Slope washing onto your patio or an old wall leaning? We build retaining walls that hold the soil back and let water out.
Retaining wall construction in Aliso Viejo means building a masonry wall on a concrete footing that holds back a slope and gives you level, usable ground. Steel runs up through the hollow cores of the block, so the wall can take the push of the soil without tipping or sliding.
Most people call when a slope keeps washing onto a patio or path, an old wall has started to lean, or they want to level part of the yard. Once the ground is flat, a lot of folks want a patio or an outdoor fireplace there too, and I can look at fireplace installation on the same visit.
The price mostly comes down to how big the wall face is and what it's built from. The schedule mostly turns on whether the design needs an engineer and what the city and your association have to sign off on. I'd rather know all of that before I give you a number, so your estimate prices your own wall and isn't a guess.
Call (949) 619-8220 or use the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out. A rough idea of how long and tall the wall needs to be helps me plan the visit.
I walk the slope with you, answer your questions and check whether the design needs an engineer. Your estimate covers the footing, the wall, the drainage and any engineering, so all the big pieces are on paper before you decide.
Before we start, we check your job with the city's Building and Safety office, and when a permit is needed we handle the application and the inspections. If your association has to approve the wall, we help you put the request together.
City rules let us work 7am to 8pm on weekdays and 8am to 8pm on Saturdays, with no work on Sundays or federal holidays. When the wall's done, we clean up and walk the finished job with you.
We plan how water will get out from behind the wall before anything else, because water trapped back there adds pressure the wall shouldn't have to carry. I also check early whether your design needs an engineer, so the estimate covers the whole job. If you think you'll want to adjust a curve once you see it on the ground, go with block, because its line can be corrected while it's going up and a poured concrete wall can't.
A lot of homes here fall under the Aliso Viejo Community Association, and a wall built without approval from its MAC may have to be removed or changed at your expense. So we line that approval up before we dig. We're based in Aliso Viejo and do the same work in the cities around it across Orange County.
What a retaining wall job includes:
If your old wall still stands straight and the trouble is worn mortar or a few broken blocks, repair usually makes sense, and that's the kind of careful masonry restoration we do a lot of. A wall that's leaning, bulging or cracked clean through usually means water or soil pressure is winning, and patching the face won't fix what's behind it. Then rebuilding with a proper footing and drainage is the honest answer, and I'll show you why before you decide.
Most of the cost follows the size of the wall face and what it's built from, and around Orange County people choose anything from boulders and stone to poured concrete, interlocking block, wood or railroad ties. A taller wall needs a bigger footing and more steel, and if the design needs an engineer, that's another piece of the job. How easy your yard is to dig and haul from matters too, along with how much drainage the slope calls for.
I come out to every job myself, look at the slope with you and write the estimate, then I work on the wall next to our masons and helpers. If you ask the same question twice, you'll get the same patient answer, and if your wall needs an engineer or another trade, I'll tell you that up front.
While we're working, we keep your driveway clear, protect the plants we aren't digging out and leave the yard tidy at the end of each day. I'd rather spend extra time explaining your wall than have you pay for work it doesn't need. Satisfaction guaranteed.
Call (949) 619-8220 before anyone starts digging, so drainage, engineering and approvals get sorted out while they're still easy to change.
Tell us the wall's rough length and height and add a few photos of the slope. We reply within one business day to set up your free on-site estimate, with no pressure to book.
Retaining wall construction in Orange County usually runs about $20 to $55 per square foot of wall face, which is the length times the height of the wall you see. That's what the work typically costs around the county, not our price, and where yours lands depends mostly on the material and how much digging and drainage the slope needs. Your estimate gives you the figure for your own wall.
You find out by checking the local code rules before you build, and industry guidance says to do that for a wall of any size. That answer decides whether the wall gets built to the block maker's design charts or strictly to approved drawings. If your lot sits inside a state-mapped Seismic Hazard Zone, the state has found weak soil or rock is likely underneath, which can fail in an earthquake unless grading and building take the right precautions, so I'd want an engineer on that one.
Build the drainage in from the start, because masonry trade guidance says a retaining wall needs steps that keep water from collecting behind it. Where heavy, long rains are expected, a continuous drain along the back can be added to the drains through the wall, so check whether each bid you get includes one. Our estimate spells out which drains your wall gets.
Only if that fence or wall was designed to hold soil, under the Aliso Viejo Community Association's rules. A raised planter next to an existing perimeter wall or fence needs its own sub wall, a separate small wall that keeps the dirt off the old one. I'll check what you have before we plan anything against it.
Yes, underground lines should be marked before anyone digs for a footing. Every state has an 8-1-1 Call Before You Dig service that marks utilities a few days before digging. We leave room in the schedule for that and dig carefully around the marked lines.
Look for a masonry contractor, since California's Contractors State License Board describes masonry contractors as the ones who install concrete block and stone, including walls for structures and fences, with or without mortar. We're licensed and insured, and it's fair to ask any contractor you're comparing which license they hold.
We're based in Aliso Viejo and build retaining walls in Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo and other cities nearby. Pick your city below, or call us if yours isn't listed.
