Concrete retaining walls in La Palma CA - a wall that holds your slope and drains
Soil slumping onto your patio or a slope pushing at the fence? We build a concrete wall that holds it back and lets water out.
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Do you need a retaining wall for that slope?
A concrete retaining wall holds back the soil on a slope, either by its own weight or as a steel-reinforced wall on a wide base, and at Stronghold La Palma Concrete we build them for homes and properties in La Palma, CA, so you get flat, usable ground and a slope that stays put.
Most people call when dirt keeps washing onto the patio after a rain, an old wall has started to lean, or they want usable flat yard where there's only a slope. The price mostly follows how long and how tall the wall is, then the type of wall, how much digging and hauling it takes, how easy your yard is to get into and how plain or dressed up the face is. The schedule depends less on our crew than on the city's review, if your wall needs a permit, and on the wait for the concrete to harden before soil goes back behind it. I'll give you your own number in a written estimate once I've seen the slope.
How we build a concrete retaining wall
Before anyone digs, I look at your slope and work out which type of wall fits it, because that choice decides how much steel goes in and how much work the footing, the wide concrete base under the wall, has to do. Then we dig out for the footing down to firm ground, set the forms and the rebar, the steel bars that help the wall stand up to the soil, and pour. Drainage behind the wall gets more of our attention than anything else, so I write it into the estimate and you can see exactly how water will get out, usually through gravel, a drain line and weep holes, the small openings through the wall face. We let the concrete cure, which is the wait while it hardens toward full strength, before any backfill, the soil that goes back in behind the wall, is pushed against it. If the budget gets tight, I'd rather keep the footing and drainage right and leave the face plain, because those parts get buried on day one and they're what keep the wall standing.
A wall is often what makes room for the next project. If it cuts back a slope so you can put in a pool, we can plan the concrete pool deck along with it so the deck sheds water away from the wall. If the wall holds the hill behind a new shop, studio or addition, we also do the concrete floor installation for the slab inside.
Building concrete retaining walls in La Palma
La Palma's Building & Safety Division issues permits for building and construction work, and almost every improvement plan goes through plan check, the city's review of the drawings, before a permit is issued. Whether your wall needs a permit is the city's call, so we don't guess at it. When yours does, we handle the application and plan the schedule around that review, and the wall is built to the state building codes as La Palma has amended them.
Many of the walls people ask us about around here hold up a raised planter, a step in the backyard grade or the edge between your yard and the neighbor's, and the only way in is often a narrow side yard. I check access on the first visit, because how the concrete gets in and the dirt gets out shapes the whole plan. It's the same kind of work we do in Cypress and Buena Park.
Concrete retaining walls up close
Get a written estimate for your retaining wall
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time for me to see your slope. The estimate is free, done at your property and given to you in writing, and there's no obligation to go ahead.
(562) 586-9385Retaining wall questions from La Palma
How much does a concrete retaining wall cost in Orange County?
A poured concrete retaining wall in Orange County usually costs about $35 to $50 per square foot of wall face, which is the wall's length times its height. That's the going rate in the area, not our price, and where your job lands depends on the wall type, the digging and the drainage. Your own figure comes in the written estimate.
Why does drainage behind a retaining wall matter so much?
Drainage matters because national research on these walls finds poor drainage is by far the most common cause of trouble in walls that hold back earth, and if nobody deals with it the trouble can grow into outright failure. Water that can't get out builds up behind the wall and adds push it wasn't built for. When you compare quotes, ask each contractor how water will drain from behind the wall and look for it in writing, the way we put it in ours.
How do I keep the weep holes in my retaining wall from clogging?
Keep plants, trash and animal nests away from the openings and look them over after a big rain, because weep holes often stop working when they clog from the wrong backfill, plants, wildlife or trash. The backfill is the builder's job, so we plan what goes behind the wall to let water reach those holes.
When are building inspections in La Palma, and do I need to be home?
La Palma building inspections run Monday through Thursday until noon, with none on Fridays, and they generally need 24 hours' notice through the city's online portal. The owner may need to be there for some of them. When your wall needs a permit, we book those inspections and tell you ahead of time if you need to be home.
What license does a contractor need to build a concrete retaining wall in California?
California's Contractors State License Board has a concrete class for contractors who form, pour, place and finish concrete, and a masonry class for concrete block work, including load-bearing walls. A poured wall and a block wall are different kinds of work, so ask any contractor which one they're quoting and whether their license covers it.
How long does it take to build a concrete retaining wall?
Most of the calendar on a retaining wall goes to the city's plan check, where a permit is needed, and to the wait before soil goes back behind the wall, not to the digging and the pour. Trade guidance says backfill goes in only once the wall is strong enough or braced, and that heavy equipment stays back from the top of the wall, by a distance equal to its height, while the soil goes in. Ask me on the estimate visit and I'll walk you through the order for your wall.
Plan your retaining wall in La Palma
Call (562) 586-9385 or use the form, and send photos of the slope with the length and height you have in mind, plus any plans, so I come out ready to talk about your wall.