Retaining walls work for commercial or residential properties and are useful for a variety of purposes: Creating extra privacy, a back rest for built-in seating, a means of holding back soil on a sloped property or border for the perimeter of a designated space or outdoor garden.
Do-it-yourself projects are gaining popularity with sites like Pinterest and Youtube helping guide people along the way. Regardless of how “handy” you may think you are, retaining walls can be a little complicated depending on your outdoor space, so it’s necessary to keep a few things in mind when it comes to the planning and execution of your project.
The experts at Island Block & Masonry Supply can help you pick out products and answer any question you may have while planning your products, and of course as you carry those plans out. We help people throughout the tri-state area remodel their outdoor space in a way that suits their needs. Let us help you enhance your property by visiting our showroom and letting us help you pick out products.
Continued from our last blog are some things to remember when working on a retaining wall for your residential space.
Determining type and amount of product
There’s an easy formula to most accurately estimate how many paving stones you will need.
To pre-plan the amount of paving stones that need to be ordered per row, divide the total length of the retaining wall by the length of the block. Now, you must determine the number of rows your project requires. To find out, divide the ideal wall height by the height of the block. Remember, you must account for the first row to be partially buried in the ground below.
You can calculate how many blocks you may need, but you never know what can happen when you get started. It’s smart to figure in an amount of 10% extra paving stones than you estimated. Keep extras as replacements for repairs in the future, and be aware there may be some breakage, or you may have to cut some to fix precise angles of your project.
