DIY Network

Landscaping: Retaining Walls From "Be Your Own Contractor" episode DBYC-112

Skip Weahunt incorporated a number of retaining walls into his landscape because of the slope of his land.

In this segment of DIY's Be Your Own Contractor, some of the do-it-yourselfers talk about the role and installation of retaining walls.

advertisement

Retaining Walls

Because of the grading and slope of their properties, some of the contractors had to incorporate retaining walls into their landscape. This undertaking can be quite expensive and involved. In most cases, the land will dictate whether retaining walls will be needed or not.

• For their large home in Olmstead, Kentucky, Betty King and John Spracklen incorporated retaining for structural reasons and to help ensure proper septic-system function (figure A). They also incorporated their plans for a natural waterfall and koi-pond into excavation portion of their construction, and were able to blend that feature visually with their retaining wall (figure B).

  Figure D

  Figure A

  
  
• Though their initial intent was to start with a fairly small retaining wall, and add to it as necessary with standard cinder-blocks, they ultimately decided to expand the retaining wall more fully to stop soil erosion that was occurring. They subcontracted brick specialists to finish out the wall (figures C and D).

  Figure B

  Figure C

  
  

  	Figure E
  	Figure F
  	Figure G

• Andy Beasley incorporated sizable sections of retaining wall, (figure E) to deal with the exposed slope of the property that had been left by the earlier excavation process, and to alleviate potential problems with drainage and erosion. One section, in fact, is 220 feet in length (figure F).

• Andy purchased a small tractor with front-end loader and did much of the excavation and installation himself. The massive wall that he selected is known as segmental retaining wall, and incorporates decorative features such as a recirculating fountain (figure G) and built-in lights.
  With retaining walls, it's important to remember to incorporate a drainage system (figure H) and some sort of drain field to prevent retention of water behind and around the walls, and to channel it away from the house.

  Depending on placement, in some cases you may also need to incorporate water lines, lighting, electrical lines and outlets (figure I).

  Figure H

  Figure I

  
  

  ALSO IN THIS EPISODE:
  	Landscaping: Introduction
  	Landscaping: Decks, Hardscaping and Planning
  	Landscaping: Patios, Driveways and Walkways
  	Landscaping: Retaining Walls