Wall



Walls are generally solid structures that define and oftentimes protect a certain area. It generally delineates buildings and even supports its superstructure, separating spaces in building into rooms. It also protects and delineates spaces in open air.

Principal Types of Structural Walls

·Exterior boundary walls

·Retaining walls

·Building walls

Building Walls

Their purpose is to support ceilings and roofs. They have 3 or more distinct components. For most buildings under construction these days, they possess structural elements like 2 x 4 studs in house walls; finish elements and insulation properties. They also have surfaces like paneling and drywall. It can also house different types of plumbing or electrical wiring. These electrical outlets are generally mounted on walls.

Oftentimes, building works are features are works of art, whether internally or externally. Good examples are those that feature mosaic works or murals.

Boundary Walls

This type would include privacy walls, city walls and boundary marking walls on properties. They are integrated into fences which possess a nominal thickness and are completely opaque or closed as compared to a typical fence.

Even prior to the invention of the artillery, most European cities already had protective walls. The word “wall" even originated from the Latin word “vallum", a kind of fornication wall. Now that they are longer needed for defense, most of the cities already grew beyond these walls and were later torn down. Good examples are Hadrian’s Wall and the Great Wall of China.

Retaining Walls

Around the world where there are areas of rocky soil, farmers would pull large quantities of stone from their fields so as to make farming even easier. These stones are stacked so that they can become the property boundary, field boundary or even both.

This is a special type of wall that may be part of a building or external to a building, serving as a barrier for the Earth’s movement. You will also notice that the ground water or surface on one side of this retaining wall is higher as compared to the other side. Good examples are a dike, levee, sea wall or load bearing foundation wall.

Building a Retaining Wall

A retaining wall is built to prevent the soil from being lost because of displacement or erosion. When they are built, they can beautify the features of a garden. The types of materials you can use would depend on the site. Good examples are wood, natural stone, mock stone bricks or bricks.

To build a retaining wall, you need the following materials:

·Shovel

·Rake

·Gravel

·Measuring tape

·Hosepipe

·Mortar

·Concrete mix

·Mallet

·String

Steps to Build a Retaining Wall

1.Identify the site where you will put your retaining wall.

2.List your building materials. You can even improvise on what you have in your yard like natural stone. This is cheaper than buying bricks.

3.Clear off your building site from grass, debris or other materials. You can use a rake.

4.Use the measuring tape to measure the wall’s length. The height of your retaining wall should be equal or less than half of its base.

5.Use a piece of string or hosepipe to mark the boundary of your wall.

6.Use a shovel to dig the marked area. IT should have a depth of about 1 foot. Once it’s dug, scrape the loose soil.

7.To prevent water logging issues, spread a uniform layer of gravel.

8.Place and build a layer of bricks or natural stone that are closely fitted. If you’ll use bricks, you need to secure them with a mortar.

9.Align the units on place with a rubber mallet.

10.Fill the holes with gravel if you are using interlocking blocks.

11.Put in additional layers until you reach your desired height.

12.Pour some concrete onto the holes of blocks that are used on the topmost layer. Again, this is only if you’re using interlocking blocks.

13.Place a suitable plant along the retaining wall’s base for further stability of the soil.