Concrete retaining walls in Marysville WA - a wall that drains and stays put
A slope that slumps after every rain or an old wall leaning out can be held back with a concrete wall built to drain.
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What goes into a concrete retaining wall in Marysville?
A concrete retaining wall holds back the soil behind it so a sloped yard in Marysville, WA stays put, and whether it holds depends mostly on how it handles the water that builds up in that soil.
Most people call us when a bank keeps sliding onto a patio or walkway, when an old wall has started to lean, or when they want to turn a slope into flat ground they can use. The wall can be poured concrete or built from manufactured concrete blocks, and either way it takes the push of wet soil all winter. What moves the price is mostly the height and length, how much digging the slope needs, whether an old wall has to come out first, and what the ground looks like once we open it up. The schedule turns on whether the wall needs an engineer and on the weather, since nobody wants to dig out a wet bank in a downpour. You'll get your own figure in a written estimate after I've measured.
How do you know a slope or old wall needs a retaining wall?
Old wall leaning out
If the top of an old wall has started tipping toward you, the soil and water behind it are winning, usually because nothing lets the water out. A leaning wall doesn't straighten itself, and once it gives way you're paying to haul out the old wall and the dirt that came down with it.
Wet streaks at the base
Dark streaks or mud seeping out along the bottom of a wall usually mean water is trapped behind it with no clean way out. That trapped water is what pushes walls over, so it's worth a look before the next wet season.
Slope sliding after rain
When dirt slumps onto your patio, walkway or lawn after a heavy rain, the bank is too steep to hold itself. Each slide takes more of the slope with it, which makes the wall you'll eventually need taller and longer.
How we build concrete retaining walls
Water building up behind a wall is what pushes on it, so I plan the drainage and the backfill, the gravel and soil that fill in behind the wall, before anything else, whether the wall is poured or block. I look at the ground the wall will sit on and the height you want, and if the site points toward an engineer, I tell you early instead of after we've dug. Then our crew digs out, sets the footing, which is the wide concrete base the wall stands on, builds the wall, places the drainage and backfill as it goes up, and cleans up. The footing, drainage and backfill are all buried by the last day, and they're the first thing people want to trim to save money, but I'd rather spend there than on a fancy face because a nice-looking wall that gets pushed over isn't worth much.
A lot of walls go in to make flat ground for something else. Cutting into a slope can open up room for a shop or shed, which is where concrete floor installation comes in, and leveling part of a yard is often the first step toward concrete pool decks around a pool or spa. If either is on your list, tell me at the estimate so the wall and the slab get laid out together.
Poured concrete wall
Formed and poured in place on a footing, with rebar, the steel bars inside that hold the concrete together when the soil pushes on it. It suits spots where you want a solid, clean face, or where the wall has to meet a driveway, steps or an old slab.
Concrete block wall
Also called a segmental wall, it's built from manufactured concrete blocks stacked without mortar that hold the soil back mostly by their own weight. It suits yards where the ground underneath is firm and you'd like the wall to step or curve along a bed.
Get a written estimate for your retaining wall
We reply within one business day and set up a free estimate on site, with no obligation. After I measure and look at the ground, the written estimate comes to you and the decision is yours.
(360) 251-0089- Based in
- Marysville, WA 98270
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call about a retaining wall in Marysville?
Here's how a retaining wall job runs from your side, from the first call to the day I walk the finished wall with you.
Call or send the form
Call (360) 251-0089 or send the form with the height and length you have in mind, and we'll set a time to come out. Photos of the slope help me know what to look at first.
I measure and check the ground
I walk the site, measure, look at what sits above and below the wall, and ask what you need it to hold. You get a written estimate that says plainly what's included and what isn't, so there are no surprises in the price.
We sort out permit questions
Once you say go, we sort out any permit questions before forming starts. If your wall needs an engineer's design, we build to it and to the inspections that come with it.
We build, then walk it together
Our crew forms and pours or stacks the wall, backfills it and cleans up. At the end I walk the job with you so you can see where the water goes before we leave.
Why Marysville homeowners call Classic Marysville Concrete for retaining walls
I measure the site myself
I usually come out myself to look at the slope, measure and ask what the wall needs to hold up. A small crew I've worked with for years does the forming, pouring and finishing, and I'm on site with them, so the person who planned your wall is there when it's built.
Nine years of tricky jobs
I started this business in 2017, after years of fixing heavy equipment and learning the trade on a flatwork crew. We're best known for the jobs that take some figuring out, like a wall on an awkward slope or one that has to meet an old slab.
Licensed, insured and easy to check
We're licensed and fully insured. Washington lets you look up any contractor's registration before you sign, so check us the same way you'd check anyone.
Satisfaction guaranteed on every job
That's our promise on every wall, poured or block. I'd rather explain a tradeoff before the pour than after it, so you know what you're paying for before we dig.
On a retaining wall, the work that counts ends up buried behind it, so ask anyone you talk to how they'll drain it. When you're ready, send us your wall's details or call (360) 251-0089.
Retaining walls on Marysville slopes and wet ground
Whether a wall needs an engineer is decided by the office that covers your address, and that can be a city or the county. Snohomish County's plan review rules show how it usually goes. The county lists a wall no more than 4 feet tall that isn't holding up a surcharge, meaning extra weight on the soil behind it like a driveway or a parked truck, as one example where it has waived engineering, and it measures that height from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, not from your lawn. The county also requires engineering when site conditions could undermine the work, so a soft or wet slope can call for an engineer even on a short wall. Nothing is settled for your wall until that office has looked, so when I measure, I take the height from where the footing will sit and tell you early which office covers you.
Around here we see a lot of sloped back yards and ground that stays wet for months, so I plan every wall expecting water behind it. We meet the same wet, sloped yards on jobs in Everett and Lake Stevens.
Questions about retaining walls in Marysville
How much does a concrete retaining wall cost near Marysville, WA?
In Everett, a poured concrete retaining wall up to 3 feet tall usually costs about $40 to $44 per square foot, with excavation and cleanup included, and that's the going rate in the area, not our quote. That figure leaves out tearing out an old wall, curved walls, stamped or multicolored concrete, taller walls and yards with difficult soil, so any of those pushes the number up. Your own price comes in the written estimate after I measure.
What is the best way to drain a retaining wall?
The usual way is coarse, free-draining backfill behind the wall with a drain in it that carries the water off to the stormwater system, plus weep holes, small openings near the base of the wall that let pressure out. That's general building guidance from Australia, but water behaves the same in a Marysville yard. For block walls, the national block industry guide says the gravel fill alone isn't meant to be the main drainage path on typical walls, so the drain still matters.
Is a block retaining wall better than a poured concrete wall?
Neither is better everywhere, because the ground, the height and what sits above the wall decide which one fits. A national block industry guide reports that an investigation after several earthquakes found properly designed block walls can be more robust than conventional retaining walls. I'll tell you which way I'd lean on your slope once I've seen it.
What kind of soil is bad for building a retaining wall on?
Organic soil and expansive soil, the kind that swells when it's wet and shrinks as it dries, are listed as unsuitable ground to set a block wall on in a national block wall installation guide. So the soil on your site helps decide whether block fits the spot at all. Some of that I can see on the walk-through, and some we only learn once the dig is open.
How do I check if a concrete contractor is licensed in Washington?
Look them up with Washington L&I's Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson, or Business tool, since the state requires every construction contractor to register with L&I and state law requires them to be bonded and insured. Contractors also have to put their registration number on estimates and bids, so ask if one is missing. L&I also runs a Homeowner Recovery Program that eligible homeowners can apply to for payments after a financial loss from a contractor's work.
What should I have ready before asking for a retaining wall estimate?
Have the height you want, a rough length and a few photos of the slope, including anything that sits above it like a driveway or shed. That tells me what to look for before I come out. Call (360) 251-0089 or send the form when you have them.
Concrete work that often goes with a wall
Concrete floor installation
When a wall carves level ground out of a slope for a shop or shed, this is the slab that goes down on that new flat spot.
Concrete pool decks
A pool or spa needs flat, well-drained ground around it, and a wall holding back the bank above is often what makes room for the deck.
Service areas for retaining wall work
Classic Marysville Concrete is based in Marysville, Washington, and builds retaining walls in the cities around it. Twelve of the cities we work in have their own page here, including Everett and Lake Stevens.
Marysville, WA
Get your retaining wall measured and priced
Send the planned height, the length and a few photos of the slope, and I'll know what to look for when I come out, including whether the ground might call for an engineer.