New York Retaining Wall

New York retaining walls are one of the critical pieces of the city's infrastructure. The primary function of New York retaining walls is to prevent soil erosion that would eventually cause skyscrapers and any number of buildings to crumble into the East and Hudson Rivers. Yet, New York property owners can have their own residential need and use for retaining walls. Sloping lawns can quickly lose rich topsoil or, with a retaining wall, these lawns sculpted into a number of different, visually appealing contours.

Types of New York Retaining Walls

Masonry Retaining Walls: This traditional retaining wall uses stone or brick and mortar to create its structure. They are also generally received as more visually pleasing than the alternatives. The drawback is that you'll need to hire a highly-skilled masonry contractor, making them more expensive.

Poured Concrete Walls: This method involves pouring concrete into a mold to create a retaining wall. Still functional and strong like a masonry wall, they lack the classic look and beauty of stone and mortar. They are the middle option in terms of cost.

Dry Stone Walls: Essentially decorative, these walls involve little more than stacking stones on top of one another. You may still want to hire a landscaping contractor, especially if you're dealing with heavier stones. A professional landscaper may also have a sharper eye when stacking the stones, leading to a better-looking wall.

New York Landscaping Walls
As you can see from this list, true, masonry retaining walls are just one type of New York landscaping wall. Whether functional or decorative by design, any wall should add something to your home's landscaping. For smaller properties, New York landscaping walls are even great alternatives to perimeter fencing. If this is cost-prohibitive, you can also opt to use stone pillar walls as fence posts for your metal, perimeter fencing. Indeed, a retaining wall/wrought iron fence combination is one of the most classic and beautiful landscaping features out there.

Perhaps the most common residential retaining wall is built for driveways that lead to a sub-grade garage. Not only does this wall hold back the soil, but it can allow you to do a number of different things with the surrounding lawn, such as cultivating a garden that uses the retaining wall as a defining structure, also known as "garden bones." Both retaining walls and other landscaping walls in New York can work as the backdrop for a backyard pond and waterfall, or as a beautiful frame for an in-ground pool.

Cost to Build a Retaining Wall in New York
The average cost of building a traditional, masonry retaining wall in New York is about $5,000, while a comparable poured concrete wall might run about $3,500. Of course, these numbers may not mean much to you, depending on the size and design of your wall. Larger, curved retaining walls can easily top the $10,000 mark, while smaller projects can stay within a couple thousand dollars or less, even with masonry construction. The cost of dry-stone walls hinges mostly on the cost of the stone you choose, which can naturally vary quite a bit. The great thing about these options is that it allows homeowners to match their landscaping needs and home improvement budget to the design of their retaining wall.

New York Retaining Wall Contractors
No matter what type of retaining wall you're considering, you should solicit multiple estimates from the most reliable contractors in the business. We put each and every contractor through a rigorous ten-step screening process, whether it's a masonry contractor, concrete supplier, or landscaping company. Our online customer ratings and reviews section will allow you to see what other New York homeowners have thought about individual contractors and various retaining wall projects in general. These reviews also provide a powerful incentive for contractors to meet and exceed your expectations.

Be sure to discuss with contractors the pros and cons of various residential, landscaping walls. Tell the contractor what your landscaping priorities are and what your budget might look like. Often, the right answer and wall design will jump to the table with this information and a brief discussion.

Rate This Article

OVERALL RATING Be first to rate this article!

YOUR RATING

Saving Rating...

Log-in to save your ratings!

Recommend This Article

Digg
Reddit
Del.icio.us

ServiceMagic Articles To-Go