--- title: Should My Retaining Wall Be Curved or Straight? description: There are many different factors to consider when a homeowner is deciding whether they want their wall to be curved or not. image: https://back40landscaping.ca/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Allan-Block-FOCAL-point-retaining-wallgeneral-use-840x675-1-Nov-16-2024-08-13-12-5367-AM.jpg --- 2 Min Read # Should My Retaining Wall Be Curved or Straight? Feb. 01, 2023 If you are a homeowner that is looking for a retaining wall that not only functions as a means to retain the soil on your property, but want something aesthetically pleasing as well you may be wondering if your retaining wall should be curved or straight. If you haven’t met us yet welcome, we are Back 40 Landscaping, and we are expert retaining wall builders. We know a thing or two about designing retaining walls, and have worked with hundreds of happy retaining wall customers. There are many different factors to consider when deciding whether you want your wall to be curved or not. ![Back-40-Landscaping-retaining-walls-1064x7501-28-1](https://back40landscaping.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Back-40-Landscaping-retaining-walls-1064x7501-28-1.jpg?width=960&height=677&name=Back-40-Landscaping-retaining-walls-1064x7501-28-1.jpg) ## The Look That You Prefer For Your Retaining Wall  Probably the thing that will have you determine whether or not your retaining wall is curved or straight the most is the look that you prefer. Some homeowners prefer to have a little bit of a design for their wall, and like the curved look as it really does add an extra touch to the wall. ## What Add On’s Your Retaining Wall Has Curves on a retaining wall can really make your wall stand out, but if you have too many add on’s at a certain point your wall is going to look too “busy”. If your wall has lights, stairs, is multicolored, or has lots of different plants and flowers surrounding it, a straight wall may be the way to go since it looks simple and clean.   ![Cornerstone-retaining-wall-back-yard-1024x722](https://back40landscaping.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Cornerstone-retaining-wall-back-yard-1024x722.jpg?width=960&height=677&name=Cornerstone-retaining-wall-back-yard-1024x722.jpg) ## What Is Going Above Your Retaining Wall Is there a fence going above your retaining wall? What about a shed? If there is any type of “structure” going above your wall it will make more sense to have a straight wall, you do not want your fence to have to match the curve of your wall. Likewise, if you have plants, flowers or a garden going above your wall, the look of those plants can be accentuated by having a curve in the wall. ## The Location of Your Wall Is your wall going to be something that you look at every day from your kitchen window, or is it hidden at the back of your property? A curved wall takes more skill and time to build then a straight wall, so labor and material costs could go up depending on how big your wall is. If this wall is not going to be seen much it might be a better choice to go with a straight one. ![Back-40-Landscaping-retaining-walls-1064x7501-29-1024x722](https://back40landscaping.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Back-40-Landscaping-retaining-walls-1064x7501-29-1024x722.webp?width=960&height=677&name=Back-40-Landscaping-retaining-walls-1064x7501-29-1024x722.webp) ## Curved Retaining Walls Are Stronger Than Straight Retaining Walls Curved retaining walls are stronger than similarly built straight walls. That’s not to say that straight walls aren’t strong enough, just know that a curved wall isn’t weaker, it’s stronger. Knowing curved walls are stronger may not change the design, but it is a good back pocket bit of knowledge when you need to add some extra strength to a wall if your limited in access and can’t otherwise reinforce a wall. An added bonus is when curved walls are not out of place, they look way better than a straight wall. Unfortunately though there is significant extra work on cutting the caps and making them fit good. A normal straight wall doesn’t require any cuts expect for the last cap, where as a curved wall may need two cuts per block. That’s about 5-10 min per cap in total to fit and place them well. Ultimatley, the look that you the homeowner likes will be the deciding factor whether or not you want your retaining wall to be curved or straight.   Tags: [Retaining Walls](https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/tag/retaining-walls) ![back 40 landscaping retaining cost guide in abbotsford, bc (1)](https://back40landscaping.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Foundation%20Images/back%2040%20landscaping%20retaining%20cost%20guide%20in%20abbotsford%2c%20bc%20(1).png?width=400&height=400&name=back%2040%20landscaping%20retaining%20cost%20guide%20in%20abbotsford%2c%20bc%20(1).png) ## Planning Your Project? Get the Cost Insights You Need - Accurate price ranges for popular landscaping services - Tips to help you budget effectively and avoid surprises - Features and materials for your project [Access Your Cost Guide double_arrow ](https://back40landscaping.ca/landscaping-retaining-wall-cost-guide) ## Related Articles [![](https://back40landscaping.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/20120911-expocrete-location-shots-0001-scaled-2.jpg?width=352&name=20120911-expocrete-location-shots-0001-scaled-2.jpg) ](https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/the-best-retaining-wall-product-you-can-get) ### [The Best Retaining Wall Product You Can Get](https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/the-best-retaining-wall-product-you-can-get) [Retaining Walls](https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/tag/retaining-walls) Retaining walls are useful when your outdoor space needs a solid foundation for a slope, or you want to build a raised patio, or garden wall, but if your retaining wall is... [![](https://back40landscaping.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/5-20231213_102727-1-scaled.jpg?width=352&name=5-20231213_102727-1-scaled.jpg) ](https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/gluing-allan-block-retaining-wall-caps-and-blocks) ### [Gluing Allan Block Retaining Wall Caps and Blocks](https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/gluing-allan-block-retaining-wall-caps-and-blocks) [Retaining Walls](https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/tag/retaining-walls) Retaining wall caps not only enhance the structural integrity of a wall but also provide a polished, professional appearance. Proper installation techniques, like cleaning... [![](https://back40landscaping.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/3-20230718_124949-scaled.jpg?width=352&name=3-20230718_124949-scaled.jpg) ](https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/retaining-wall-photos-and-project-details-submitted-to-allan-block-for-quality-control-and-record-keeping) ### [Retaining wall photos and project details submitted to Allan Block for Quality control and record keeping](https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/retaining-wall-photos-and-project-details-submitted-to-allan-block-for-quality-control-and-record-keeping) [Retaining Walls](https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/tag/retaining-walls) At the end of every Allan Block retaining wall project, we take photos of our work, and submit it to Allan Block for quality control, coaching, and record keeping. ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Natasha Maerz", "url" : "https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/author/natasha" }, "dateModified" : "2024-11-21T02:05:31.875Z", "datePublished" : "2023-02-01T23:43:51.000Z", "headline" : "Should My Retaining Wall Be Curved or Straight?", "image" : [ "https://back40landscaping.ca/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Allan-Block-FOCAL-point-retaining-wallgeneral-use-840x675-1-Nov-16-2024-08-13-12-5367-AM.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/retaining-wall-curved-or-straight", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://back40landscaping.ca/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/back-40-landscaping-logo-transparent-3.png" }, "name" : "Back 40 Landscaping" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://back40landscaping.ca/#back40landscaping", "@type" : "LocalBusiness", "address" : { "@type" : "PostalAddress", "addressCountry" : "CA", "addressLocality" : "Abbotsford", "addressRegion" : "BC", "postalCode" : "V4X 1Y5", "streetAddress" : "30353 Sunset Cres" }, "image" : "https://back40landscaping.ca/hubfs/Logo/test/back-40-landscaping-logo-white-transparent.webp", "logo" : "https://back40landscaping.ca/hubfs/Logo/test/back-40-landscaping-logo-white-transparent.webp", "name" : "Back 40 Landscaping", "openingHoursSpecification" : [ { "@type" : "OpeningHoursSpecification", "closes" : "16:30", "dayOfWeek" : [ "Monday" ], "opens" : "08:00" }, { "@type" : "OpeningHoursSpecification", "closes" : "16:30", "dayOfWeek" : [ "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday" ], "opens" : "08:00" }, { "@type" : "OpeningHoursSpecification", "closes" : "12:00", "dayOfWeek" : "Saturday", "opens" : "09:00" } ], "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/back40landscaping.ca/", "https://www.instagram.com/back40landscaping.ca/", "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPBamgRYCxNTbnbCN1ehbGA", "https://www.google.com/search?q=back+40+landscaping&oq=back+40+landsca&aqs=chrome.0.0i512j69i57j46i175i199i512j69i61l3.3447j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#lrd=0x5485cb6c3c1abc6f:0x7093e643eeb29c6c,1,,," ], "telephone" : "(778) 808-6961", "url" : "https://back40landscaping.ca/" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "areaServed" : [ { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Chilliwack" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Abbotsford" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Mission" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Langley" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Burnaby" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Maple Ridge" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Port Coquitlam" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Surrey" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "New West Minster" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Walnut Grove" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Crescent Beach" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Mt. Lehman Area (Abbotsford)" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Promontory (Chilliwack)" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Anmore (Port Moody)" } ] } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "Review", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Springman" }, "itemReviewed" : { "@id" : "https://back40landscaping.ca/#back40landscaping" }, "reviewBody" : "Sam and his Back 40 team were amazing to work with on our retaining wall project. Very professional and upfront from the moment he came by to look at our old failing wall, and worked around a few tricky spots and provided an amazing final product. We would use them again in a heartbeat and easily recommend them to anyone looking for quality and efficiency." } ```