While retaining walls tend to be built primarily to halt erosion on a slope, it is also possible to simply add this masonry feature to your Mecklenburg County, VA, landscape as a focal point. Whether you select carved concrete or stone for a retaining wall, this landscape addition can both solve drainage problems and beautify an area, while potentially expanding your outdoor spaces for entertaining and relaxing.
Related: Consider Carved Concrete for Your New Person County and Caswell County, NC, Landscape Design
Carved Concrete Retaining Walls
If you have never seen handcrafted concrete, this application that replicates natural wood and stone can lend a completely custom look to your retaining wall. The appearance of the hand-carved concrete can merge the wall style with the surrounding natural elements as it also helps to divert stormwater to a more suitable drainage location.
Homeowners can choose carved concrete for walls that follow a backyard walkway to add definition and interest to the space. It’s a unique, compelling look that can make the walk around your landscape that much more enjoyable.
This type of retaining wall would look rustic and authentic in your landscape while solving a problem that retaining walls are known for. They also have applications for outdoor fireplaces, built-in decorative planters, and faux stone for water features.
Stone Retaining Walls
You might be familiar with a stone retaining wall, one built of stacked stone or wall stone to hold back the earth. Many times, a stone retaining wall is built to direct water that rushes down a slope to another area where it won’t cause erosion and landscape damage. They can also mark property boundaries and enclose a swimming pool in an attractive way, oftentimes with a fence.
Current stone retaining walls have a myriad of stone-like choices with mix-and-match combinations that can give your wall a one-of-a-kind look. A landscape professional can use this same material to design and build a fire pit, an outdoor fireplace, and even a sensory water feature.
One of the advantages of a retaining wall for a very steep slope that takes up a lot of your property can be the opportunity to design it in tiers for maximum landscape space. A landscape professional can divide the slope into two or three retaining walls that echo each other.
In each wall division, you can plant different shrubs and plants to make the most of your backyard space. Because these retaining walls offer so much plantable space, you can have a flower garden in one area and a vegetable garden in another.
Stone steps: A stone retaining wall can incorporate stone steps to offer access from one elevation to another. A landscape professional can build deep stone steps with a decorative railing to create a secure handhold.
The retaining wall can also increase the available landscape space to include areas for an outdoor kitchen, a shady pergola, and other outdoor living features that you may not have previously considered due to the steep slope.
A retaining wall or carved concrete wall looks like authentic stone with uneven surfaces and irregular shapes, but with the added bonus of allowing you to determine the overall effect, with the expert guidance of your landscape contractor. A landscape professional can help you decide which one is right for your property.
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