BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES: Don't Hold Back

Retaining walls serve a necessary function. They hold back soil for something as simple as a landscape bed to something as substantial as a home. But just because retaining walls are utilitarian doesn’t mean they have to look that way. Along with providing structural integrity, retaining walls can serve as an attractive design element in any landscape.
 
Thanks to a wide range of materials and a little creativity, contractors can design unique retaining walls that look as good as they perform. “From a design standpoint, contractors are taking that extra step,” says Nancy Johnson, landscape product manager, Anchor Wall Systems, Minnetonka, Minn. “They’re making retaining walls not just functional, but beautiful.”

NEW FACES. As much as customers want a retaining wall that works properly, they also want it to enhance the appearance of their properties. For many clients, this means retaining walls that look as natural as possible – a look usually achieved by building with stones. But manufacturers of concrete segmental retaining walls are meeting this growing demand by offering products that look less manufactured and more like natural stone.
 
The blocks feature a tumbled, also called antique or weathered, appearance, created by rounding the edges and blending multiple colors. “A few years ago, segmental retaining wall products were available only in gray and tan,” Nancy Johnson says. “Now we can offer at least three different blends, sometimes more than that, to meet local demand.”
 
In addition, the blocks come in multiple shapes and sizes that can interlock to provide a more random, and hence more natural-looking, pattern. “Rather than working with one product that is the same size, contractors can incorporate anywhere from three to six different sized blocks,” says Blaine French, sales manager, Minneapolis-based Keystone Retaining Wall Systems. “The tumbled look in segmental retaining walls is the closest thing you can get to natural stone, but it gives contractors all the advantages of segmental wall technology.”
 
Because of these products, Robb Lied, president of Lied’s Nursery Co., Sussex, Wis., installs more segmental retaining walls than in the past. “They used to look really cold when they were the typical concrete block color,” he says. “Now you can mix the shapes, sizes and colors for a more aesthetically pleasing look.”
 
The tumbled blocks are especially popular in the residential market, says Chad Johnson, national sales representative, Versa-Lok Retaining Wall Systems, Oakdale, Minn. “You see it more in the residential market because those clients are willing to pay more,” he says. “With retail stores wanting 50,000 square feet of wall, they don’t want to add a few more dollars per block. But homeowners may have a 2,000-square-feet wall, so a few more dollars per block isn’t as significant.”
 
The natural appearance and easy interlocking installation of these segmental wall products has ushered in another trend of building freestanding walls for aesthetic purposes. “The tumbled products offer a lot of design flexibility,” says French. “They can be used not only as retaining walls, but to create an aesthetic look with columns and seat walls.”
 
Freestanding sitting walls are a growing trend, especially with residential clients. The walls can be used as a border around a patio, as well as function as additional seating. “Sitting walls made from the prefabricated concrete are very popular right now,” says Chris Thompson, vice president of landscape design at Eastside Nursery, Groveport, Ohio. “People like that extra patio space. Instead of increasing the size of the patio to create more seating, you can build a wall to divide the patio and lawn areas, which also gives people a place to sit.”
 
Nancy Johnson credits the popularity of the front yard courtyard as another reason for the increase in freestanding walls. These courtyards serve as homeowners’ “windows to the world” and are often designed using freestanding walls that incorporate columns and steps.
 
Columns are a great way to make freestanding walls even more attractive. Thompson ties columns into sitting walls for a more formal design. “The columns aren’t functional, but they add character to the patio,” he says. “Depending on the design, sometimes when the wall stops it can look unfinished. The column gives it a nice ending.”
 
Columns, or pillars, can also add a decorative element to other areas of the landscape, such as the end of a driveway – a request Leid often hears from customers. “In the past, those would have to be footed and done in masonry, which made them extremely expensive,” he says. “With some of the segmental units, you can build a freestanding pillar like that for a fraction of the cost.”
 
And when trying to achieve a natural look in a wall, forget about straight lines and angles. “Curves are a big design trend,” Nancy Johnson says, adding contractors include curves on two-thirds or more of their projects, especially when it comes to freestanding walls.
 
“More formal designs use angles and straight lines, but customers like curves because they give a more natural look,” Thompson says. “In my opinion, it also makes the wall a little more inviting.”

OTHER BUILDING BLOCKS. When it comes to construction materials, contractors have several options beyond concrete segmental retaining walls. When selecting materials, contractors should stick to what they’re comfortable with, and then use what best matches customer preferences and retainage requirements, as well as what fits the landscape.
 
It’s difficult to argue the popularity of segmental retaining walls, especially the tumbled products. But despite the stone-like appearance the stressed concrete products offer, some customers still want the real thing.
 
Thompson builds retaining walls made of landscape timbers, natural stone and segmental block units. He estimates about 50 percent of the retaining walls he builds are natural stone, 40 percent are concrete and 10 percent are timber. He says natural stone is most popular with residential customers. “A lot of homeowners have stone on their houses and they want something that reflects it in their landscapes,” he says.
 
Although a large portion of Leid’s builds retaining walls with segmental blocks, he also still sees a strong desire for walls made of natural stone such as lannonstone and fieldstone. This is especially true for lannonstone. “We work in an area with a lot of lannonstone, so there is still a lot of that stone used for walls,” he says.
 
Yet some customers still prefer the look of timber retaining walls. Although he does build some timber walls, Thompson says the material isn’t as popular as it was in the past. This is partially due to timber’s shorter life span compared with other materials. “Timbers rot after 10 to 15 years and are going to need to be replaced, whereas the concrete manufactured blocks are pretty much permanent,” he says.
 
In addition to customer preferences, sometimes the choice of material depends on what the wall will be retaining. “When we have minimal retainage, or a wall less than 3 feet high, we can go with natural stone,” Thompson says. But if the retaining wall is higher than 3 feet, he will push more of the concrete segmental units to customers. Because the product is interlocking, he says it offers more security. “The liability on natural walls is a little higher,” he explains.
 
Sometimes the material choice is dictated by the natural surroundings. Working in the mountains of North Carolina, retaining walls are an integral part of any landscape for John Thelen, vice president, Landmark Landscapes, Arden, N.C. “Here in the mountains, there is a much higher need for retaining walls,” he says.
 
Thelen designs his retaining walls to match the beauty of the natural landscape, which is why he uses boulders from his area. “We have a tremendous amount of landscape boulders available to us so we use them for our retaining walls,” he says, adding the boulders range in size from that of a watermelon to that of a car. “You get the structure with the gravity wall and the face is all stone. Using the boulders speaks of the mountains. We use elements from the native landscape, so it evokes a sense of place and fits in with the natural surroundings.”

COST CONSIDERATIONS. Retaining wall installation can be a profitable service for any landscape contractor, with most contractors striving for about a 35 to 40 percent gross profit margin, according to Chad Johnson.
 
Even better news is retaining wall installation shows no signs of a slowing down. “A majority of the contractors we talk to forecast that their business in retaining walls will keep increasing, rather than stay the same or decrease,” Nancy Johnson says.
 
But to make money on retaining wall installation, contractors must price the job properly. This means correctly estimating labor and material costs, which can be tricky.
 
One of the biggest factors when estimating how long an installation will take is site accessibility. It’s also something contractors new to retaining walls overlook. For example, say a homeowner wants a 100-foot linear wall with no special design elements. “That might typically cost $16 to $20 per square feet to install, so that’s what contractors will quote,” Chad Johnson says. “But they don’t consider if the site is accessible to their machinery. Will the crew have to carry blocks to the wall site? If so, that will make the job longer, which adds cost.”
 
Many concrete segmental retaining walls are installed for $20 to $30 per square foot, he says. But this pricing varies on local competition and what part of the country a contractor is located. “I’ve seen commercial contractors in Texas install walls for $13 to $15 per square foot,” he says. “I’ve seen contractors dealing in high-end residential on the East Coast charge $25 to $40 per square foot.”
 
When pricing segmental retaining walls and estimating material costs, contractors should remember to include all the blocks in segmental retaining walls. “Many times, contractors will forget about block below grade, or buried block,” says French.
 
Thompson charges from $15 to $45 per square foot, depending on whether the wall is timber, concrete or natural stone. “If you’re doing a large retaining wall, natural stone is usually a little more expensive,” he says. “If you’re just doing a small wall to accent a landscape bed, natural stone is usually less expensive.”
 
Thelen prices his boulder retaining walls on tonnage, rather than square footage. He charges about $190 to $250 per ton, depending on the wall’s size. His crew typically consists of two members – one person operating an excavator with a claw while another stays on the ground. “Generally, they can do about 1 ton per hour per man,” he says.
 
When selling retaining walls, contractors should be aware of upgrading opportunities – such as curves, steps, lights and columns. These creative touches add profit to jobs, as well as help clients achieve the intended look. Keep in mind clients only buy one to two retaining walls in their lives, so it’s likely they are unaware of the available new products.
 
The increased trend in freestanding walls also offers an opportunity for contractors to add profit on patio installations.
 
“When homeowners are breaking up their concrete patios and putting in pavers, contractors can offer to add a freestanding wall,” Nancy Johnson says. “It’s a great opportunity for contractors because they’re already there putting in the base. Edging the patio with a freestanding wall makes a nice package for the homeowner and it’s profitable for the contractor.”