Retaining Walls And The Different Materials Used For Their Construction

Introduction

To many property owners, retaining walls might come off as something they aren’t aware of or don’t pay much attention to. Retaining walls play a crucial role in protecting our structures from collapsing and natural problems such as soil erosion. Soil collapse is dangerous and can put your home at risk and weaken it greatly. If you do not have a retaining wall setup, contact a suitable retaining wall contractor from Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens, or from the surrounding locality.

This post aims to divulge the details involving retaining walls and the materials used in their construction.

Retaining Walls

But the first thing is to get an idea of retaining walls. Retaining walls is a wall that is erected after an embankment or an excavation to provide support to the structure and prevent the soil from collapsing. As the name suggests, it ‘retains’ the soil structure, thereby preventing any sudden movement which may weaken the base of the constructed structure.

Retaining walls are made of reinforced concrete, timber, stone or bricks, depending on the level of protection needed. Retaining walls are also used to support terraced gardens and similar structures. Often, steel sheet piling is required for retaining walls, and contractors such as Sheet Piling UK are needed. However, this is dependant on a number of factors including the nature of the structure and the site conditions.

Choice for Retaining Wall Material

As mentioned above, retaining walls can be made of a variety of structures. Each material gives it a different level of stability. Retaining wall contractors in Brooklyn use all the commonly used raw materials for wall building, and the necessity of each material is as follows:

• Concrete and Lime Mortar: This is suitable for retaining walls which are exposed to water, dampness or heavy rainfall areas. Retaining walls made from this mixture gain strength with exposure to moisture.
• Boulder and Stone: Mainly used for aesthetics rather than usability, as they give a pleasing look to the area. They are more difficult to erect and require highly skilled retaining wall contractors from Brooklyn to be able to build properly.
• Wood/Timber: Although they are a popular choice for retaining walls because of their low cost of installation, they require more maintenance due to their weakness against moisture-induced rotting and pest infestation that feed on timber.