Of course, you should choose your building material based on the purpose of the new wall. For example, a retaining wall has a much different job than a border wall. While wood can definitely serve as a retaining wall, its lifespan will be considerably shorter than that of concrete. However, concrete is not without its own issues.
In construction, concrete tends to have a bad reputation in the public eye. Consider the terms, “concrete jungle,” or “concrete desert.” Neither term brings up pleasant imagery. Concrete is often looked at as a necessary evil, used in cheap drab construction or when there is no concern for aesthetics. Nothing could be farther from the truth, however.
It is true that standard concrete is utilitarian in both look and function. But behind that grey exterior lies some tremendous versatility and value. Its high compressive strength makes it ideal for use in creating footers for foundations, walls, and flooring. Concrete is able to be formed into nearly any shape imaginable when it comes to walls, making it ideal for a precast concrete forming wall structure. Additionally, concrete is easily recovered and recycled. In some instances, the concrete can be crushed and left in place to serve as a base layer for asphalt pavement or even repurposed as a revetment to control erosion.
However, while concrete may have a general public relations problem, architects and builders have been embracing concrete for years, recognizing not only its usefulness but also the beauty of its clean lines and the possibilities of using forms. Because concrete is nearly liquid, forms can be built that allows concrete to take nearly any shape. Take Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the most iconic architects of the 20th century. In designing the Guggenheim, he used 7,000 cubic feet of concrete to form the iconic outer shell. The 1939 home, Falling Water, uses reinforced concrete trays to support the unique and daring cantilevered design.
Concrete is an amazing choice for building walls at your residential or business complex. Here are three ways that you can use them to increase both the overall aesthetic and value of your property.
1. Path Borders
Low walls that line a walkway can serve a dual purpose. They will not only provide residents or workers with clear level pathways to travel, they will also protect landscaping from casual damage. Depending on the style, they can also use the top of the wall as a bench.
This attractive feature can use a concrete slab base or even concrete blocks that have been dyed or stamped to replicate the look of brick, but at a fraction of the installation cost.
2. Retaining Walls
A retaining wall is used to hold back earth or water, usually created and placed during a landscaping change. They can be used to create artificial elevations to create a
terraced appearance for a slope, or used if a structure needs to be built on a slope. The retaining wall can be used to create any flat surface on a slope, whether it’s a patio or a walkway.
Care has to be taken when installing a retaining wall to ensure that there is enough flexibility for them to shift, especially in climates with a freeze/thaw cycle. This cycle can cause the ground to shift, and that shifting can cause cracking and damage in a wall that is made of one solid cast. Using sections relieves the torsional stress on the wall.
3. Privacy and Noise Reduction
Another use of concrete walls for businesses and residential complexes are privacy barriers. These can work to reduce visibility from neighboring streets and can also be designed to reduce noise. This baffling type of system is helpful if the buildings are located near a highway or other source of industrial noise. The walls are usually precast and installed in sections with metal or rebar-reinforced concrete posts in between.
These types of walls can block sound and sight both ways as well, making them useful if a business has a machine shop or other source of noise. These baffles allow the shop to be run full-time without having to worry too much about noise pollution effects on neighboring businesses and residences.
This is a featured post by site sponsor Jane Brown.
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Photo credit: Giovanni Calia/Unsplash