Do you have any retaining walls around your house? Retaining walls are a necessary asset for many homes. These walls help to improve the drainage efficiency of your yard, which prevents water from pooling in specific areas, thereby preventing water damage to your lawn. These walls won’t do you any good, however, unless you’re taking good care of them. To keep your retaining walls in great shape, here are maintenance tips for you to follow.

Perform Regular Inspections

Inspections of your walls allow you to detect problems early on. This way, problems such as shifts, cracks, and gaps can be addressed before they grow and cause additional damage. When the damage is substantial enough, professional help may be needed to get your walls repaired.

Make Sure There’s Proper Drainage

Retaining walls are designed to allow for proper drainage throughout your yard. To keep drainage going strong, there are certain things to check. First, make sure weep holes are clear. If these holes are blocked, water can build up within them, causing pressure in your retaining walls that can cause structural damage.

You also want to look at your drainage pipes (if your walls have them). These pipes must be clear and functional. If they get clogged, water can collect behind the wall, resulting in your wall shifting, bulging, or cracking.

Keep Soil Behind Your Retaining Walls

As time passes, the soil behind your retaining walls could start settling. This means that your walls could start experiencing uneven pressure, causing gaps to form in them. That’s why the soil level behind your walls needs to be steady and even so that pressure is distributed appropriately throughout them.

Maintain Vegetation Around Your Retaining Walls

If there are any plants or bushes around your walls, you need to keep on top of maintaining them. Otherwise, they’ll start to grow too closely to the walls. Vegetation can trap moisture that would otherwise be able to escape through your walls. This means you’re more likely to encounter rot, decay, and mold growth.

Contact Sposato Landscape

For over 25 years, Sposato Landscaping has been beautifying and nurturing countless landscapes throughout the Delmarva area. We offer many services, including landscape design, installations, residential maintenance, hardscape, commercial maintenance, and turf nutrient management.

Visit our website to see what we can do for you, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, and YouTube.