Retaining walls are landscaping tools. St Louis customers ask Big Bend Landscaping to build retaining wall systems for them a variety of reasons. Most of them want to resolve an issue such as unusable yard space or drainage issues.
But a retaining wall system is more than a solution to a problem. When built by someone who knows what they’re doing, retaining walls are landscaping tools. They can be as attractive as they are useful. And they can make a so-so, generic landscape into a unique outdoor living space.
There are several reasons for installing a retaining wall in your yard that aren’t just about problem solving. Here are just a few:
Retaining walls Add Beauty
Some of our customers use their retaining wall system to create raised beds to grow shrubs or flowers in. It establishes a defined landscape, separating flower beds from paths. If the gardener likes a rustic look, we can build a raised bed with pavers that appear to be roughhewn. If they like a clean, modern look, smooth, uniformly sized pavers can contribute to the effect.
There are a wide variety of pavers on the market that can accomplish your goal, regardless of your preference. Big Bend Landscaping only uses the highest quality interlocking pavers available, including Belgard, Romanstone, Versa-lok, and Pavestone. So, when we build a retaining wall in your yard, you are getting the best materials available.
Placing raised beds near a paved pathway, whether it leads to your front door or around your backyard, increases their visibility and makes your home and yard more inviting.
Terracing is an ancient gardening method used by people who lived on mountainsides and dry climates to create a stair-step series of flat areas to plant food in. These days, terracing is a tiered landscaping method, used to draw attention to a slope and prevent damage from run-off. Sometimes they are filled with flowers or food. In others, they are distinctive landscape features filled with grass or rock.
Water Efficient
Raised or terraced beds make managing plants and other landscaped features simpler. They reduce waste by just directing water to the areas that need it. This lowers your water bills and makes your city utilities happier, especially during droughts. During heavy rains, terraced slopes combined with drainage plates can direct run-off away from structures and outdoor living areas. When practical, some homeowners request that we direct the run-off toward sections of their yard that benefit from extra watering.
Home Value
Installing a retaining wall system, especially a well-built stone wall, can add to your home’s value. Having one that is old and out-of-date has an opposite effect. An outdated retaining wall detracts not just from the beauty of your yard, but affects the appraisal value of your home. And it could make prospective buyers wonder what other repairs need to be made.
If you’re living with older structures, especially if they are beginning to fail, and you live in the St. Louis area, it is probably time to call Big Bend Landscaping for a quote. We can come out to your home and help you draw up a plan that will wow your bank’s appraiser and—more importantly—you!
When you include hardscaping of any kind in your landscaping plans, it increases your home’s market appeal. Buyers love pretty yards where all the hardest work is already complete. When you add raised beds and a paved pathway to your front yard, your curb appeal increases dramatically. And a beautifully hardscaped backyard can change the minds of buyers who were waffling because the closet in the master bedroom wasn’t quite big enough.
A Retaining Wall System Offer More Usable Yard Space
Your children want play equipment. You have a large backyard. This shouldn’t be a problem. But if most of that space is on a hill, it will not be a safe area to place swings or climbing equipment. Installing a retaining wall into the place and leveling the area can be the answer.
Because retaining walls can be any size you need them to be, there are several ways they can provide you with more yard. Big Bend Landscaping has constructed twenty-foot-high walls and walls that are just two or three feet tall. We’ve built some that are just a few feet long and some that go across enormous yards.
Seating
When built near an outdoor living space, retaining walls can do double-duty. Inviting a bunch of friends over for a cookout and don’t have quite enough places for everyone to sit? Retaining walls are an excellent source of additional seating. And when everyone goes home, you can set your potted plants and other lawn ornaments on it.
And Finally: Prevents Damage
While this conversation is largely focused on using retaining walls as attractive additions to your landscape, there is no reason those same retaining walls can’t also be preventative tools.
Unchecked, environmental factors like rain, strong winds, and drought cause damage to your carefully landscaped yard. This is especially true if it’s sloped. And if the slope affects your home or outdoor living area, this is of particular concern.
Run off from that slope can find its way to the foundations of your home, your outdoor living area, eroding pathways and damaging flower beds.
Once a retaining wall system is put into place, it’s possible to smooth out the slope and provide a level surface that’s better able to absorb rain. Big Bend Landscaping can also install drainage plates that direct any excess water away from your home and the surrounding area. And a level surface is easier to manage during times of drought—any rain you get can be absorbed where it’s wanted.
Furthermore, installing a retaining wall can prevent damage to your neighbors’ property and protect you from potential liability of damage by mudslides. In some areas, the local government may sue you for failing to maintain your property in a way that interferes with someone else’s quiet enjoyment of theirs.
Conclusion
Installing a retaining wall system isn’t just a solution to a problem. It is an attractive addition to your landscape. If you need or want a retaining wall to prevent problems, there is no reason it can’t fill other landscaping needs as well.
Big Bend Landscaping has a Level 1 Certification from the National Concrete and Masonry Association. We’ve taken extra steps to ensure that we are using up-to-date methods and materials. We are experts in our field. When we present you with your options, we will offer you the newest and best landscaping solutions.
We guarantee all our work; this includes parts and labor. If for any reason you have a problem with something we’ve done, call us and we will make your satisfaction our priority.
Do you like what you’ve read here and want to know more? Give us a call at 636) 349-2946 or contact us for an online estimate!