Deciding to build a granny flat is simple, designing and building the extension can be a lot harder. You'll have a lot of questions to answer along the way. Can you use a general contractor or is is better to use one who has built a lot of granny flats before? Is a template design better than a customised one? Should you let the person who'll live in the flat have a say in what it looks like? Luckily, I'm here to help. My name is Maria. We moved my Mum into a purpose-built granny flat last year, so I've had to answer all these questions and more. I thought it'd be useful for other people to see how we managed the process, so here we are — get reading!
Does your property need a retaining wall?
Do you want to landscape your property? Maybe you want to reshape some of the elevations on the land to add a flat lawn area? Perhaps, you run a farm and want to make better use of the available space by adjusting the landscape? Alternatively, maybe you like the landscape as it is, but your land has started to suffer from landslips as the ground has become unstable? Coping with the natural environment isn't always easy, but there is a way to ensure that you can keep the land as you need it, without large amounts of earth, water or sand sliding where they are not wanted and causing damage. By installing a retaining wall, you can hold the material in the desired location and get the most out of your property.
What is a retaining wall?
If you are unfamiliar with the idea behind a retaining wall, you may be wondering what makes a retaining wall different from every other type of wall. There are various retaining walls, but what separates them from all other walls is their lateral strength. Conventional walls act as dividers between properties, not to hold back solid material. If you attempted to use a standard wall as a retaining wall, it would be quickly swept away by the force of the material, creating more of a mess or erosion than the material on its own would have done.
What does a retaining wall look like?
There are many styles of retaining walls. You could opt for a retaining wall made of concrete, stone or masonry. Alternatively, you might need to think about a Gabion retaining wall that uses a frame filled with many small stones or rocks. All of these are gravity retaining walls and might be a good solution for your situation. Your chosen engineer will be able to examine your land and determine the most appropriate wall for your land.
A gravity retaining wall relies on the overall weight of the wall to resist the sliding lateral pressure of the material they are holding back. Their reliance on gravity can make retaining walls too large for some locations. If a gravity retaining wall won't work on your property, there are several other types of retaining walls that your engineer could suggest. They could talk about the advantages of an anchored wall or a cantilever wall for your property.
To learn more about the specific options that would suit your property, ask your engineer to examine your site and make recommendations.