Most of New Jersey resides at less than 500 feet above sea level.  The lowest point is at sea level in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  The mean elevation in New Jersey is 250 feet above sea level. The highest elevation in High Point by Kittatinny Mountain at 1803 feet.   When considering landscaping improvements, a retaining wall will defend your home from the hazards of topography in New Jersey.

Benefits

A retaining wall can be designed to hold a hillside at bay as well as to prevent avalanche from damaging your home.  The top benefit is reducing soil erosion.  Retaining walls built on hillsides can be built into furrows or terraces that can host gardens and landscaping.  Defining flower beds with a small retaining wall will let you mix in highly enriched soil for planting and perennials will flourish.

Flood control

Down the shore in New Jersey, retaining walls are used for flood control.  Areas around Somerset, Bound Brook, and Princeton flood every time the rain is over 5 inches.  There are 28,942 properties in Bergen County that have a 26 percent chance of being severely affected by flooding over the next 30 years which is 13 percent of all properties in the county.  Retaining walls are effective for freshwater and saltwater flooding protecting your home and basement from water damage.  Neighbors over watering lawns can cause a waterfall into your yard and soil erosion to threaten your home.  A retaining wall is the most effective barrier between water and your home.

Design

Retaining walls do not have to be slabs of pink concrete like on the Turnpike or bags of grey rock like on the Parkway.  They can be built from Gabion, wood, concrete, boulders, paving stones, bricks, or block.  You can build with concrete block and then add mosaics of tile over the sturdy structure.  Reclaimed railroad ties arranged in a woven pattern gives a rustic farmhouse feeling.  Patterned walls resemble hand-laid stone walls and will require a certain level of detail and craftsmanship to construct.  Some custom fitting of blocks will be required.  A masonry expert will assist you with your design and implement it with professional craftsmanship.

Boundaries

A retaining wall can establish a clear property wall.  Sometimes a simple fence is not enough to stop encroachment into your yard.  If you live in a HOA, building approval will be required before the retaining wall can be installed.

Maintenance

Retaining walls are practically maintenance free once they are installed.  Additionally, they save flash floods from ravishing the landscaping, flooding your basement, and dumping silty soil on your lawn and driveway.  Preserving your property from damage is the best benefit of retaining walls.

Value

The addition of the retaining wall is simple and inexpensive way to add value to your property.  The cheapest type is poured concrete with a price range of $4.30 per square foot.  Interlocking concrete brick runs $5.60 per block, $6.15 for pressure treated pine, and $11.00 for stone.  There will be added costs for installation supplies, drainage stones, filter fabric, and grout.  A retaining wall can add up to 1 percent to a home’s value which is a 100 to 200 percent return on investment.

Contact us

Our masonry and paving experts serve all central and northern New Jersey including Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Passaic, and Union Counties.  Contact us at 908-322-1533.  Address 55 Terrill Road, Plainfield, NJ 07062.  https://junsproservices.com