Importance of Retaining Walls to Structural Support

While constructed and designed primarily to withstand the soil’s lateral pressure or hold back the material, another advantage retaining walls have in construction is enhancing structural integrity. So even if they’re not necessarily the central part of a project or building, they can still indirectly promote more stability to the structure. In this article, we’ll cover the importance of these structures in providing support. Continue reading if you want to learn more.

Prevents soil erosion

One of the significant risks that many structures face, despite the landscape’s nature or climate, is soil erosion. After all, a building must be firmly anchored to the ground to ensure that every building has the structural support required. With retaining walls, you’ll be able to maintain the land’s integrity since soil erosion will be prevented. This is especially important for properties constructed on bare grounds and lacking vegetation coverage.

Soil erosion can potentially weaken a building’s structural members as it exposes its foundation. Concrete retaining wall construction can minimise, if not mitigate, any structural failure risks and ensure that the foundation remains strong. Beyond keeping soil from eroding, retaining walls can also prevent flooding. They can control the surface runoff and keep it from going too fast.

Creates flat areas

Anyone in the construction industry understands flat areas are more useful and easier to work with than steep slopes. Thankfully, while the latter can’t always be avoided, turning them into the desired flat surfaces with retaining walls is possible. The structures are generally ideal when it comes to grounds that are hard to deal with, enabling property construction that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible.

Using retaining walls can also allow you to achieve more stable structures on lands that may have grading issues. Moreover, they can do so at much lower costs compared to alternatives. When you get down to it, it’s not easy to deal with sloped areas. Usually, it involves a considerable amount of time and effort in landscaping and digging to transform them into functional spaces. By constructing retaining walls, you’ll essentially eliminate the slope/hill part to make it possible to erect stable foundations.

Improves drainage sites

Beyond the creation of flat surface areas and prevention of soil erosion, retaining walls are useful in providing drainage around structures. As you may very well know, draining is crucial because it channels the runoff water into the designated area to prevent any instances of flooding. Perhaps the greatest enemy of a building’s structural members is water because it can saturate the wood, forcing it to rot and collapse.

In addition, water can potentially blast apart foundations made of poured concrete and rock if it’s strong enough. It can also corrode any steel elements within the structure with long-term exposure. With retaining walls, you can direct water around your property instead of on it and avoid these problems.

Conclusion

Retaining walls serve functions beyond visual enhancement. When used correctly, they can provide the structural strength that your project needs, giving you peace of mind that the structure will remain strong for years to come.