Bring Nature into Your Backyard!
Background - Why use keystone retaining walls?
One of Mountain Paradise Landscaping’s
projects in Rio Rancho, NM, increased the
usable yard space in a two-acre property.
While the property was large, much of the
yard was not conveniently usable upon exiting
the home in the back yard. Existing grading
of the soil dropped off about seven feet
quickly around parts of the home. Owners
wished to have larger usable property space
around the home upon which they could
install future hardscaping and landscaping
features.
There are a number of choices in retaining walls.
One option for retaining walls is a reinforced standard block wall that includes re-bar and is filled with
concrete. In this particular project with a seven-foot drop, the wall might include a four-foot wide concrete
footer, 12-inch block on the bottom followed by 8-inch block above that then 6-inch bock above that. This block
would have re-bar from the footer to the top and all the block would be filled with concrete. Appropriate
inspections to ensure compliance to engineering specifications and local building codes would be required.
These types of walls are not aesthetically pleasing, are more expensive in this case, and do not easily allow
curved shapes.
In contrast, Keystone retaining walls offer a number of advantages. They are pre-engineered solutions from the
block manufacturer that simplifies installation. They are very aesthetically pleasing, creating beautiful
elevations and views for your property that can include curves with a small turn radius. They are also less
expensive than other options.
Before - Inconvenient yard grading, poor aesthetics
Our client wanted to raise the grade of the lot
around the home to be more convenient and
functional. Their objective was to enjoy the
outdoors with larger patios and other
gathering spaces including fireplaces and
landscaping vegetation near the home.
David at Mountain Paradise Landscaping
worked with the customer to develop a
concept and plans for how much space would
be needed, the costs, and the structure of the
retaining wall. A tiered retaining wall was
desired to allow placement of vegetation or decorative landscaping around the yard in parts of the wall. Final
design increased usable space around the home from about eight to 22 feet.
During - Installing the keystone retaining wall
A first step to this project was preparation of the soil
for the retaining wall base including moving earth and
tamping soil. Keystone blocks used on this project
were about 80 lbs. each.
Because of the height of this wall, about seven feet,
geogrid mesh was used to further strengthen and
stabilize the wall. Geogrid is a synthetic mesh fabric
manufactured specifically to improve earth retention
and stability of the wall as part of the manufacturer’s engineering. This
mesh is laid between layers of the wall and extends back into the dirt,
further holding the wall in place.
After - More usable yard space and a more beautiful elevation
appearance for the property and home
Upon completion of the project our client
had much more usable raw yard space for
enjoyment themselves, and with family and
friends.
Property value was increased not only from
the increase in convenient yard space, but
because of the vast improvement of the
property aesthetics and elevation seen from
all around the home. Curved flowing
shapes in the keystone retaining wall added
uniqueness and beauty to the property. In
addition, the project stabilized the soil around the home from erosion due to natural forces such as heavy rains.
Next step: Our client can now consider hardscaping and landscaping projects to complete their yard!
Blog Article: Keystone retaining walls -
Increasing usable yard space
In this construction project, we increased the usable yard space for a client through the use of keystone retaining walls at the same time
adding beauty to the appearance of the home.
Before: The property had limited useful nearby yard space.
Before: Initial preparation of the job site.
After: Usable yard space around the home is increased.
Bring Nature into Your Backyard!
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