Retaining Wall Builders in Denver, CO

Denver Retaining Walls

You won't find many retaining walls of any kind East of Limon, but that goes without saying. Here in the Denver metropolitan area, however, retaining walls are as commonplace as SUVs and Broncos bumper stickers. While Denver doesn't have the population and building density, or the heavy precipitation, that makes retaining walls a necessity in many Eastern cities like Boston, it does have a rolling geography that inspires many homeowners to utilize retaining walls to make the most of steep Front Range yards and lots.

Landscaping
Probably the most popular reason to build a retaining wall in Denver is to increase usable yard space, and to add to the overall landscape design of your yard. Prime spots for new homes, especially as the Front Range continues to grow and expand, sit on high ground for obvious reasons. It's the only way to ensure that the house behind you isn't going to block your view of Longs Peak and the rest of the Divide. The downside of sitting on top of a hill is that it sometimes leaves you with nothing more than a significant drop-off when you step out of the back door. The solution in the Mile High City has been to terrace those steep hills with a Denver retaining wall, leveling out yard areas that can then be enjoyed by everyone from your kids on a Saturday afternoon to the guests of your annual Fourth of July barbecue.

Do You Need a Contractor?
The type of retaining walls mentioned above can be pretty substantial undertakings, and you'll probably want to hire a contractor or landscaper experienced in building retaining walls to come to do major jobs for you. The bigger a project gets, the more you have to consider your wall's ability to hold back the soil and rock piled up behind it. That means solidifying and fortifying foundations, making sure you use the right building materials and procedures, and acquiring the proper building permits. Unfortunately, accurately determining those factors and making the right calculations is beyond the expertise of most average Denverites.

Building a Smaller Wall
Of course, we don't all live in mini-mansions out in the suburbs. For the rest of Denver, much smaller retaining walls are usually used in landscaping to create some depth and perspective in gardens and landscaping. When it comes to the aesthetic Denver retaining wall, you just need to ask yourself how many weekends you have free, and if your back is in good enough shape to do it on your own. Unmortared rock and interlocking concrete landscaping stones are the most popular materials for these smaller projects, and are well within the grasp of a determined homeowner. Keep in mind, however, that any professional landscaper would be more than happy to design your Denver retaining wall and do the grunt work of building it for you if the project sounds like it's a little out of your league, or liking, to tackle.

Resources for Building a Retaining Wall
If building a Denver retaining wall is in your future, plan ahead before you start your project. If you're a do-it-yourself type of person, get the advice and expertise of a landscape designer before you start so you get the best results possible when it comes to beautifying your yard. There are also a wealth of landscaping books and computer software to draw from, and don't hesitate to drive through neighborhoods or visit nurseries to get ideas for how to creatively design your Denver retaining wall and the landscaping that will go along with it. If you've got a larger project in store, either for landscaping reasons or to address more practical concerns, get at least three bids from different contractors to ensure that you get the best design and price possible. Talk to friends and family about professionals they've worked with in the past that they've been happy with, and consider using a referral service like HomeAdvisor to help you narrow down your search even more. A good referral service pre-screens the contractors in their system, usually provides accessible customer ratings on each professional (HomeAdvisor certainly does), and is happy to give you a list of good candidates to choose from, making it that much easier to do your homework when it comes to finding the right person to meet your Denver retaining wall needs.