Benefits of Retaining Walls

The landscape design of your home is often the first impression someone receives when passing by or visiting. To make a lasting impact, consider incorporating a retaining wall into your landscaping.

Here are the many benefits of doing so, all of which have the potential to protect your home and increase your property value.

Heightened Curb Appeal

Retaining walls serve as an attractive focal point for any lawn layout. The depth of their attraction depends on their height and material. It can double as a welcoming place to sit or serve as a definitive property line demarcation.

From boulders to wood and interlocking bricks to decorative stone, there are several types of materials on offer to tailor the construction to your preferred landscaping aesthetic.

Optimized Yard Space

There are many ways in which retaining walls can be used to better optimize your available yard space.

A common option for sloped lawns is to create a terraced area for additional plants and flowers. This allows property owners to utilize a different soil that is more conducive to growing flowers.

Added Structural Strength

Yards with small hills and slopes most benefit from the structural integrity a retaining wall affords. Designed to keep soil in place, they serve as a safety feature between the changing seasons.

Additionally, they are quite low maintenance once installed. 

Increased Flood Protection

In addition to supporting the soil, they also protect homes from flooding. The terracing of the walls effectively reduces the runoff gradient, thus slowing the speed of the water traveling over the surface and allowing more water to soak into the soil.

Correctly installed hardscaping also incorporates drainage mechanisms to further control water flow and prevent flash flooding. Without it, you may be stuck with more lawn maintenance than you bargained for, from replanting your garden to combatting unnecessary soil erosion.

There are several elements at work in landscape design, but an experienced professional can offer invaluable guidance in transforming a retaining wall into both an aesthetic and practical investment. While the expense may be substantial, the benefits are numerous.