Survey: What’s Behind Walls?

Anchor Wall Systems’ retaining wall survey gives contractors valuable information to help grow their sales.

Bob West

Published May 07, 2003

Fla
According to a recent Lawn & Landscape survey, more than 51 percent of landscape contractors install retaining walls or hardscapes.

Retaining wall installations challenge many contractors, thanks largely to the complexity of installing many walls. But that hasn’t stopped a lot of landscape firms from building their business around these structures.

To learn more about what architects, engineers, contractors and consumers think about retaining walls, Anchor Wall Systems surveyed this group recently.
Key findings of the research included:

  • Aesthetics are important. Across all audiences, the issue of functional vs. decorative retaining wall projects is gaining more popularity for decorative purposes, according to the company. Color of the block is a major consideration to both consumers and architects. In fact, nearly half of the consumers who have recently installed a wall consider it to be more decorative than functional.

  • Block selection hinges on color, cost and installation. Although different audiences have different priorities regarding which blocks they use for a wall, some common themes emerged from the research. Cost, color and ease-of-installation were important to all groups. Engineers value cost the most, followed by aesthetics, grading and soil retention. Durability matters most to architects, followed by cost and aesthetics, while contractors look for quality of product and ease of installation. And consumers said price ranks No. 3 on their list, after the landscape contractor’s recommendation and block color.

    • According to Lawn & Landscape magazine’s most recent readership survey, more than 51 percent of landscape contractors install retaining walls or hardscapes, which means nearly half of the industry can look at this service as a possible new service offering. A lack of knowledge/experience is clearly one obstacle keeping many companies from offering this service.

    Nearly 30 percent of the landscape architects and engineers surveyed admitted they aren’t very knowledgeable about retaining wall blocks and their use, while nearly 60 percent of the surveyed contractors said they’d like more information on installation techniques.

    Hardscaping Hints

    For more information about retaining walls and other hardscape features, check the following links:

    Information gathered via Anchor Wall’s survey should help contractors sell more walls. For example, approximately 76 percent of the survey respondents said that installing a retaining wall increased the value of their property. And, despite the complexity of installing a retaining wall, the sales process doesn’t have to be a lengthy one. More than 70 percent of survey respondents said they spent less than three months planning their project.

    “In an organization such as ours with multiple distribution layers, it’s critical to understand the needs and nuances of each level,” noted Lynn Barnhart, Anchor Wall’s landscape market manager. “We invested in a substantial, multi-faceted research endeavor to ensure that we understand each of our critical audiences. Now, we’re using the information to help our trade channels improve their businesses and our consumer audiences enhance their experience with our products.”

    The author is Editor/Publisher of Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at bwest@lawnandlandscape.com.

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