Concrete Retaining Walls in Chino CA - built to drain and hold your slope
Dirt slumping into your yard or an old wall starting to lean? We build concrete walls with the footing and drainage to hold it.
What does it take to build a retaining wall that lasts?
A concrete retaining wall in Chino is a steel-reinforced wall on a footing set into the ground, with drainage and packed soil behind it, and its job is to hold a slope back so your yard stays flat and usable.
Most calls start with a hillside that keeps washing down, a yard someone wants leveled, or an old wall that's leaning or weeping mud at the bottom. Height alone doesn't size a wall, because the footing, the steel, how deep it sits, the drainage and what the soil can take all come from the design, so when you compare bids, compare the design behind each one.
The price moves with the wall's length and height, how much digging and steel the design calls for, how easy the site is to reach, and whether an engineer or a soils study gets involved. The schedule turns mostly on settling that design and fitting around the city's plan review and inspections, and the written estimate after I come out gives you the price for your wall.
- Footing and steel sized to the design, not guessed from how tall the wall looks.
- Gravel and filter fabric behind the wall, plus a perforated drain pipe and weep holes where designed.
- Soil packed back in behind the wall and graded so rain runs away from it.
What happens when you call about a retaining wall?
I come out to every job myself, and my crew and I do the work. Here's how a retaining wall goes from your first call to a cleaned-up site.
Call or send the form
Call (909) 479-6302 or use the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out. The wall's rough length and height, a few photos and any driveway you're planning near it help me show up ready.
I look at the site
I walk the slope with you, look at where the water goes and what sits above the wall, and talk through what it needs. Then you get a written estimate, so you see the price for your wall before you decide anything.
We go over the plan
Before we dig, we go over the design and the prep, and if the wall needs a permit, we work out with you who pulls it and schedule around the city's inspections. On a wall built to the city's standard design, the inspector checks the rebar before the wall is filled and comes back for a final before any cap goes on.
Pour day through cleanup
On pour day my crew and I stay on it until the wall is finished and the site is cleaned up. When a job calls for a scanning company or an engineer, we bring in licensed specialists and plan around them.
Concrete work from footing to finished wall
These photos show the kind of concrete work a retaining wall involves, from the dug footing and steel to the finished face. They're examples of the trade, so ask me what your own wall will look like.
Exposed-aggregate concrete driveway with straight expansion joints leads to a tan garage door on a brick house.
Curved concrete driveway leads between brick gateposts to a large brick home, bordered by lawn and landscaped beds.
Concrete pool deck with large gray pavers surrounds a swimming pool beneath a covered patio with outdoor seating.
Large tan patio with tiled concrete paving, outdoor seating, a raised deck, and a fire pit.
A reddish-brown decorative stamped concrete patio with an irregular stone pattern borders a brick house.
Rectangular swimming pool is surrounded by a broad concrete deck with lounge chairs, seating areas, and a landscaped stone edge.
Get a written estimate for your retaining wall
We get back to you within one business day to set a time, and then I come out to look at the slope myself. The estimate is free, done on site, and there's no pressure or obligation to book.
(909) 479-6302Retaining wall questions from Chino homeowners
These are the questions I hear most from homeowners planning a retaining wall. The short answers are here, and I'm glad to go deeper when I come out.
How much does a concrete retaining wall cost in Chino?
Retaining wall construction in Southern California usually costs about $50 to $60 per square foot, and that's the going rate in the region, not our price. Your wall's cost comes down to its design and the site, which is why I give you a written estimate after I've seen it.
What is the best way to keep a retaining wall from failing?
Keep the water moving out from behind it, since water pressure can greatly increase the load on a wall and cause leaks. Weep holes, the small openings low in the wall, only give backup relief and can clog, so the gravel and drain behind the wall do the real work, and their outlets need to stay clear.
Can I use Chino's standard retaining wall design?
Chino posts a standard retaining wall design, and other designs may be accepted when they come with an engineered analysis. The city says using its standard design is at your own risk, with no guarantee against failure or defects, so I'll tell you straight if your slope or a planned driveway makes an engineered design the better call.
Does my retaining wall need a soils report in Chino?
It might, because the city's design criteria sheet marks a soils report, a study of the ground, as required, so that's a question for the city's building office before the design is final. If it isn't clear, we check with them first.
How do I check if my Chino property is in an earthquake hazard zone?
Type your address into the state's EQ Zapp map, which shows whether the property lies in a mapped earthquake hazard zone. Bring what you find when I come out, and we'll talk it through.
Do I need a licensed contractor to build a retaining wall in California?
Yes, unless the total contract price, labor and materials included, is under $500 and the work isn't part of a larger project, because that's the only minor-work exemption state law allows. The state licenses concrete contractors to form, pour, place and finish concrete work, and we're licensed and insured.
Concrete retaining walls in Chino and nearby cities
Chino's Building Division issues building permits and reviews plans, so when it's unclear what your wall needs, we ask them first. We're based in Chino and build the same way in Chino Hills, Ontario and the cities around them.