Retaining Walls & Concrete Masonry
Control slopes, prevent erosion, and create usable outdoor spaces with professionally built walls.
Why Retaining Walls Matter for Your Property
Retaining walls solve real problems. If your property slopes, a retaining wall lets you create level areas for patios, gardens, or play spaces. Without a wall, sloped yards limit how you can use your outdoor space. A properly built wall holds back soil, prevents erosion, and gives you flat ground where you need it. This is especially valuable in Amherst where many properties have natural grades or where previous grading left challenging slopes.
Erosion control ranks as another major reason to build retaining walls. Heavy rain washes soil down slopes, undermining foundations, damaging landscaping, and creating drainage problems. A retaining wall stops this erosion by holding soil in place. Combined with proper drainage behind the wall, you protect your property from water damage while stabilizing the slope permanently. This matters more than many homeowners realize until they start seeing soil wash into their basement window wells or pool up against their foundation.
Beyond function, retaining walls add visual interest and define spaces in your landscape. A well-designed wall creates natural borders between different yard areas. You can build terraced gardens on multiple levels, create raised planting beds, or define the edge of a patio. The wall becomes an architectural feature that enhances your property. When done right, a retaining wall looks like it has always been part of the landscape while solving practical problems that make your property more usable and valuable.
Types of Retaining Walls We Build
Different situations call for different wall types. We help you choose the right approach based on wall height, soil conditions, intended use, and your budget. Each type has advantages that make it the best choice for specific applications.
Retaining wall options we install:
- •Poured concrete walls for maximum strength and longevity
- •Concrete block walls that balance cost and performance
- •Segmental retaining walls using interlocking concrete blocks
- •Natural stone veneer over concrete for aesthetic appeal
- •Decorative concrete masonry in various colors and textures
Poured concrete walls work best for taller walls or situations requiring maximum strength. We build forms, place reinforcement steel, and pour concrete to create a monolithic wall that resists lateral pressure from soil and water. These walls last generations when properly built with adequate footings and drainage. The smooth concrete surface can be left natural, covered with stone or brick veneer, or textured to mimic other materials.
Segmental retaining walls use interlocking concrete blocks that stack without mortar. This approach works well for shorter walls and curved designs. The blocks come in many colors, textures, and sizes, giving you flexibility in the finished appearance. Installation goes faster than poured walls, and the slight flexibility in the system helps handle minor ground movement without cracking. These walls still need proper footings and drainage, but they offer good performance at a lower cost than poured concrete for walls under 4 feet tall.
How We Build Long-Lasting Retaining Walls
The most important part of a retaining wall is what you cannot see. The footing, drainage system, and backfill determine whether your wall stands for decades or fails in a few years. We excavate below the frost line and pour a reinforced concrete footing that provides a stable, level base. Skipping this step or building an inadequate footing guarantees problems down the road. The footing must be wide enough and strong enough to resist the pressure from the soil behind the wall.
Drainage behind the wall is equally critical. Water adds tremendous pressure to retained soil. Without proper drainage, this pressure builds up and pushes on the wall, eventually causing it to lean, crack, or fail completely. We install drainage pipes at the base of the wall surrounded by gravel that directs water away before it can build up pressure. This drainage system needs to outlet somewhere, either to a lower area of your property or into your existing drainage system. Getting this right during construction prevents expensive repairs later.
Backfill material and compaction matter too. We use well-draining gravel behind the wall rather than clay soil that holds water. This gravel layer works with the drainage pipe to move water away efficiently. As we backfill, we compact in lifts to prevent settling that could stress the wall. The top of the wall gets a cap that sheds water and finishes the appearance. These details add to project cost but make the difference between a wall that lasts and one that fails. If you are also planning other foundation work or patio installation, we coordinate everything to create a complete outdoor space that functions properly as a system.
Common Questions About Retaining Walls
We can build walls of virtually any height, but local codes and engineering requirements change as walls get taller. Walls under 4 feet typically do not require engineered plans or permits in most areas, though requirements vary by municipality. Walls over 4 feet usually need engineering and permits to ensure they can safely handle the soil pressure and loads. Very tall walls might need to be terraced into multiple shorter walls, which often costs less and provides more visual interest than a single tall wall. We evaluate your specific site conditions and let you know what approach makes the most sense.
Poor drainage causes most retaining wall failures. When water builds up behind a wall, the pressure increases dramatically and pushes the wall forward. Eventually the wall leans, cracks, or collapses. Inadequate footings rank as the second most common cause. A wall needs a proper foundation below the frost line to resist movement. Other causes include using the wrong materials, building too tall without engineering, or improper backfill that holds water. These problems are all preventable with correct design and installation, which is why experience matters when choosing a contractor for retaining wall work.
We prefer to build retaining walls in warmer months, but we can work year-round with proper precautions. The main challenge is that concrete footings and mortar need adequate temperatures to cure properly. Frozen ground also makes excavation more difficult and expensive. If you have an urgent need for a wall in winter, we can do it using heated enclosures, insulated blankets, and cold-weather concrete mixes. However, scheduling your project for spring through fall typically costs less and goes faster. We recommend planning ahead and getting on the schedule for the following season if your wall is not addressing an emergency situation like active erosion or a failing existing wall.