Category Archives: Landscaping Tips and Helpful Guides

Choosing the Right Landscape Contractor for your Retaining Wall

Retaining walls serve a purpose as well as can be an aesthetically pleasing addition to a landscape.  There are retaining wall systems that hold earth and freestanding walls to define outdoor living areas or border shrub/flower beds.
When deciding on a contractor for your retaining wall project, there are many things to consider.  A good place to start is making sure they are a legitimate company.  A reputable contractor will have no problem getting the following information to you. If the contractor cannot provide these items, you may need to keep looking.
  • Business License 
  • Bond (if required by city)
  • Insurance-a certificate of insurance will be sent directly from the contractor’s agent (general liability, workers comp, etc.)
  • Permit for Project (if needed-depending on code for your city/county)
  • Engineer Design (if needed-depending on code for your city/county-normally when wall is over 4ft. in height).  Engineer Designs are being required by most cities and counties around the CSRA area for walls over 4′ tall.  If a contractor doesn’t know this, then they probably should not be doing the wall.
  • Location of Utility Services (to ensure the safety of underground utilities-occurs several days before project begins)

  • A GSWCC (Georgia Soil & Water Conservation Commission) certification is required as well as a NCMA(National Concrete Masonry Association) Segmental Retaining Wall Installer certification is required to build or pull a permit for walls over 4′ tall in Columbia County, GA.

That is a lot to consider when you were first only thinking about getting the work done. Now throw on all the qualifications that landscaping contractors need to have in order to work, that can lead to an overwhelming experience.  Unfortunately we witness nightmare stories with retaining walls failing due to improper installation on a constant basis.
We at Between the Edges, can provide you with all the needed bonds, insurance, permits, etc. to make your decision, an easy one. Just tell us your visions  and let our team do the rest. You will be worry free knowing your project is in good hands. So sit back, give us a call, and let the landscaping begin!
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Two tier retaining wall with steps. This project was done during the off season.

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This was a single tier retaining wall with added steps.

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A patio and retaining wall combo for this home owner.

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Another retaining wall installed to enable a patio area.

Any landscaping and retaining walls can be done year round due to our mild climate.  Call us today for an estimate!

 

Erosion woes? A retaining wall may be the answer!

It has been a wet season so far. All of this rain is causing drainage and erosion issues for homeowners all over the CSRA.  Standing water can be seen in all types of yards.  Building a retaining wall with French drains may be the solution you are looking for.

Sure, retaining walls look like modest arranged stone or block. But in fact, they’re carefully designed systems that have a continual battle with gravity.  They confine tons of saturated soil that would otherwise fall and slide away from a foundation or damage the surrounding landscape. These attractive barriers also make more inviting spots to gather.  Retaining walls can also increase functioning yard space by terracing sloped properties.

There are a few different scenarios that need a retaining wall to fix the problem like: Along sloped landscapes where water runoff causes hillside erosion, spots downhill from soil fault lines and where the downhill side of a foundation is losing supporting soil or its uphill side is under pressure from sliding soil.

If your property needs a retaining wall, or if the one you have is failing, give Between the Edges a call. We can get a wide variety of blocks to build the perfect wall for your property. Check out Pavestone for different block options.

Life Began In A Garden

magical garden Landscaping refers to any activity that transforms the visible features of an area of land.  Creating a beautiful environment is an art.  It is an art that we, at Between the Edges, strive to achieve with every property we work on. “Life is like a landscape. You live in the midst of it but can describe it only from the vantage point of distance.” Charles Lindbergh

Nature is magical. Flowers, plants, and trees can create an environment that lets your soul fly free through the open air.  When I was a child, my family’s backyard was my sanctuary.  My imagination soared through the trees.  I was an adventurer out to explore new lands with new possibilities. That is what landscaping does.  It takes you to a world all your own where you can relax and enjoy the fresh air.

“A garden should make you feel you’ve entered privileged space — a place not just set apart but reverberant — and it seems to me that, to achieve this, the gardener must put some kind of twist on the existing landscape, turn its prose into something nearer poetry.” Michael Pollan, Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education

We want your yard to be a haven, your get away, your paradise. Life began in a garden. Let us bring the garden back to you.