It is never a pleasant experience when retaining walls fail. The mess that’s created is often expensive to clean up, and a hassle to repair. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of concrete, and these tips will help you inspect your retaining walls so that you can prevent failures from occurring.
Source: Triad Associates Inc.
You should inspect your retaining wall every 6 months. Inspect it more frequently if there have been heavy rains or snowfalls. You’ll want to look for signs of leakage like puddles along the wall, mini-waterfalls or water stains, visible cracks, bulging, and sinking.
If you discover problems, contact a contractor immediately to conduct repairs. The longer you wait, the harder and costlier the repairs will become. Finally, if you have vegetation on or near your wall, be sure that it is not interfering with or causing damage to the wall. If it is, you are well advised to remove it before any further damage can take place.
For more information on how to inspect your retaining walls for signs of damage or failure, contact Triad Associates, Inc.
