Retaining Walls & Concrete Masonry
Structural retaining walls and masonry work that controls erosion, creates usable space, and adds lasting value to your property.
Why Retaining Walls Matter
Retaining walls are more than decorative landscape features. They solve real problems with erosion, drainage, and unusable sloped land. If your property has hills, slopes, or elevation changes, a properly built retaining wall can transform problem areas into functional, attractive spaces while protecting your home and foundation from water damage.
Sloped yards are difficult to mow, plant, and use. They erode during heavy rains, washing soil and mulch down the hill and creating bare spots. Water runoff from slopes can overwhelm drainage systems and flow toward foundations, causing basement flooding and structural damage. Retaining walls hold soil in place, create level terraces for landscaping or outdoor living, and control water flow to protect your property.
The key to successful retaining walls is proper engineering and construction. A poorly built wall will fail, sometimes catastrophically. The soil behind a retaining wall exerts tremendous pressure, especially when saturated with water. Walls need proper footings, drainage systems, and reinforcement to withstand these forces. This is not a DIY project unless you have serious construction experience.
Our retaining wall services in Reynoldsburg combine structural engineering knowledge with quality materials and craftsmanship. We build walls that last for decades, not just a few years. Whether you need a short garden wall or a tall structural wall, we design and build it right.
Types of Retaining Walls We Build
Different situations call for different wall types. Here are the main options we install and when each makes sense.
- •Poured Concrete Walls: The strongest option for tall walls or heavy loads. We build forms, install rebar, and pour concrete to create monolithic structures that can handle extreme pressure. Best for heights over 4 feet or challenging soil conditions.
- •Concrete Block Walls: Cost-effective and versatile, built with interlocking concrete blocks that are reinforced with rebar and concrete fill. Good for walls up to 6 feet tall. Faster to install than poured walls.
- •Segmental Retaining Walls: Modular blocks designed specifically for retaining walls. These interlock without mortar and work well for curved designs. Ideal for residential landscaping and shorter walls.
- •Brick and Stone Veneer: Combines structural concrete with attractive brick or stone facing. Gives you the strength of concrete with the appearance of traditional masonry. Perfect when aesthetics matter.
- •Tiered Walls: Multiple shorter walls stacked at different levels. Better for very tall slopes because each wall handles less pressure. Creates terraced areas for planting or patios.
The right choice depends on your site conditions, budget, and how you want the finished wall to look. We evaluate your property during the estimate and recommend the best approach. Our experience with foundation work translates directly to building strong, stable retaining walls with proper footings.
Engineering and Drainage Requirements
The difference between retaining walls that last and those that fail comes down to engineering and drainage. You cannot skip these critical steps and expect good results.
Structural Design
Walls over 4 feet tall typically require engineered drawings and permits. Even shorter walls benefit from proper design calculations. We need to know soil type, slope angle, surcharge loads (like driveways or buildings above the wall), and groundwater conditions. This information determines footing depth, wall thickness, and reinforcement requirements. Guessing or using rules of thumb leads to failures.
Footing Requirements
Every retaining wall needs a solid footing below the frost line. In Ohio, that means at least 32 inches deep. The footing spreads the wall's weight and prevents settling. Footing width depends on wall height and soil bearing capacity. Tall walls need wider footings. Poor soil needs deeper or reinforced footings. This is why we always dig below grade, even though it takes more time and materials.
Drainage Systems
Water is the enemy of retaining walls. Saturated soil weighs much more than dry soil and creates hydrostatic pressure that can push walls over. Every retaining wall must have drainage behind it. We install perforated drain pipe at the base, surround it with gravel, and often add weep holes through the wall face. This allows water to drain away instead of building up pressure.
Proper backfill material also matters. We use gravel behind the wall for the first foot or two. Gravel drains quickly and does not hold water. Only after creating this drainage zone do we backfill with soil. These details take extra time and cost more upfront, but they prevent expensive failures down the road.
Professional Construction Process
Building a retaining wall requires careful planning and execution. Here is how we approach every project from start to finish.
We start with a site assessment to evaluate soil conditions, measure slopes, and identify any problem areas like unstable soil or existing drainage issues. For walls over 4 feet, we arrange for engineering drawings and apply for permits. Even when permits are not required, we follow engineering principles to ensure structural integrity.
Excavation and grading come next. We dig trenches for footings below the frost line and grade the area behind where the wall will stand. This often involves moving significant amounts of soil. We compact everything thoroughly to prevent future settling. Poor compaction is a common reason DIY walls fail within a few years.
We pour footings and let them cure properly before starting the wall itself. For poured walls, we build strong forms, install rebar in a grid pattern, and pour concrete in one continuous operation when possible. For block walls, we lay courses one at a time, installing rebar vertically and filling cells with concrete. Quality control at every step ensures the finished wall meets design specifications.
After the wall is complete, we install drainage systems behind it and backfill carefully in layers, compacting as we go. The final step is grading the top and bottom to direct water away from the wall. For properties that need complete site work, we can coordinate retaining walls with other projects like patio installations to create cohesive outdoor spaces.
Frequently Asked Questions
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