5 Things to Consider Before Building Retaining Walls in Your Garden
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Retaining walls serve a dual purpose. First, they help to prevent the soil from your garden or landscape from eroding. This is essential if your garden is sloping or your house is located in a hilly area. At the same time, it lends an aesthetic appeal to the look of your garden. In some cases, it can even give you additional space in your yard where you and your family can relax and unwind.
Building your retaining walls or do it yourself require a significant investment of time and money on your part. Here are five things you'll need to think about before you decide to build retaining walls in your garden.
1.Inspect the design of your garden.
The last thing you'd want to happen is for your retaining walls to stick out like a sore thumb.
Take your cue on the way that the plants in your garden are arranged, and build your retaining walls to blend with them. For example, if your plants are growing in a wavy pattern, opting to make a curvy retaining wall will help further accentuate their design.
2. Choose the right material.
Retaining walls don't always have to be made of stone or concrete. If your garden is predominantly decorated with wood, then go ahead and have your retaining walls echo this.
3. Check your local regulations.
Even if you're building the retaining walls inside your property, there are still guidelines imposed by local government offices you'll need to follow. This is especially true if the retaining wall you're planning to build is more than four feet tall, and covers a significant part of your backyard. Otherwise, you may find yourself facing hefty fines and penalties.
4. Hire a professional to build your retaining walls.
While it's true that it's possible for you to build your retaining walls on your own, it would be worth considering hiring a professional gardener or landscape artist to this for you.
On top of having the right tools, materials, and equipment to build your retaining wall, a professional gardener will be able to make sure that it's appropriately fitted with a secure and stable base and a proper drainage system to make sure that the roots of your plant won't rot.
Another benefit of getting a gardener to construct your retaining walls is that they add a warranty for the work that they complete. That means if your walls are starting to show signs of wear, they will be able to fix it for a minimal fee (and sometimes even for free). So you actually save more in the long run.
5.Consideer your budget.
Lastly, you need to be honest about the amount you have available on hand to spend on the entire project.
Although it's quite tempting to all your retaining walls built in one go, it's not going to be a good idea to do so if you're tight on budget. On the other hand, you don't want these to look as though it's not finished.
Talk with your gardener or landscape artist to see how you can divide the entire project into little, more affordable segments. That way, you're able to spruce up the look of your garden, have your retaining wall, and not blow your budget.
