Many times you must have admired a beautifully landscaped terrain, aglow with a rows of flowers and lined with shrubs and terraced to give the feel of expanse. With due respect to the gardeners’ contribution, admirable landscaping rests on appropriate retaining walls that create the desired effects related to terraces, steps, waterfalls, patios, driveways and other special effects. Landscaping is the work of professional contractors specializes in making these to suit all purposes, catering extensively to the needs of the Los Angeles County. Most of the times the role of the retaining walls is to prevent soil erosion and extend the land for designing a nice landscaping.

Block Retaining Wall vs. Concrete Retaining Wall

Retaining Walls have been traditionally made from blocks of stone. In the modern world, the retaining wall blocks are made from concrete; these blocks could be solid or hollow, light or heavy. The purpose of both types of retaining walls remains the same: to prevent soil erosion and to maintain the contours of the land. Retaining wall made from man-made concrete blocks are preferred by many for being custom-made to suit specific design needs, as well as being inexpensive and very durable, offering great strength and making it suitable in most applications. On the other hand, block retaining walls made of stone have been the choice across centuries owing to certain distinct advantages they offer such as:

Walls made of stone are constructed without any mortar or filling; stones are simply stacked, and this gives the wall its name: ‘dry wall’ or the dry stack approach.
The biggest plus point of a dry wall is that it acts as a natural drainage system; water does not accumulate behind these walls; it simply seeps through. As a result, the danger of the wall getting damaged due to water or other weather conditions is negligible. Such damage as does occur is easily repaired. Another advantage is that a ‘footing’ does not need to be sunk beneath the frost line. Lastly, since a Retaining Wall is much like a dam trying to hold the pressure of the soil as well as dealing with soil settling and the destructive heaving and displacement by frost, weight is a critical factor in its design and heavy stone blocks work best.

Retaining wall can add beauty and space to your yard by holding back soil or slopes to regain space and make it usable to landscape. They are strong and durable, and available in different materials. These walls can be freestanding or retaining depending on it purpose and available space.

Retaining wall material options:

  • Standard Block
  • Slump Block
  • Keystone Stacking Block
  • Veneer Stone
  • Natural Veneer Stone
  • Treated Wood

Our construction crews have many years’ experience building different types of retaining walls and understand the local building code requirements. We build these walls to last for years without the need for maintenance.