Maximize Your Backyard’s Potential With a Retaining Wall in the Hamburg Township and Dexter, MI Areas
A retaining wall in Hamburg Township and Dexter, MI can maximize your backyard in ways you might not have realized. From preventing erosion to vastly increasing the amount of usable space, you just might be surprised to learn how helpful—and how beautiful—these walls can be.
Flood Control and Soil Erosion Prevention
Soil erosion is a concern for any landscape, particularly for areas of a backyard without any trees or plants to hold the soil in place. As a result, most newer properties without long-established vegetation are suitable candidates for retaining wall systems to preserve the integrity of the soil.
Retaining walls can even stop flooding and prevent the associated property damage. This is especially important when retaining walls are employed as reinforcement, and there are clear gradient levels. These retaining walls stop soil erosion by preventing surface runoff from moving as quickly as it would without support. Retaining walls can be fitted with drainage pipes or channels to direct rainwater where you want it to go in order to avoid pooling and floods.
Support Structure
In order to preserve the integrity of the soil, small hills may need additional structural support. Retaining walls provide essential support in preventing landslides and the resultant property damage. Retaining walls can be invaluable when it comes to supporting large amounts of structural weight on some grades, hills, or other terrain features. If you’re planning to have significant structures built on land that is not flat, it is important to consider whether the soil is properly supported carefully. If it’s not, a retaining wall could be the solution.
Designing a More Useful Space
Although a property’s natural hills and slopes may add to its attractiveness, they can, unfortunately, take up a sizable amount of useful space. A solution may be found in retaining walls, which can be used to build terraces, carve out space from a hillside, or change the contours of a piece of land. Terraces are essential elements of the environment in and of themselves, in addition to increasing the usable space for patios and outdoor kitchens.
Retaining walls may give the landscape more visual appeal and energy. Retaining walls can also draw attention to or frame other, more established landscape elements, such as patios or swimming pool areas. The flat land created by a well-placed retaining wall can also be the perfect place to plant trees, shrubs, or other plantings to give your backyard a more natural look.
Aesthetics
Retaining walls provide a multitude of purposes, but they can also give an established landscape depth and beauty. There are several tones, textures, and styles to choose from for wall blocks including modern, rustic, or elegant.
Stone and concrete are the most typical building materials for retaining walls. Whichever materials you choose, the components can seamlessly complement a yard’s natural features, which results in a more intriguing, textured, and dynamic landscape.
About the Author
It was in the early 1970s that Phil Munro was introduced to the landscape industry. His dad, Don Munro, purchased a dump truck to deliver materials and install small landscape jobs when he had free time after work and on the weekends, and he’d bring Phil along with him. After serving in the U.S. Navy in the 1980s, Phil built on this experience to start Munro Landscaping in 1987. In 1991, he incorporated as Munro’s Landscaping and Lawn Maintenance. Over the years he developed many relationships with suppliers and builders, and the company experienced massive growth: It expanded the lawn division and started a landscape construction division in the ’90s.