When building a retaining wall, you can leverage the wide array of materials to create different styles. Mortar-based stone will provide an antique appeal with its rustic qualities, while poured concrete offers contemporary sleekness in look and feel by comparison. Two most common building materials for this kind of structure would be brick and stones like granite cobblestone etc. This article provides detailed information about these two options, so that it might help inspire your creativity when considering which material would work best for the retaining wall you plan to build.
Brick Retaining Walls
Brick is a beautiful material that has an appealing warmth to it. It is perfect for building retaining walls because of its warm look and feel, which will never go out of style.
The beauty of brick is that it can be used in all sorts of places. Whether you are looking for a traditional or modern home, landscaping ideas with this versatile material are limitless.
Advantages of Brick
Brick is easy to maintain. As the material used in building brick retaining walls, brick is a great material as it is low maintenance and does not require much work. Brick retains its colour well, which allows you to forget about painting every few years, if not more often.
Brick is an eco-friendly material. Brick is an earth-friendly and eco-oriented material. It comes from clay, shale, or even recycled materials. Most bricks can be used for other landscaping projects, like building walking paths, for instance. Building with brick means that you’re doing your part in preserving the environment while providing an aesthetically pleasing look too!
Brick is resistant to weather and fire. Brick is a resilient building material that can withstand adverse weather conditions and still look good enough to last for generations. It’s also fireproof, which is why your fireplace is commonly lined with bricks, not of any other materials.
Brick is durable. Structures made of brick can last for a long time, provided the bricks are bonded together well, just like in brick retaining walls. Brick as a material itself is quite durable, however not as durable as stones.
Disadvantages of Brick
Brick is quite costly. By the methods and materials used to make bricks, they can get quite expensive. Among the materials used for building retaining walls, brick is up there near the top in cost category.
Brick has limited colour options. Because it’s made of clay, brick only comes in shades of red, occasional grey, and not much else. Brick has limited colour options as compared to other materials for building retaining walls.
Brick is quite heavy. As a building material that normally is lifted by hand, brick is on the heavy side. Some contractors may charge higher labour costs if they know they’re building brick retaining walls.
Brick is difficult to repair when damaged. In case a brick is damaged and needing replacement, you will find the task hard to do as brick has limited flexibility.
Stone Retaining Walls
Stone is an amazing material for crafting retaining walls. Stones can be customised in so many ways, and you can use either a natural or synthetic stone, which gives you options to play with in order to achieve the look you want for your retaining wall.
Advantages of Stone
Stone is beautiful! Stone is a beautiful material that has been used for centuries as material for building strong structures. With smaller blocks, it becomes possible to explore with different colours and textures in order to find the right kind of traditional setting that fits your style. If used to build stone retaining walls, they’d make your property standout and add value to your home.
Stone has flexibility. Stones have flexibility as they do not need mortar or special connections to build a strong wall, and they can be used in any kind of situation.
Stone is historically and traditionally a great building material. Natural stone has been in use for centuries and still continues to be one of the best materials out there.
Stone is durable. Stone is one of the strongest – if not the strongest – material used for retaining walls. Stone retaining walls can last for several years or even decades!
Disadvantages of Stone
Stone is quite costly. With its natural beauty and strength, stone is regarded as a premier in the world of masonry. No wonder then that it’s expensive.
Stone is terrible at draining trapped water. Drainage can be a serious issue for stone retaining walls.
Stone is heavy. As a building material, stone is quite heavy to handle, which would require more manpower and man-hours during construction.
Stone comes in diverse shapes and sizes. No two stones are exactly the same in size and shape – natural stone, that is. This fact of nature about stone is what makes them both fun and chore to work with.
After having read this far, we assume that you now have a pretty good idea of which material between brick and stone suits your needs. If you’re still having doubts or need more information, check with a landscaper or an expert in retaining walls.