Which Do You Think Is Better? Brick or Concrete Retaining Wall?
Question:The Wife & I are planning on building a 5-8 foot wall (50 Ft wide) at the base of a hill on our lawn in order to make it level ground (after filling in behind the wall.) We were originally thinking brick because I personally think It would look nicer. However I was told it would be quite expensive and should possibly look into concrete (possibly colored and stamped.) What are the advantages/disadvantages to both methods and what would you do?
Here is what the lawn looks like:
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Answers:
Water is more likely to get into the bricks, washing out the sand from behind it. Or freezing and cracking the joints between the bricks. If there is a lot of rainfall, or harsh winters in your area, go with solid concrete.
Stamped concrete is very expensive. If you can do the work yourself I would look into DIY or HGTV websites. They give great step by step instruction.
The most important factor in retaining wall design is drainage behind the wall. You need to provide an easy way for soil water and rain water to escape from behind the wall, or the wall will be pushed outward, especially during the winter. So, behind whatever kind of wall you build, you should place clean gravel or clean crushed stone, not dirt. Also, put in a drain pipe (the plastic kind with little holes) that outlets through the bottom of the wall every so often, to carry water away from the backfill.
If you have good drainage, the wall material is secondary.
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