Concrete retaining walls in Novato CA - a wall built to drain and stay upright
Wall leaning, cracking or bulging with a wet slope behind it? We pour steel-reinforced walls with a drain behind them that lets the water out.
What a concrete retaining wall does for your yard
We build poured concrete retaining walls in Novato and the cities around it. A poured wall is concrete with rebar, the steel bars inside, set on a wide footing, and the soil behind it rests on that footing so its weight helps keep the wall from tipping. You usually need one when an old wall is leaning or cracking, or when a slope has to be held back to make flat room for a yard.
One guide says poured concrete suits a tall wall, a thin wall on a tight lot, a wall that doubles as a foundation or a modern look, and calls it work for an engineer and an experienced concrete contractor. Weight above lowers a wall's safe height, so if there's a driveway, a pool or a steep slope above yours, I'll tell you right away it needs an engineer.
Price moves with the wall's length and height, what sits above it and how hard the site is to reach. Time turns mostly on whether an engineer has to draw up the wall, and on curing, the wait while the concrete gains strength. If the wall sits below a concrete pool deck or beside a new concrete floor, we can plan both together, and your estimate puts a figure on your own job.
What a poured retaining wall gets you
You get the footing, steel and wall formed, poured and finished by one crew, the work California's licensing board describes as a concrete contractor's.
- I'm on site with our crew while your wall goes up
- Building concrete in Novato since 2023
- We're licensed and insured
- Backed by our satisfaction guarantee
- Quick, clear answers on what your slope needs
How a retaining wall job runs
Call or send the form
Call (628) 209-1066 or send the form and tell us roughly where the wall goes, and we'll set a time to come look.
I come out and look
I look over the slope and whatever sits above it, ask how you'll use the space and give you an estimate.
We build the wall
Once you say go, we build the footing and wall, clean up and walk it with you. Changes go in writing with your right to cancel, as state rules require.
Tell us about your slope and wall
Send photos of the slope and a rough length and height for the wall. We reply within one business day and set up your free, no-obligation estimate on site.
Questions about retaining walls in Novato
Is poured concrete the right choice for my retaining wall?
Poured concrete usually fits a tall wall, a tight lot or a wall that carries weight. The build matters as much as the choice, because a poured wall with too little steel or no drain cracks and leans, and the fix is usually tearing it down. So compare bids on steel and drainage as closely as price.
Why does drainage matter so much behind a retaining wall?
Poor drainage is by far the most common reason retaining walls perform badly, since water trapped behind one pushes on it. That's why I care about the drain behind a wall as much as the concrete you see. One guide calls for crushed stone instead of clay, fabric to keep soil out, and a perforated pipe at the base.
How much does a concrete retaining wall cost in the Bay Area?
In the Bay Area, a poured concrete retaining wall about 3 feet high usually costs about $47 to $51 per square foot installed. That usual price leaves out removing an old wall, extra height, curved or terraced designs, decorative concrete and new landscaping, so your own wall's figure comes from the estimate.
Can a retaining wall help on a slowly sliding slope in Marin?
It may, when the moving soil is shallow. An older county-wide study of Marin describes slow slides that commonly move again in later rainy seasons, even on fairly gentle slopes, and finds drainage and retaining walls may still help where homes are already built. It can't speak to your lot, so on a moving slope I bring in an engineer.
Other concrete work we do
- Concrete driveway building
- Concrete patio construction
- Stamped concrete services
- Concrete sidewalk building
- Garage floor concrete
- Decorative concrete
- Concrete floor installation
- Concrete pool decks
- Concrete steps construction
- Slab foundation building
- Foundation installation
- Concrete parking lot building
- Concrete footings
- Foundation raising
- Concrete cutting
Ask Alliance Novato Concrete about your wall
Call (628) 209-1066 or use the form and mention anything built above the wall, so I know before I come out whether an engineer belongs on the job.
