When you have a retaining wall in Kansas City, MO built into your landscape, you want it to look its best for as long as possible. Often times you will see bulging and cracks form that just weren’t there before. These can all be symptoms of work that wasn’t done properly by your hardscape contractor. You can avoid these problems by making sure a hardscape contractor takes the following factors into account when building your retaining wall:
- Ensure proper drainage: While a retaining wall in Kansas City, MO looks beautiful, it also has a job of holding the ground back in your yard. This constant pressure against it can cause your retaining wall to buckle if water saturates the soil behind it. Your hardscape contractor should build in proper drainage for the wall with drain pipes and a rock bottom. This will allow the water behind the retaining wall to drain out at the base, easing some of the pressure on the wall and preventing leaning and collapses from occurring.
- Add reinforcements: This may be necessary depending on the type of material you are using to build your retaining wall in Kansas City, MO and the type of surface it will be placed upon. Hardscape contractors can install a geogrid that gives extra reinforcement to the wall being erected. Geogrid is a mesh-like fabric that holds soil in place and helps to make your retaining wall more secure. If you have a particularly high wall being constructed, the use of geogrid can help stabilize it and make it sturdier. It is also a good idea to use this material in sandy soils that may move.
- Guarantee proper compaction: The compaction of the soil underneath your retaining wall in Kansas City, MO is important in determining if shifting will occur. If the soil isn’t properly compacted before putting the blocks in place, gaps can occur in the wall. Both the soil and the rock base need to be compacted to ensure air pockets are eliminated. A hardscape contractor will use a compactor to get the soil and rock to the correct level to create a sturdy base on which to place your retaining wall.
- Avoid design flaws: Installing a retaining wall in Kansas City, MO without a plan is just opening yourself up to wall failure, as most design problems can be avoided with a little engineering. A hardscape contractor should have a good idea of which areas of your retaining wall could cause issues and how to eliminate them. This will help you avoid a retaining wall that moves over the course of time or can’t stand up to the pressures of the backfill behind it.
A hardscape contractor should take all of these factors into account when installing your retaining wall in Kansas City, MO. This will help ensure you have a retaining wall that doesn’t need to be replaced after a short amount of time. For experienced hardscape design, contact MSE Hardscapes LLC. We offer a variety of hardscape services designed to enhance your outdoor living space.