Retaining Walls, Drainage, Hardscaping & Outdoor Living From a Local Pittsburgh-Area Contractor
A backyard can look fine from the house and still have problems that become obvious every time it rains.
Water collects in one corner. A hillside is difficult to maintain. An older retaining wall starts leaning. A patio no longer gives the family enough room. Or maybe several parts of the yard simply don’t work together anymore.
NLC Landscaping & Design provides landscaping and outdoor construction services in Robinson Township, PA, helping homeowners improve both the appearance and function of their properties.
NLC provides retaining walls, French drains and drainage solutions, paver patios and walkways, fencing, sod installation, landscape design, excavation, hardscaping and custom deck construction. Robinson Township is specifically included in NLC’s published deck-building service area, while Robinson is also included among the company’s general landscaping service areas.
We don’t believe every outdoor project should begin with choosing plants or picking a patio color.
Sometimes the first question should be: Where is that water coming from?
Or: Why is this section of the yard eroding?
Or: Can we make this slope more useful?
Those questions matter because landscaping, drainage, grading and hardscaping affect one another.
Before recommending improvements, we consider the existing property and what you’re trying to accomplish with it.
A homeowner who wants more privacy needs something different from someone dealing with a wet backyard. A family that wants a larger outdoor entertaining area has different priorities from someone whose first concern is replacing a deteriorating retaining wall.
The project should fit the property rather than the other way around.
Western Pennsylvania’s terrain makes retaining walls an important part of many landscapes.
A retaining wall can help stabilize a sloped area, reduce erosion, manage changes in elevation and create more usable outdoor space.
NLC installs concrete block retaining walls, natural stone walls, decorative landscape walls and tiered retaining-wall systems. Its published installation process includes site evaluation, excavation and base preparation, drainage installation, wall construction and final grading.
A wall doesn’t necessarily fail overnight. Problems can develop gradually. You might begin noticing:
When that happens, simply making the wall look better may not address what’s causing the problem.
NLC considers soil conditions, slope, elevation, drainage and property layout when planning retaining-wall projects. That is particularly important because water behind a wall needs somewhere to go.
A retaining wall doesn’t have to be a repair project. It can also be part of a larger backyard transformation.
Depending on the layout, a new wall or tiered wall system may help define areas for a lawn, planting beds, patio, walkway, stairs or other outdoor features. Rather than fighting the slope, the landscape can be designed around it.
Some drainage problems are impossible to ignore.
After a heavy rain, you know exactly where the water is going because it’s the same section of lawn that’s wet every time.
Other drainage problems are less obvious. You may notice erosion, unhealthy grass, washed-out mulch or water collecting around hardscaping.
NLC provides drainage solutions and site grading as part of its landscaping and site-preparation services.
The important part is determining what is actually causing the problem. Depending on the property, that means considering:
A French drain can be an effective solution when conditions call for one, but it shouldn’t automatically be prescribed for every wet yard.
If you’re planning a new patio, lawn or larger landscape renovation, drainage should be considered early.
Installing expensive landscaping over an unresolved water problem doesn’t make much sense.
NLC can coordinate drainage with other outdoor improvements so the underlying issue can be addressed before the finished features go in.
A good patio isn’t just somewhere to put outdoor furniture. It should connect naturally to the house and the rest of the yard.
NLC provides patios, walkways, stonework, fire pits, seating areas, outdoor kitchens and custom masonry features as part of its hardscaping services.
For a larger project, that means a patio can be planned alongside:
Retaining Walls + Drainage + Walkways + Landscaping + Fencing + Decks
This is particularly useful when you’re starting with a backyard that has elevation or drainage challenges.
Instead of forcing a patio into whatever space happens to be available, the surrounding property can be considered as part of the design.
Privacy can make an outdoor space much more enjoyable.
NLC installs wood privacy fences, vinyl fencing, decorative fencing, property-boundary fencing and custom fence layouts.
Homeowners may add fencing to:
When fencing is being installed alongside a retaining wall, patio or deck, it’s worth planning those features together. Gate placement, grade changes and how people move through the yard all matter.
A deck can become the connection between your home and everything else happening in the backyard.
NLC specifically lists Robinson Township among the communities it serves for custom deck construction. Its deck services include pressure-treated wood, composite decking, multi-level decks, elevated decks, deck replacement and other custom configurations.
But the advantage of working with NLC is that the project doesn’t necessarily have to stop at the edge of the deck.
A deck can be integrated with:
NLC specifically describes this integrated approach on its deck-building page. That makes it possible to approach a backyard as one outdoor living space instead of a collection of unrelated projects.
Sometimes the final part of an outdoor renovation is putting the yard back together.
NLC provides sod and new-lawn installation in addition to its construction-oriented landscaping services.
Sod can be useful when you want a finished lawn more quickly or need to restore areas affected by other outdoor construction.
But preparation matters.
If the previous lawn struggled because of grading or drainage, those conditions should be considered before putting down new sod.
Imagine starting with a Robinson Township backyard that has a steep slope, water collecting after storms, an aging retaining wall, a small patio and very little privacy.
Those aren’t necessarily five separate projects.
The retaining wall can affect the grade. The grade influences drainage. Drainage should be addressed before building the patio. The patio location can influence the fence and walkway layout.
NLC offers landscape design, hardscape construction, excavation, site preparation, retaining walls, fencing and drainage work under one company. That allows the project to be considered as a whole.
NLC Landscaping & Design is based at 337 Lincoln Ave. in Carnegie, PA 15106.
The company’s address and (412) 251-7864 phone number are consistently published on its website, including its contact page.
NLC Landscaping also currently has a 5.0-star rating from 46 reviews in the local business results.
That proximity is much more meaningful for a Robinson Township page than generic language about serving \u201cWestern Pennsylvania.\u201d
Based in Carnegie. Serving Robinson Township and Pittsburgh’s surrounding communities.
You don’t need to know exactly which service you need. If the backyard stays wet, tell us. If the retaining wall is leaning, show us. If you want more usable outdoor space but don’t know the best layout, explain what you’d like to be able to do outside.
Site conditions can influence the appropriate solution, particularly when slopes, drainage or structural landscape features are involved.
If several improvements are related, we’ll consider how they need to work together.
NLC currently offers free estimates for landscaping projects.
NLC combines traditional landscaping with the construction and site work required for more complicated outdoor projects.
Homeowners can work with NLC for:
NLC is based in nearby Carnegie and specifically identifies Robinson among its service areas.
If your backyard isn’t working the way you’d like, you don’t have to figure out the solution before calling.
Whether you’re dealing with poor drainage, an aging retaining wall, a difficult slope, an outdated patio or a backyard that needs a complete redesign, NLC Landscaping & Design can evaluate the property and discuss your options.