Concrete Services

Retaining Walls

A retaining wall fails when water builds up behind it, so drainage is the whole game. We set a proper footing below grade, reinforce the wall for the load it holds back, and build in drainage behind it with gravel backfill and weep holes or a drain line so water has somewhere to go. We give the wall the right batter and tie it together so it stays put through wet seasons and dry ones. Walls that skip the drainage lean and crack within a few years. Ours are built so they do not.

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New concrete retaining wall along a road

Why drainage decides whether a wall lasts

A retaining wall holds back soil, and wet soil is heavy. When water builds up behind a wall with nowhere to go, the pressure pushes the wall out, and that is how walls lean, bow, and crack. We build drainage into every wall: gravel backfill behind it and weep holes or a perforated drain line at the base so water escapes instead of stacking up. A wall built without that drainage may look fine for a year or two, then start to fail. Ours are built so the water has a way out.

Footing, reinforcement, and batter

A wall is only as solid as its footing. We set a footing below grade, sized and reinforced for the height and the load the wall holds back, then reinforce the wall itself with steel. We give it the right batter, a slight lean back into the slope, so the soil works with the wall instead of against it. Whether the wall is poured or block, the footing, the steel, and the drainage are what keep it standing.

What You Get

Built Right, Start to Finish

  • Footing set below grade
  • Reinforced wall
  • Gravel backfill and weep holes or drain line
  • Proper batter
  • A wall built to last
Common Questions

Retaining Walls FAQs

Almost always water. When rain saturates the soil behind a wall with nowhere to drain, the pressure builds until the wall leans, cracks, or pushes out. We build drainage behind every wall so that pressure never gets a chance to do that.

Poured concrete walls are monolithic and strong for taller or load-bearing situations. Block works well for shorter walls and gives you more finish options. We recommend one over the other based on the height, the load, and the look you want.

Short walls are straightforward. Once a wall gets past about four feet, or it holds back a structure or a slope, it usually needs engineering and a bigger footing. We build to what the height and load require, with the right footing and steel.
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