall Drainage
All retaining walls, especially gravity walls, should have good drainage systems to prevent premature wall failure.
When the soil behind a retaining wall becomes saturated with water due to heavy rainfall or water runoff, the saturated soil exerts more pressure on the wall than dry soil does. This excess pressure can cause wall failure. A drainage system encourages excess water in the soil behind the wall to drain before excess hydrostatic pressure builds up.
One way to prevent the build-up of hydrostatic pressure in the soil a retaining wall is supporting is to construct a wall with weep holes that allow water to flow through them.
If weep holes are not an option or not enough to control hydrostatic pressure, perforated drainage pipes are often necessary.
Granular soil made up of mainly gravel, sand, and silt should be placed along the inner perimeter of the retaining wall to prevent clogging of weep holes and drainage pipes that a more cohesive soil, such as a clay-filled soil, can cause.
If you are building a home on steeply graded land or already own a home located on or under a hill, then install a retaining wall around your home to reap one or more of the benefits of these soil-stabilizing structures. Contact the retaining wall experts at Du-West for all of your residential retaining wall design and construction needs today.
