Walls are constructed in different forms and of various materials to serve several functions. Exterior walls protect the building interior from external environmental effects such as heat and cold, sunlight, and sound. Walls are designed to be strong enough to safely resist the forces imposed upon them, in accordance with building codes.
Masonry walls are a traditional, common, and durable form of wall construction used in both bearing and non-bearing walls. They are constructed by individual placement of bricks, blocks of stone, cinder concrete, cut stone, or combinations of these. The units are then bonded together by mortar.
Retaining walls are structures designed to restrain soil of unnatural slopes. They are used to hold soil between two different elevations in place often in areas of undesirable slopes or in areas where the landscape needs to be shaped and re-designed for more specific purposes.