Concrete retaining walls in Glendale CA - a slope that stays put and drains
Leaning wall, bulging slope or mud washing onto your patio? We build concrete walls with drainage planned in, so the hill stays where it belongs.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- We respond within 1 business day.
What does it take to build a concrete retaining wall in Glendale?
A concrete retaining wall holds back a slope so you get level ground you can use. In Glendale we build it the way block walls are usually designed, standing on a poured concrete footing that keeps it from sliding or tipping, with steel set upright through the blocks to take the soil's push and drains so water can't pile up behind it. The job runs in stages, because the wall needs time to get strong before the dirt goes back against it.
Most calls start with a yard that slopes toward the house, an old wall that's started to lean, or a wish for flat ground for a patio or a play area. The price moves with the wall's height and length, how deep we have to dig to reach firm ground, how many drains and how much gravel it needs, and how easy it is to get concrete to the spot. The schedule turns on whether the job needs a permit and on the wait between stages. Your own figure comes in the written estimate, which lays out the drains and backfill so you can see what you're paying for.
How can you tell a retaining wall is in trouble?
Wall leaning or bulging
If the top of the wall tips out or the middle pushes forward, the soil and water behind it are usually winning, often because the wall has no drains or too small a footing. Waiting lets it keep moving, and a wall that's going over tends to take part of the slope with it, which turns a repair into a much bigger dig.
Water or mud at the base
Wet stains, water seeping through the joints or mud washing onto the patio after rain mean water is trapped behind the wall with no clean way out. Every storm adds weight back there and can carry fill out from under it, so the problem grows each rainy season you leave it.
Cracks that keep getting wider
A crack that steps through the block or widens over a season usually means the footing is moving or the wall is bending under the load. A patch hides it for a while, but until somebody works out why it cracked, the wall keeps heading the same direction.
How we build concrete retaining walls
I start behind the wall, because most of my thinking goes into the water, where it comes from when it rains and where it can go. We dig the footing down to firm, undisturbed soil, or compact the ground first if it's loose, since a footing on soft dirt settles and takes the wall with it. Then we set the rebar, the steel bars that keep the wall from pulling apart under the soil's weight, pour the footing and build the wall up with drains through it. Gravel backfill goes in behind so water runs down to the drains instead of pressing on the wall, and the dirt goes back only once the wall has had time to get strong. If the budget gets tight, I'd rather keep the drains and gravel and go plainer on the face, because you can dress up a wall later but you can't fix what's behind it without tearing it out.
A wall usually makes room for something else. If it's cutting a flat pad out of a slope for a pool, we can pour the concrete pool decks around the water once the ground behind the wall is settled in, and if the new level ground is going under a shed, studio or workshop, concrete floor installation is the next step.
Get a written estimate for your retaining wall
Tell us where the wall goes, its rough length and height, and add photos of the slope if you can. We respond within 1 business day to set up a free on-site quote, and it's obligation-free.
- team@glendaleconcretecompany.com
- Based in
- Glendale, CA 91205
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 6 AM–11 PM
What happens after you call about a retaining wall?
Here's how a wall job runs from your first call to the final walk-through, so you know who you'll talk to and what comes next.
Call or send your request
Call (747) 372-8605 or send the form, and we'll set a time for me to come see the slope. Tell us when the water shows up, only after storms or all the time, because that's the first thing I'll ask.
I walk the site and ask
I look at the slope, where the water runs and what sits above and below the wall, and I ask a lot of questions. You get a written estimate that spells out what's included, down to the drains and the backfill, so you know exactly what the price covers.
We permit, prep and build
We take care of any permit and inspections, prep the ground, pour the footing and build the wall, then give it time to gain strength before the backfill goes in. Guidance for block walls keeps heavy equipment back from the top of the wall by a distance equal to its height during backfill, so we'll need that space above the wall kept clear.
We walk the finished wall
Once the backfill's in and the site's cleaned up, we walk the wall with you and show you where the drains come out so you know what to keep clear. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
Why Glendale homeowners call us about retaining walls
I do the estimate myself
I come out myself to look at the slope and write the estimate, and our own crew builds the wall with me running it. The person who planned your drains is on site when they go in, so nothing gets lost between the estimate and the build.
Puzzle jobs since 2020
I started this company in 2020 after years as the right-hand person on another concrete crew, working up from forming and finishing to running jobs. Walls, footings and settled houses are what we're known for, the jobs where you have to work out why something moved before you fix it.
Licensed and insured for permit work
We're fully licensed and insured. That matters on a wall, because any California city or county that requires a permit also wants a signed statement from a licensed contractor giving the license number and confirming it's in full force.
On a wall, what counts most is the drainage and footing you won't see once the dirt's back, so call (747) 372-8605 or request an estimate and we'll start there.
Concrete retaining walls and permits around Glendale
Whether your wall needs a permit isn't something I'll guess at from the driveway, because it depends on the wall and on what the city asks for. When a job needs one, we pull it and line up the inspections as part of the work, and when we're not sure, we check with the city or county office before we start. Either way, nothing gets dug until that question's settled.
A lot of the walls we're called about are older ones built without drains, where water has been pushing on the back for years. We see the same kind of work in La Crescenta-Montrose and Pasadena, and on every one of them we plan the water first.
Questions about retaining walls in Glendale
How much does a concrete retaining wall cost in Los Angeles?
A concrete retaining wall in Los Angeles usually costs about $20 to $50 per square foot, and that's what the market charges around the area, not our price. Where your wall lands depends mostly on its height, how much digging it takes to reach firm ground, the drains and backfill, and how easy the spot is to reach. I'll give you your own figure in a written estimate after I've seen the slope.
What causes a retaining wall to lean or fail?
Water is usually the cause, because when it builds up behind a wall with no way out, it adds pressure the wall wasn't built to hold. One engineer's review found that a large majority of retaining wall failures came from poor communication on the project team and failure to manage water. Clay soil is hard to drain once it's soaked, which is why wall designs almost always call for gravelly backfill that lets water pass. Where long, heavy rains are expected, a continuous drain along the back can be added, so ask which drains each quote includes.
Which building code applies to new projects in Glendale?
New projects submitted to Glendale's Development Services Division have to meet the current California Building Standards Code along with the city's own amendments. If your wall needs a permit, that's what its plans get checked against, and we handle that side of the job.
How much can a contractor ask for as a down payment in California?
On a California home improvement contract, the down payment is capped at $1,000 or ten percent of the contract price, whichever is less. That's state law, so if a wall quote asks for more than that up front, ask why before you sign.
How do I know if a small retaining wall job needs a licensed contractor in California?
State law lets someone without a license do minor work only when the whole contract price, labor and materials together, is under $500. That exception doesn't apply when the small piece is part of a bigger project. The state contractor board's concrete contractor class is the license that covers forming, pouring, placing, finishing and installing concrete work.
How do I find out who will actually build my retaining wall?
Ask the contractor, because a California home improvement contractor has to tell you about any subcontractors when you ask. They have to give each one's name, contact information, license number and classification. It's a fair question to put to anyone bidding on your wall, us included.
Concrete work that often follows a new wall
Concrete floor installation
When a new wall turns a slope into level ground, a poured floor can make that space the base for a shed, studio or workshop.
See the service Concrete floor installationConcrete pool decks
Pools on sloped lots often need a wall first, and the deck around the water is the next pour once the ground behind the wall is packed and drained.
See the service Concrete pool decks
Service areas for retaining walls around Glendale
Masterwork Glendale Concrete Company is based in Glendale, California, and builds retaining walls all over Glendale and the cities around it, from Burbank to Arcadia and beyond. The 12 cities below each have their own page, and they aren't the only places we work.
Glendale, CA
Send us photos of your slope
A few pictures taken after a rain show me where the water runs, and that tells me more about the wall you need than anything else.