A retaining wall holds back soil on a sloping surface. The wall may be there for erosion control, or just to make sure that hill doesn't spill over the road or a driveway if something happens. For example, a retaining wall may be useful in keeping soil back in the case of a landslide because the hill has become destabilized. It might not keep all the dirt back, but it should help keep a lot of the dirt back. If you have a retaining wall on your property, you want to make sure that it is in good shape so that it can continue to do its job. What you need to do is to hire a contractor to check out your retaining wall and make any repairs that are necessary. What are some of the things that the contractor will look at when they are checking your retaining wall?

Cracks 

One thing that the contractor is going to do is look for cracks. Cracks can run though any bricks, cement, or other masonry, or they appear in the mortar in between the bricks, blocks, or other masonry. No matter where the cracks are, they present a weak spot that may cause the wall to fail. The contractor is going to do what they need to do in order to fix the cracks. That may include taking out bricks and mortar, putting in new bricks, and spreading a new layer of mortar on the wall to seal all those cracks. 

Weakened Foundation

Like any other structure, a strong foundation is necessary. That's because a strong foundation will provide good support to whatever is being built on it. However, even good foundations can start to weaken over the years. When the foundation starts to go, it can take the whole wall with it, and that will negate the whole purpose of the retaining wall. At that point, the wall is going to become a whole lot more decorative than functional, and you might not even realize it until it's too late. The contractor can check over the foundation, to make it stronger, and may do things like add in extra drainage to help keep water from weakening the foundation further. 

If you have a retaining wall you need to make sure that it stays in good shape. A retaining wall repair contractor can help you with that, and do any repairs to help make sure that the wall stays in good shape.