Concrete retaining walls in Alabaster AL - a wall that drains and stays straight
A slope that keeps washing out or an old wall leaning forward? We build a drained concrete wall that holds the dirt back.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Do you need a retaining wall for that slope?
Concrete retaining walls hold back the soil on a slope so your yard, driveway or patio above stays where it is, and we build them in Alabaster, AL as poured walls or block walls with drainage behind them.
Most people call when mud keeps washing onto the driveway after a hard rain, or when an old wall has started to tip. The price moves with how long and tall the wall is, how much dirt it holds back, what sits above it, how easy the spot is to reach and whether it's poured or block. The schedule turns mostly on the weather for the pour and on any permit the job needs, and I'll put what your wall takes in a written estimate that spells out what's included.
How can you tell a slope or an old wall needs work?
Wall tipping forward
If the top of the wall leans out past the bottom, or the middle bulges, the water and dirt behind it are usually pushing harder than it was built for. A leaning wall doesn't straighten back up, and the further it goes, the more of it has to come down and be rebuilt.
Pooling water at the base
Damp streaks down the face or water standing below the wall usually mean the water behind it has no clear way out. That trapped water is what moves walls, so it's cheaper to deal with now than after the wall shifts.
Dirt washing off the slope
When every hard rain leaves mud on the driveway or the patio, the slope is moving a little at a time. Left alone, it keeps eating into the yard and can wash out the ground under the slabs next to it.
How we build concrete retaining walls
First I walk the slope with you and we talk through poured concrete or block, based on how much dirt the wall holds back and what sits above it, whether that's a driveway or a flower bed. Then our crew digs out and packs a solid base so the wall doesn't settle with the dirt, builds the wall, and sets weep holes, small openings through the face that give water a way out. Most of our effort goes behind the wall, where we lay gravel wrapped in filter fabric and a perforated drain at the bottom carried out to an outlet, because trapped water is what pushes walls out of line and the fabric keeps fine soil from plugging the gravel. All of that is buried before you ever see the finished wall, so it's the first thing a tight budget wants to cut, and it's the part I won't cut, because a good-looking face doesn't help if the dirt behind it stays soaked.
A wall usually makes room for something else. When it holds back a slope so you can put in a pool, we can pour the concrete pool decks around it, and when it levels ground for a shop or storage building, our concrete floor installation gives that building something flat to sit on.
Poured concrete wall
We build forms, set rebar, the steel bar that keeps the concrete together under load, and fill them so the wall comes out as one solid piece. It usually suits walls holding back a lot of dirt or carrying something heavy above, like a driveway or a parking area.
Block wall
Interlocking concrete blocks go up in rows over a packed base, with the same gravel, fabric and drain behind them. It usually suits lower walls around beds and lawns, and it's easier to run along a curve.
Get a free retaining wall estimate at your property
Send the wall's length, height, what sits above it and photos of the slope. We reply within one business day, then I come out, walk it and write a free estimate with no obligation.
(659) 901-5011- Based in
- Alabaster, AL 35007
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call us about a retaining wall?
Here's how a retaining wall job runs on your end, from the first call to the day we clean up and leave.
- +01
Call or send us a message
Call (659) 901-5011 or use the form and tell us roughly how long and tall the wall needs to be and what sits above it. We'll set a time for me to come out and see it.
- +02
I come out and price it
I look at the job and the ground, where the water runs and what the wall has to hold, then write an estimate that spells out what's included. The drainage shows up on paper as its own part of the job, so nothing behind the wall is a surprise on the bill.
- +03
We set a date and build
Once you say go, we line up any permit the job needs and pick a pour date that fits the weather. I'm on site with our crew from prep through cleanup.
Why Alabaster homeowners call Alabaster Concrete for retaining walls
On a wall, what matters is the drain you won't see once the dirt goes back in, so tell us about your slope and I'll come take a look.
Started with Alabaster neighbors
I got into concrete pouring walks and small pads for neighbors around Alabaster, and in 2023 I turned it into a real business. People kept calling because I tell them straight what a job needs, even when the answer is that it isn't worth doing.
The person pricing it builds it
I come out to look at the job and write the estimate myself, and I run our crew on site when the wall goes in. What you hear on the walk-through is what gets built, with nothing lost in a handoff.
Licensed and insured for your job
We're fully licensed and insured. Alabama's home builder licensing board defines a residential home builder as someone who builds, repairs or improves a residential structure when labor and materials come to more than $10,000, for work under the board's jurisdiction.
Retaining walls and ground work in Alabaster
In Alabaster, the city's Building Official handles permits for clearing, grading, excavation, filling or other work that may cause erosion, and that list names the ground work, not retaining walls. Which office handles your job depends on where you live, so before we set a date we check with the one over your address. If a permit is needed, we take care of the paperwork, or walk you through it if you're acting as your own contractor, and the city's online permit site lets you set up an account to submit permits, track them and pay. The city's form also says a grading plan may be required when significant grading is planned, which is worth knowing when a wall means cutting back a hill.
Plenty of yards here sit on a slope, with a driveway cut into the hill or a backyard that drops off. We see the same kind of cut-back lots on jobs in Pelham and Helena, and we start the same way, by finding where the water runs before anything gets built.
Questions about retaining walls in Alabaster
How much does a concrete retaining wall cost in Alabaster?
A poured concrete retaining wall built by a contractor usually costs about $30 to $50 per square foot across the US. That's a national figure for poured walls, not our price, and your number comes from the written estimate once I've seen the slope and what sits above it.
Should I build a poured concrete or block retaining wall?
Choose based on how much dirt the wall holds back, what sits above it and who's building it. One retaining wall guide says block wins on cost and flexibility at garden heights, while poured concrete wins once the wall needs steel inside it or carries a load above. I'll go over which one fits your slope when I walk the job.
What does Alabaster ask for before ground work starts on a retaining wall?
When the city's land disturbance permit applies, Alabaster asks for an erosion and sediment control plan, a site plan and a tree survey, which the City Engineer reviews. No ground work starts until that permit is issued, so if it applies to your job, we build that wait into the schedule.
How do I keep a retaining wall draining after it's built?
Check the weep holes every so often and keep them clear, because plants, debris and settling soil can plug them. While you're there, look for water pooling at the base or seeping through the face, and call if you see it, since that usually means the water behind the wall isn't getting out.
How long does a concrete retaining wall last?
The concrete itself can outlast the house, one retaining wall guide says, but the drainage and joints decide how long the wall keeps doing its job. The same guide says a wall with a working footing drain and clear weep holes holds its line for decades, so the drain is the part worth protecting. We back the work with satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
What causes a retaining wall to lean or shift?
Usually it's the fill and the drainage behind the wall, not the concrete, because soaked dirt pushes harder than dry dirt. One guide says a wall backfilled with clay and no drainage outlet can start shifting within a few freeze and thaw cycles.
Other concrete work that goes with a wall
A shed, workshop or storage building on newly level ground needs a floor poured flat and thick enough for what you'll park or store on it.
A pool tucked against a new wall needs a deck that sheds splash water away from the edge instead of sending it back toward the wall.
Service areas for retaining walls near Alabaster
Alabaster Concrete is based in Alabaster, Alabama, and builds retaining walls in the cities around it, including Hoover and Calera. Below are the 12 cities with their own pages, and if yours isn't listed, call and ask whether we come out your way.
Send us photos of your slope
A few photos and a rough length and height let me show up knowing what to look for, so the visit goes to the ground and the drainage.
Alabaster, AL