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Expert Advice

Expand Retaining Walls Around Driveway

Q: We recently bought a home and need some work done to the driveway. The drive leads to a basement garage. There are retaining walls that run along the entire drive to the garage.

Our problem is that the driveway is too narrow for us to park our cars or safely navigate to and from the garage. We want to widen the drive in order to utilize the garage. I’m confused on what type of contractor to call.

A:

You need an engineer to determine the specifications of the new wall dimensions. You could hire an engineer first, then give his plans to several different contractors to bid

and perform the work. A concrete contractor could probably do the bulk of the work, then you could coordinate the rest yourselves.

Or you can start by contacting some general contractors (or perhaps certain landscaping contractors) to recommend or line up engineers with whom they have experience working. Then they could give you bids to coordinate the entire project, including demolition, excavation preparation, temporary shoring, drainage, driveway/sidewalk work and concrete/Segmented Wall Systems/paint/plaster coat (whatever kind of new retaining walls you want to construct), and landscaping.

It would probably be a good idea to interview several different professionals to decide the best way to tackle your project. To find some reputable professionals, please visit our site at: http://www.servicemagic.com. Enter service request and let us match you with several ideal service professional in your area.

Good luck!

Kathy Maynard