Concrete retaining walls in Sierra Madre CA - a wall that drains and holds your slope
Soil sliding onto your yard or a bank that stays soggy after rain? We build a poured concrete wall with the drainage planned first.
What goes into a concrete retaining wall in Sierra Madre?
Cornerstone Sierra Madre Concrete builds poured, steel-reinforced concrete retaining walls in Sierra Madre that hold back the soil on a slope and give the water behind them a way out. Most of the calendar time usually goes to planning and any city review, not the pour itself.
Most people call us when the hill behind the house is creeping onto the patio, an old wall has started to lean, or they want a flat spot where the yard drops away. The price mostly moves with how tall and long the wall is, whether an old wall has to come out first, whether it curves, how the soil behaves and whether you want a stamped or colored face, and the schedule turns on whether the plans need a city review, which is often the longest wait in the whole job. Before work starts, we look into what your wall needs from the city or county, and when a permit applies we handle the application as the licensed contractor and walk you through each step. I'll give you a figure for your own yard at the estimate, once I've seen the slope and where the water runs. Does that make sense?
How we build a concrete retaining wall
I start with where the water goes, because a wall with wet soil piled behind it is holding back mud and water both, like a dam that was only built for dirt. So we walk the slope with you, mark where the drain rock, the outlets and the path out of your yard will go, and settle who decides what, such as the height, the finish and where the water empties, so nobody's guessing halfway through. Then our crew digs out to firm ground, sets the forms and the rebar, the steel bars inside that hold the concrete together against the push of the hill, and pours the footing and the wall. Once the concrete has had time to cure, the wait while it hardens to full strength, we place the drain rock and outlets behind it, backfill and clean up. If the budget gets tight, I'd rather keep the footing and the drainage and go with a plain face, because you can dress up a wall later but you can't dig back under a finished one to fix what's missing.
Sometimes the wall is only the first part of the project. If you're cutting into the slope to make room for a studio or a workshop, we can pour its slab with our concrete floor installation work, and on a hillside lot with a pool, we plan the wall and the concrete pool decks around it together so the water off both heads the same way.
Why Sierra Madre homeowners call Cornerstone Sierra Madre Concrete for retaining walls
I write every estimate myself
I come out myself to look at your slope and write the estimate, and our crew builds the wall with me on site running it. The person who heard what you wanted is the one standing there on pour day, so nothing gets lost along the way.
Trained on San Gabriel Valley crews
I mixed my first concrete on our family farm for barn floors and trough pads, then spent years on crews around the San Gabriel Valley before starting this business in 2020. That's where I learned to care most about the parts you can't see once a wall is backfilled.
Licensed in California, insured every job
We're fully licensed and insured. California's licensing board has a concrete class for contractors who form, pour, place and finish concrete, so it's worth asking anyone you're considering which license they carry, us included.
We check your lot's hazard map
A state map marks areas where the ground may liquefy in a strong earthquake, loosening like wet sand shaken in a bucket, and property in a mapped zone may have to have that hazard looked at during local permitting. We'd rather know where your lot sits on that map before the wall is drawn than find out during the city's plan review.
On a wall, the part that matters most is the water path, and you won't see it once the backfill is in. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job. We're based in Sierra Madre and work in Pasadena, Arcadia, Monrovia and many other cities around them, so send the wall's rough length and height with a few photos of the slope and any wet spots through our contact page, call (626) 828-0332 or email quotes@sierramadreconcrete.com.
Get a free on-site estimate for your retaining wall
We get back to you within one business day to set a time, and I come out myself to look at the slope and write the estimate. It's free and comes with no obligation, so you can take it home, think it over and ask us anything.
What poured retaining walls look like
Questions before you build a concrete retaining wall
What does a concrete retaining wall cost in Sierra Madre?
A poured concrete retaining wall, installed, usually costs about $12 to $54 per square foot in the Los Angeles area, and a typical job at that price covers site prep, digging, ready-mix concrete, reinforcement and gravel backfill. Where your wall lands in that range comes down to the things above, like height, curves and the soil, so the estimate is where you get your own number.
Why does drainage matter behind a retaining wall?
Drainage matters because water trapped behind a wall pushes on it along with the soil, so engineering guidance favors letting it out through surface drainage, free-draining backfill and outlets like weep holes, small openings near the base, or pipe drains. One wall specialist found most of the failures they'd seen came down to poor communication on the project and water nobody managed. It's also fair to ask whether your drains include a filter, which may be needed to keep fine soil from clogging them.
Do I need a permit for a retaining wall in Sierra Madre?
The city's list doesn't settle it either way, so ask Sierra Madre Building and Safety, which issues permits for projects that alter a structure and names property line walls and fences on its list, but not retaining walls. Those permits go only to a state-licensed contractor or the property owner. If the work affects a public street or sidewalk, Public Works inspections such as grading and drainage get scheduled with Public Works at least 24 hours ahead.
How long does Sierra Madre plan check take for a retaining wall?
When a wall's plans go through plan check, the city's review of construction plans, the first review may take 6 to 8 weeks. Plans often need more than one review before a permit is issued, so build that wait into your timeline. Once work starts, the city's posted construction hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays and holidays.
What causes a concrete retaining wall to lean or crack?
Water pressure building up behind the wall is one thing that can do it, and leaning, shifting, seams pulling apart and fresh cracks can all be signs of it. If you're seeing that on an old wall, send photos when you reach out so I can look at where the water is going before we talk about anything new.
How do I make changes to my retaining wall contract in California?
Put every change in writing, because California rules require changes to a home improvement contract to be written down, easy to understand and to explain your right to cancel. That's one more reason we settle the decisions before we dig, so any changes later stay small.
Other concrete work that often goes with a wall
- Concrete floor installation
When a new wall carves out level ground for a workshop, studio or storage room, a properly poured floor slab turns that flat space into a room you can use.
- Concrete pool decks
Hillside pools often sit right against a retaining wall, so the deck around yours should shed water away from the wall and the house, not back toward them.