Concrete retaining walls in South Gate CA - a wall built to drain and stay put
Dirt sliding onto your walk or an old wall leaning out? We pour a wall that holds the grade and lets water out.
What goes into a concrete retaining wall in South Gate?
A concrete retaining wall is a structural wall we pour in place on your South Gate property to hold back a slope or a raised part of the yard. It has to be built for the pressure that water and wet soil put on the back of it.
Most calls start with dirt washing onto a walk, a yard that drops off at the back, or an old wall that's leaning or cracked. The price moves with the wall's height and length, whether an old wall has to come out first, curves or a stamped or colored face, and how hard the ground is to work. The schedule mostly turns on whether the wall needs an engineer and a permit before we dig, and then on curing, the wait while the concrete gains strength before we backfill against it, which nobody gets to skip. If you also want concrete steps through the wall, we plan them together, and the estimate I write after looking at the ground, the drainage and what sits above the wall gives you the figure for your yard.
How we build concrete retaining walls
Water behind a wall is what pushes it over, so I plan where that water goes before I plan the wall. We dig out and pack the ground under the footing, the wide base the wall stands on, then set rebar, the steel that holds the concrete together when the soil leans on it, and build the forms and pour. Once the wall has cured enough, we lay drain rock and pipe along the back so water has a way out, then backfill in layers instead of dumping dirt against it. If the wall is tall or holds something up, like a driveway or a slope, I bring an engineer in at the start, because finding out halfway that the footing's too small costs you a second pour. If the budget gets tight, I'd rather simplify the face than skimp on the footing and the drain, since nobody sees those again and they're what holds.
A wall is often one piece of a bigger change in the yard. If it's cutting a flat pad into a slope for a shed or an addition, we can follow it with concrete floor installation on the level ground behind it, and if it holds up the ground near a pool, we plan it with the concrete pool deck so water from both goes the same way.
Concrete retaining walls, footings and permits in South Gate
In South Gate, the city's Building and Safety Division decides whether you need a permit. Its rule is that a retaining wall no more than 4 feet tall, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top, doesn't need a permit unless it's holding up extra weight, which the trade calls a surcharge. That 4 feet counts the part underground, so a wall that shows about 3 feet above your yard can be over the line once you add the footing. The city also says most excavation work needs a permit, so I check your address and your wall with the city before we dig, and when a permit is needed we pull it and work through the inspections with them.
If a company or an LLC owns the property, the city requires a licensed contractor on the permit, and an owner pulling one themselves has to show ID proving they live there. You can type your address into the state's EQ Zapp map to see whether the lot sits in a mapped earthquake hazard zone or one that hasn't been evaluated yet. We build the same kinds of walls for raised yards and planters in Lynwood and Huntington Park.
How our retaining wall jobs run
Call or send the form
Tell us roughly where the wall goes, how tall it needs to be and what's above it. We'll set a time for me to come out.
I look at the ground
I check the slope, where the water runs and what's going to sit above the wall, then write your estimate. It spells out the wall, the drainage and whether you'll need an engineer or a permit, so you know what's in the price before we dig.
Permit, then prep and pour
Once any permit is in hand, our crew digs out, forms, pours and finishes the wall. The drain and backfill go in after the concrete has cured enough to take the load.
Walk the finished wall together
When the wall's backfilled and the site is cleaned up, I walk it with you. I show you where the drain lets water out, so you know what to keep clear.
Get a written estimate for your retaining wall and the drainage behind it
We'll get back to you within one business day, and there's no obligation. I come out myself, look at the ground, the drainage and what's going to sit above the wall, and write you a free estimate.
Questions before you build a retaining wall
How much does a concrete retaining wall cost in South Gate?
A concrete retaining wall in the Los Angeles area usually costs about $12 to $54 per square foot, and that's the general market price, not ours. The wide spread comes from the things I listed up top, like height, curves, a decorative face and an old wall coming out. Your own figure comes from the estimate once I've seen the slope.
What is the best way to choose between poured concrete and block for a retaining wall?
Choose by what the site needs, because a dry-laid wall of stacked material with no mortar costs much less than a poured one and is often enough. One trade guide favors interlocking block for most landscape grade changes, since it goes up faster with no forms or cure time. It favors poured concrete for a hard one-piece face, a tight space, a formed line or a wall that doubles as a foundation.
What causes retaining walls to fail?
Most retaining walls fail because water and wet soil build up pressure behind them. The old-style weep holes, the small drain openings near the bottom, tend to clog over the life of a wall, so ask any bidder how the drains can be kept clear. That's why we work out the drainage before anything else.
Does a retaining wall in South Gate need an engineer?
A retaining wall often needs a licensed engineer once it gets tall or has extra weight above it. One trade guide says that usually starts once the exposed height passes about 4 feet, or at any height with a slope, a driveway, a pool or another tier of wall above it. The local building department sets the exact line, so on a taller wall I plan for the engineer from the first visit.
How long does a concrete retaining wall last?
One trade guide says poured concrete and block walls both last decades when they're built right. The same guide says drainage decides how long a wall lasts more than the material does, so compare bids on how each wall drains, not just on what it's made of.
Will a poured concrete retaining wall crack?
It can, and I'd rather tell you that now than after the pour. One trade guide points out that a rigid poured wall can crack with small ground movement that the joints of a mortarless block wall just flex with, so ask how the design allows for movement. On our walls the steel inside holds a hairline crack together, and the drain keeps water from turning a small crack into a big one.
Why South Gate homeowners call Advanced South Gate Concrete for retaining walls
I write your estimate myself
I'm the one who comes out, looks at the ground and writes the price, and our own crew does the prep, forming, pouring and finishing with me usually on site. The person who priced your wall is the one watching it go in.
Pouring in South Gate since 2013
I started out pouring walks and patching driveways for neighbors here on weekends, and we've been a business for 13 years now. A lot of that time went to fixing other people's work, which teaches you what gets skipped behind a wall.
Fully licensed and insured contractor
We're fully licensed and insured. California has its own license class for contractors who form, pour and finish concrete, so it's worth checking the license of anyone you hire to build a wall.
On a retaining wall, what matters most is the part that's buried the day we finish. Call or send the form and I'll come look at what yours is holding back.
Related concrete work
Concrete floor installation
A new wall often levels off ground for a shed, workshop or room addition, and that space needs a concrete floor poured on a properly packed base.
Concrete pool decks
If the wall holds up the ground around a pool, the deck and the wall share a drainage plan, so it pays to build them together.
Get your retaining wall and drainage priced
Have the wall's rough length, its height and what sits above it handy when you call (213) 643-0035 or send the form, because those three things decide most of the design.
