Lawn Problems: 5 Ways a Retaining Wall Will Help

Lawn Problems
Lawn Problems

72.4% of surveyed homeowners reported that they’d rather invest in their homes rather than go on vacation in 2021. One of the best ways to do so is by building a retaining wall.

These can solve your lawn problems and beautify your yard in the process, adding value to your home. To learn more about how retaining walls can help you, keep reading. 

1. By Preventing Erosion 

Retaining walls are built into the slope of a hill, stopping erosion and helping prevent issues with eroded dirt traveling downhill or developing issues around your home’s foundation. 

Although there might not be an issue with erosion in your yard now, it can happen at any moment. The forces of rain, wind, and gravity may damage your yard over time and cause issues for your lawn as well as your house itself.

Soil erosion may cause your trees, bushes, and other plants to wither due to a lack of nutrients. And in severe cases, trees may fall, damaging the property. 

Erosion can cause and exacerbate multiple problems on your property including sinkholes, soil fault lines, and sliding hills. Mitigating or eliminating these with a retaining wall can save you time and money. 

Sinkholes form where the ground is oversaturated with water, unsupported, or eroded unevenly. These can quickly deepen and become unmanageable, as more effort and resources are needed to fill the sinkhole. A retaining wall can stop these from forming, as they compact the soil and help with proper drainage. 

Letting a sinkhole develop on your property can lead to damage to belongings in the yard as well as structural damage to the home if the sinkhole expands under the foundation or supportive pillars. 

Many homeowners have purchased or built homes downhill from fault lines. If that’s the case for your home, it’s important to build a retaining wall as a preventative measure from damage via earthquakes and erosion. 

Sliding hills are another issue that may damage or destroy your property. Similar to fault lines, your home being built on or downhill from one can lead to serious foundation problems, possibly leading to it becoming structurally damaged.

2. By Improving Drainage

If you notice that your yard has patches or spots with weak dirt that create puddles, it may be time to think about putting up a retaining wall. Many yards have a drainage problem because rainwater isn’t properly routed, leaving it to sit and erode the ground beneath it. 

But standing water isn’t just a problem that may cause erosion. Water build-up, especially on or near objects or the house can cause mold, mildew, and foundational issues. Standing water also causes flooding after a significant downpour or if left unresolved for too long.

Retaining walls solve this problem by routing water away from pits and low patches, and to places where it will drain properly. This not only reduces erosion as the water cannot form sinkholes or other issues, but can help reduce or prevent flooding. 

This routing can also keep excess water away from your house and vehicles. Instead of water falling and draining in various places, retaining walls create a direct channel and redirect water to the lawn or a nearby street.

3. Simplifying Maintenance & Resolving Common Lawn Problems

Because they prevent erosion, retaining walls make taking care of your yard even easier. The time spent maintaining the wall is much less than the money and effort one would need to upkeep a yard that’s dealing with sinkholes and other problems. 

Depending on the type of retaining wall and how many you have, maintenance for a retaining wall can be as simple as inspecting the wall regularly, removing debris from any drainage pipes, and filling in eroded areas and dead spots. Compare this to the amount of time spent mowing the lawn, weed whacking, or other lawn care basics that you’d need to perform on uneven land or problem spots in the yard.

4. Providing a Sense of Privacy

A common problem in the suburbs is the lack of delineation or border between one yard and the next. This can create a sense of a lack of safety or privacy, and leave you exposed to possible issues with erosion.

A retaining wall can act as a privacy measure, blocking the view from above a hill behind your house, and/or from the sides depending on the placement. Instead of building a fence and not having the advantages of drainage and preventing flooding and other issues, retaining walls can add a layer of privacy while providing beautiful landscaping and protection for your lawn.  

5. Providing Better Utilization of the Space

Retaining walls not only help solve common yard problems and issues but can create flat land that was previously unavailable for use. More landscaping and outdoor design options open when you install a retaining wall, as they may clear room for a patio or deck, or just a few chairs to add more character and life to your yard. 

One of the other benefits of a retaining wall is that they keep your other landscaping designs or belongings in place. As you’ll no longer have to deal with erosion or flooding, your belongings will be on solid, stable ground and you’ll therefore get more usage out of them. 

For many, being able to grow food or plants in their backyard is a great way to make the most of their space. Adding a retaining wall can create a flat space for a garden, and can create a natural drainage route to water it. 

Protect Your Yard With a Retaining Wall

A retaining wall can improve the landscape of your yard but more importantly, keep your belongings and house safe from flooding and erosion. And with them lasting from 50 to 100 years, they make a great investment. 

Such a large change to your yard requires the very best contractor for the job, and for those in San Diego, that’s Designs4You. With over 35 years of experience in remodeling, they’re dedicated to helping you solve your lawn problems. Schedule a free estimate today and keep your house safe for years to come. 

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We just completed a backyard remodel with Designs 4 You and are thrilled with the results. The turf is the best quality and looks terrific. Our pavers and border are solid with a concrete underlayment. Sharon, our project manager, really cares about his customers and is willing to get his hands dirty– he planted our shrubs himself! The team was efficient, on time daily, clean, and completed the work as promised.

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The project took about 6 months from landscape design beginnings to yard completion. We had 3400+ cubic feet of cement removed (a huge portion butted up to our house and pool). The precision of pulling that up was amazing. We got to know the workers pretty well since they were here 5 days a week working from 7-4 for 3 months straight.

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