When you’re considering making improvements to your home, improving the outdoors can make a big difference in both your enjoyment as well as curb appeal. If you have a sloped lot, however, it can be difficult to really enjoy your home’s outdoor space. One option is adding retaining walls, which allow you to reduce the slope of your lot without having to worry about erosion issues. But how do they work to improve your property? Let’s find out.
Retaining Walls in Kansas City
From the rolling hills around Kansas City to the bluffs near Overland Park, most of our region is built on slopes. Some of them are gradual, while others are fairly sharp. Retaining wall construction allows you to cut into some of the lower parts of these slopes, put in a retaining wall, and in many cases, move the excess soil behind the retaining wall, providing you with a single or series of terraces on top of the retaining wall. This flattens out your property and makes it easier for you to enjoy your outdoor living spaces.
Structure Options
When it comes to retaining walls Kansas City property owners have a range of options available to create a beautiful, dynamic design. Sharp slopes allow for a series of retaining walls with terraces just a few feet wide providing a great space for landscaping with perennial plants, bulbs, and similar greenery. Gentle slopes allow you to create a single terrace or two, where you can add greenery, a patio, railings, water elements, and much more. The most common options include a range of stacked blocks, from a simple standard curved block to a range of tumbled blocks that provide more texture and class to your home’s exterior.
How Retaining Walls Work
Retaining walls work by allowing you to control water flow direction and speed over your property. By flattening out the slopes, you’re able to slow down the flow of the water, reducing the risk of erosion and allowing precious water to soak into your landscaping, rather than running off just for you to have to water your lawn later in the week when it dries out. The way that the retaining wall is designed can help carry water away from your home’s foundation, reducing the risk of basement flooding. They can serve as both a functional and decorative option for your home’s exterior, providing a beautiful touch that improves your home’s beauty and curb appeal.
Styling and Landscaping
How you choose to decorate your retaining wall’s top is up to you, but we’ve helped clients with creating stone patios on top of retaining walls, add low-maintenance stone between landscaping plants to keep yard work down to a minimum, and mulch around seasonal plants to create the highest level of customization from season to season. You can incorporate stairs into your design, making it easy to change between levels without having to compromise on your yard’s overall landscape design.
Questions? Contact Pfeifer Landscaping
By understanding how retaining walls work to improve your property, you can implement them in a way that makes sense and allows you to increase usable space in your outdoor living area. When in need of retaining wall contractors, Kansas City property owners turn to Pfeifer Landscaping for the best results. We take the time and care with every project to make sure it has the same level of detail as the first job we completed. Please feel free to reach out today with any questions, for more information or to schedule a consultation and quote for your next retaining wall project.