• broken image

    What is the Purpose of a Retaining Wall?​

    There are several methods and means of constructing a retaining wall with gravel. It really all depends on the retaining wall style chosen. The most popular option for this style is a traditional gravity retaining wall system, but surprisingly this requires more vertical stones than the standard style. If you have a large amount of boulders to use it is quite easy to build large walls and place them on a concrete foundation for support.

     

    With the traditional style there is an added advantage in that the wall doesn't have to be built entirely of clean stone or a solid surface. In this case the wall is supported by a network of smaller stones that have been put in place to retain the weight of the wall. These stones are all approximately the same size so they can be mixed and matched to create as many different styles as needed. The stones used to construct the wall can be found at any local rock and construction supply store such as the retaining walls nanaimo.

     

    When using a gravity retaining wall construction it is essential to use high quality cleared, level and flat ground. The selected type of stone should also be very thick and sturdy. It is important to allow ample space between individual blocks to allow the weight of the wall to keep the blocks together and secure.

     

    Many people choose to add a flat top to their retaining wall construction, which works in two ways. First, the top blocks need to be approximately double the length and width of the wall, allowing enough room to get around the block retaining wall construction and second, the top block needs to be about one foot higher than the height of the wall to allow the full effect of the wall built. The top block retaining wall system can be made from flush mounted concrete blocks or hollow bricks. Visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retaining_wall to learn further about retaining walls as well.

     

    The concrete blocks are placed on top of a cleared area first, then the second row of blocks are added above the first row of blocks. This second row of blocks is used for the retaining wall system. On some structures more than one paver base is used to improve the look of the structure. The paver bases are either cemented in place or screwed to the surface. On structures with more than one paver base the concrete is screwed directly to the paver base. Most paver bases are cemented in place but some structural paver bases may be screwed to the ground.

     

    One final aspect to this subject is answering the question, what is the purpose of a retaining wall? In most cases the retaining wall serves to control erosion by keeping the soil behind the walls in place. With the hillsides of the southwest states it is common to have a considerable amount of erosion due to wind and rain. This erosion can damage the floor of a house and even grind up the foundation of the house. By placing a retaining wall behind the walls, an attempt is made to slow down the rate at which these effects happen. You may contact retaining walls nanaimo to learn more.