Before we get into detail on how to build strong retaining walls we first need to be clear on what retaining walls are. A retaining wall is a wall that is built to retain or hold sloping ground and is normally used as a means of preventing soil erosion on slops. The wall should be strong enough to withstand the lateral pressure that is exerted by sloping soil.

Most people think that building a retaining wall is similar to building a normal wall, but it is not at all. Retraining walls are built in a way that enables pressure from the sloping ground to be subdued. The wall should be built in a design of that of a structure that can redistribute pressure exerted by soil. The retaining wall may include seepage holes that allow water to drain through whilst preventing a build-up in pressure.

There are quite a number of materials that can be used in building retaining walls, these may include; concrete and stone, wall blocks and wall bricks with cement. Usually the blocks and bricks that are used for building these walls are specifically designed for that purpose. The fit-in-blocks are very much easy to use as they can interlock without the use of mortar.

One of the designs that are common is that of the steps, it is comprised of steps that ascend to the top end of the slop. This type of design is known to be effective when it comes to reducing soil erosion. Instead of having plain steps you can have steps of flower beds, these will add beauty to your garden space. The steps evenly distribute the pressure exerted by the slop amongst each of them and presenting maximum protection against soil erosion.

These types of walls make use of their mass in holding back the pressure exerted by the soil. These types of walls are further strengthened by sloping down on either side. If the walls are short you may design these using structures without mortar and using stones or blocks.

These are made from concrete slabs that are reinforced internally by steel roads and bars. The wall has lateral beams that rest on a strong footing base that goes on to withstand pressure from the top. The beams and footing mechanism allow the horizontal pressure exerted by the soil to be converted into vertical pressure that is then subdued by the footing.

These types or restraint walls are for soft soils only. The walls are made from wood planks or steel. The material is driven into the bottom of the ground from the top end of the slop so as to withstand pressure while distributing it to the ground. The wall may consist of 1/3 of the material above ground and another 2/3 of the material below the ground.

There are many other types of designs for the retraining walls, but one needs to understand that there is a lot of physics involved in the designing of these structures. The structures are designed in a way that allows them to evenly distribute pressure amongst the wall components whilst retaining pressure from the slop. If you are building a retaining wall in your garden, you may want to first carry out some research on the different types of retaining walls for home and garden spaces.