Concrete retaining walls in Walnut Creek CA - built to hold your hillside and drain well
Slope creeping onto the patio or an old wall starting to lean? We build concrete walls to your designer's drawings, drainage included, so the ground stays put.
Request an estimate
What does it take to build a concrete retaining wall in Walnut Creek?
A concrete retaining wall in Walnut Creek is a poured, precast or interlocking concrete wall built to hold back the soil pressing against it, so a sloped yard becomes flat ground you can use and the hill stays where it is.
Most people call us when a slope keeps sliding onto a patio or walkway, when an old wall has started to lean, or when they want a level spot cut into a hillside. The price mostly comes down to how tall and long the wall is, whether it's poured in place or built from precast units, how deep the footing has to go, how easy it is to get equipment into the yard and how much drainage the design calls for. The schedule usually turns less on the pour than on what comes before it, like the design, any city sign-off and sometimes a soils report, so I'd rather sort those out early than rush the ground. Your estimate puts the whole scope in writing.
How we build concrete retaining walls
Water behind the wall is what I watch most, because wet soil pushes a lot harder than dry soil and plenty of wall trouble starts there. Before we dig, I go over the drawings with whoever designed your wall and stay in touch with them through the job. Then our crew digs out and forms the footing, the wide concrete base the wall stands on, ties the rebar, the steel inside that takes the pull of the soil, and pours. We build the drainage exactly the way it's drawn, place the backfill, which is the soil packed back in behind the wall, and give the concrete its curing time, the wait that lets it gain strength before it takes the load. A clean face looks good, but if the budget gets tight I'll trim the finish before I'll trim the drainage or the footing, because nobody can fix those once the backfill is in. If you're planning a driveway or fence near the wall, I want to hear about it before the design is done.
A new wall often sets up the next project. On a slope it can create the level ground a pool needs, and we pour concrete pool decks on that flat ground once the wall is in. When a cut into the hill makes room for a lower garage or storage space, we can handle the concrete floor installation too, and planning the wall and the slab together means the water from both gets worked out once.
Concrete retaining wall permits and planning in Walnut Creek
In Walnut Creek your first hire for a retaining wall isn't us, because the City of Walnut Creek requires the wall to be designed by a licensed architect, a registered civil engineer or a registered structural engineer. The city wants a building permit when the wall is over 4 feet tall measured from the bottom of the footing, or when it holds up a surcharge, which is extra weight on or behind it like a parking area, sloping ground or another retaining wall nearby. A building permit is also needed when the wall carries load from a building, puts load onto one, or holds up a solid fence over 3 feet high, though a plain chain link fence without wood slats doesn't count. On top of that, a Site Development Permit applies to a wall over 3 feet above grade, the lowest ground right beside it, or to one holding up a surcharge. These rules hinge on how the wall is measured, so check your plans against the city's retaining wall rules or let us go through them with you. We figure out early whether your wall needs a sign-off, and when it does, we can handle the application and paperwork for you.
Some hillside lots need a soils report before anything gets built. The city asks for one on tiered walls, meaning walls stepped one above another, on sites in an Alquist-Priolo Special Studies Zone and on sites with past soil trouble like settling, and a registered civil or geotechnical engineer writes it, which adds a step before we can start. We run into the same steep backyards and walls under driveways on jobs in Lafayette and Orinda, and the approach doesn't change, plan for the water and the load first.
- Call (925) 448-9528
- Mon–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
- Walnut Creek, CA 94596
What happens when you call Alliance Walnut Creek Concrete Company in Walnut Creek?
Call us or send the form
Tell me roughly how long and tall the wall needs to be and what sits above and below it. We'll set a time for me to come see the slope.
I walk the site with you
I ask a lot of questions about the slope, the water and what you want on the flat ground, then put together a written estimate that lays out the work and what drives its cost. If you don't have a designer yet, we talk about that first, since the wall gets built from their drawings.
We handle paperwork, then build
Once you're ready, we sort out any permit paperwork and get underground lines marked or scanned before anyone digs. Then our crew preps the ground, pours and finishes the wall, and I'm on site for the footing, the steel and the drainage.
Walk the finished wall together
At the end I walk the wall with you and show you where the water is meant to come out. I'll also go over how to look after it, like keeping those outlets clear.
Why Walnut Creek homeowners call us for retaining walls
I look at your slope myself
I come out to see the job myself, and our own crew does the prep, the pour and the finish. I'm on site for the parts that matter most on a wall, so the person who wrote your estimate is the one checking the footing and the drainage.
Building awkward jobs since 2013
We've been at this since 2013, and sloped backyards and walls that have to handle water are the jobs we're best known for. If your yard turns out to be one of the tricky ones, that's familiar ground for us.
Licensed and insured on your job
We're licensed and insured, and I'm glad to go over that paperwork with you at the estimate. You should expect to see it from anyone building a wall that holds back a hill.
Protected trees flagged before design
Walnut Creek's tree preservation rules cover trees 9 inches or more in diameter, and a wall's footing can end up close to their roots. I note those trees during the estimate so your designer can plan around them before anything is drawn.
The drainage and the footing decide how a wall holds up, and the easiest time to get them right is before the design is final. Tell us about your wall and I'll come take a look.
Request an estimateGet a written estimate for your concrete retaining wall
We reply within one business day, and I'm usually the one who calls you back. The estimate is free, on site and comes with no obligation, and I'll walk the slope, ask what you have in mind and put it all in writing.
- Licensed and insured.
- Phone
- (925) 448-9528
- Location
- Walnut Creek, CA 94596
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
Questions about concrete retaining walls in Walnut Creek
How much does a concrete retaining wall cost?
Precast, poured or interlocking concrete retaining walls across the US usually cost about $45 to $270 per linear foot. That's a national range for the wall, not our price, and things like height, wall type and access decide where yours falls. Your written estimate gives you the figure for your own yard.
How long will a concrete retaining wall last?
A concrete retaining wall lasts 50 to 100 years on average, depending on how well it's designed and built, how it's looked after and the soil behind it. Careful design, solid building and steady upkeep push a wall toward the long end of that range, which is why we put our time into the drainage and the footing.
What causes retaining walls to fail?
One industry talk on retaining walls reports that a large majority of failures came from poor communication on the project team and from not managing water. Ask any builder how your design handles water behind the wall, and expect a straight answer about where that water goes.
Can I add a driveway or fence above a retaining wall later?
Not without checking with your designer, because changing the backfill, adding a driveway near the wall or letting water build up behind it can undo what the wall was designed for, even when the concrete is strong. If a driveway or fence might come later, plan it before the wall is drawn so the design accounts for it.
How do I check if my Walnut Creek property is in an earthquake hazard zone?
Type your address into the state's EQ Zapp map, which shows whether a property lies in a mapped earthquake hazard zone. It also tells you when the state hasn't evaluated an area yet, and your designer can explain what a mapped zone means for your wall.
Does a contractor need a license to build a retaining wall in California?
Yes, for any wall that needs a permit, because California only lets an unlicensed person take jobs under $1,000 when the work needs no permit and they employ no one. For a permitted wall, ask the builder for their license number before you hire them.
Work that often goes with a wall
Concrete floor installation
If the wall opens up room for a workshop or storage space, a new concrete floor gives it a level, hard-wearing surface for tools, shelves and parking.
Concrete pool decks
Once the slope is held back, there's often room for a pool, and its deck needs a packed base and drainage that carries splash water away.
Start planning your retaining wall today
Call (925) 448-9528 or send the form with the wall's rough length and height, a few photos of the slope and any driveway, fence or big trees nearby, and I'll show up with the right questions.
Request an estimateCall (925) 448-9528