When you are considering landscaping improvements, if you don’t have a retaining wall, then you should be strongly considering having one built. If you are unsure how having a retaining wall can benefit you, let your local St. George landscaping experts fill you in.
Top Retaining Wall Benefits
There are a number of benefits to having a retaining wall, ranging from reducing soil erosion to increasing your property value. Likely, several of these benefits will catch your interest and help you decide if a retaining wall is the right next step for your landscaping improvements.
Prevent Flood Control With A Retaining Wall
One of the issues that people don’t always expect in Southern Utah is the unexpected floods that occasionally come sweeping through. But like most deserts, St. George and the surrounding towns are vulnerable to flash floods that can cause a good deal of property damage if you are not prepared.
With the right retaining walls, you can protect your home and property from the damage that flooding can cause. If you aren’t sure that your property is in danger, you can double-check with the flooding hazard map provided by the Utah government survey.
Retaining Walls Can Add An Attractive Element
When most people think about retaining walls, they often think about concrete block walls. While this type of retaining wall is excellent, it isn’t always the most attractive option. However, there are actually many different materials you can use to have your retaining wall constructed, such as:
- Boulders
- Wood
- Concrete
- Gabion
- Bricks
- Concrete blocks
You can also have a veneer of more attractive stones or a mosaic placed over a sturdy, but a less attractive retaining wall. With a wide variety of options, you can really tailor your retaining wall to fit into the aesthetic of the rest of your landscaping.
Provide A Solid Property Boundary Marker
There are times where you need a clear boundary between your property and that of your neighbors, and sometimes, a simple fence is not enough. Maybe they are encroaching in your yard, or maybe you have people climbing your fence to pass through. Either way, a retaining wall can be a solid and clear property boundary to discourage people from taking advantage of your property.
Though you should consider that depending on where you live, and if you have a regulating HOA, you may want to be sure you have building approval before having a property-dividing retaining wall built.
Slow Down Soil Erosion With A Retaining Wall
Between the wind, flash floods, and neighbors who overwater their lawns so that the excess spills over onto your landscaping, you can have a lot of soil erosion. Not only can soil erosion leave your landscaping with unsightly pockmarks and messy areas, but it can also be dangerous, as there are plenty of homes built on or beside the beautiful red cliffs of Southern Utah.
Since you likely don’t want your landscaping—and potentially your home—flooded with red soil, a retaining wall is one of your best defenses against this probability. Depending on how much soil and water movement you want to encourage, there are different retaining wall options you can discuss with one of our landscaping design specialists.
Make Better Use Of Your Available Landscaping Space
There are many ways you can utilize retaining walls to make better use of your currently available landscaping space. Some ideas to consider are:
- Using retaining walls to create terraced areas that are suitable for planting. This option is especially effective if your landscaping sits on a slope, which would normally make it difficult to fully utilize your space.
- Have a small retaining wall installed to provide a flower bed at the front of your property. In the raised bed, you can mix in more flower-friendly soil than the soil that is found in most of St. George.
- With one or more retaining walls, you can segment off different sections of your property, which can be an effective visual tool if you have plenty of space.
Based on your needs and the size of your yard, our landscape design specialists can work with you to help you determine what retaining wall utilization options are available.
Reduce Potential Damage And Maintenance
As we mentioned above, a retaining wall can help reduce the damage that flash floods and soil erosion can cause. This prevention can look like preventing a flash flood from ravaging your landscaping and flooding your basement or stopping soil from sliding down and filling your lawn with silty soil.
Without a retaining wall to prevent these things, it is far more likely that you will need to do more maintenance, from fertilizing your lawn to counteract poor soil covering it to replanting your garden and flower beds. And as an added bonus, retaining walls themselves are low-maintenance installations that can be put into place and basically forgotten about.
Retaining Walls Can Add To Property Value
With all the benefits we have outlined, the value of having a retaining wall is clear. And, as these benefits are clear to you, they will be clear to a potential homebuyer.
While St. George is growing rapidly and is a hot home-buying market, it is still important to set your home apart from the rest, and with a professionally installed retaining wall, you can do just that.
Contact Stonetree For A Professionally Installed Retaining Wall
If you are ready to reap all of the benefits of having a retaining wall installed on your property, contact us for a consultation with our landscaping experts today!
