Soil sliding onto your patio, or a slope eating into your yard? We build a concrete wall that holds it back and drains.
A concrete retaining wall in Redmond holds back the soil on a slope so it stops washing out and creeping downhill, which gives you a level yard, a usable path or a bank that stays put.
Most calls start with dirt washing across a patio, a bank creeping toward the fence, or a yard too steep to use, and the first questions are always what it'll cost and how long it'll take. The price moves with the wall's height and length, how much digging it takes, the wall type and how easy it is to get a crew and materials into your yard. The schedule usually turns on whether the wall needs a permit and how tight the site is, and we find out which office covers your address and what your wall calls for before we set a date. I'd rather you know what you're paying for before we start, so I give you your number on site and walk you through what's in it.
I do every estimate in person, because I want to stand on the slope, see where it's moving and measure how much room we have. Then our own crew builds the wall with me running the job, so the person who planned it is there when it goes up.
We've been at this since 2013, and I learned a lot of it by breaking up old concrete to see why it failed. These days we're best known for the jobs that take some figuring out, like a wall squeezed onto a tight lot.
We're licensed and insured, and I'm glad to show you the paperwork when I come out. A retaining wall changes the ground next to your house, so you should know who's responsible before anyone digs. Call (425) 285-8618 or use the form to set a time.
Tell us roughly how long and how tall the wall will be and send a few photos of the slope, and we'll reply within one business day to set a time. I come out myself for the free on-site estimate, look over the slope and how much room we have, then give you a price, with no obligation to go ahead.
The City of Redmond requires a building permit for work that isn't on its exempt list, and that list covers retaining walls no more than 4 feet tall unless they're supporting a surcharge. The city measures that height from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, so a wall that shows 3 feet above the lawn can measure taller once you count what's underground. If you're not sure whether your wall supports a surcharge, ask me at the estimate. Before we set a date, we find out what your address and your wall call for, then tell you plainly who'll handle the permit and the inspections.
Steep ground adds another layer. Redmond's zoning code treats any area sloped 40 percent or steeper with a vertical rise of 10 feet or more as a landslide hazard area, unless it's bedrock, and sets a 50-foot buffer around it where no digging or building is allowed. If a project can't stay out of the buffer, the owner can apply to the city for an alteration of the hazard area, and since the city's maps are only a general guide, a qualified consultant marks the real boundary on site. Plenty of lots here sit on hillsides or squeeze a yard between the house and the property line, and we see the same kinds of yards in Sammamish and Kirkland. We're based in Redmond and work in the cities around it, so if yours isn't on our pages, just ask.
Concrete retaining walls in the Seattle area usually cost about $20 to $50 per square foot, and that's the going market rate, not our price. In Bellevue, almost all poured wall quotes include the ready mix concrete, materials and supplies for a wall about 3 feet high, so that comparison works best for a wall of similar height. Your own number comes from the estimate.
Walls built from the bottom up, like modular block walls, are generally the most cost effective type, according to one Wisconsin highway manual. The same manual says walls built from the top down are generally used when there's little room to dig, so a tight yard can change the method and the price.
Plan the drainage from the start, because one marketplace guide says every retaining wall needs it, using things like pipes, gravel and weep holes, which are small openings near the bottom that let water out. When you're collecting bids, ask each contractor to name its drainage method, since that makes the quotes easier to compare.
The schedule turns mostly on whether your wall needs a permit and how much room we have to work, so I can't give you dates until I've seen the site. Redmond says inspections need to be requested throughout the process and before any work is covered up, so we plan the pour and the backfill around them. Missing one can hold up the job, which is why we tell you up front who books each inspection.
Search for them on the state's contractor lookup, because Washington Labor & Industries requires every construction contractor to register and to be bonded and insured. Registered businesses show up in its Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson, or Business tool, so a quick search tells you whether a bidder is listed. You're welcome to look us up before I come out.
