Concrete retaining walls in Chesterfield MO - built to drain and hold your slope
If a slope is washing into your yard or an old wall is leaning, we build a concrete wall that drains and holds the ground.
What goes into a concrete retaining wall in Chesterfield?
A concrete retaining wall in Chesterfield holds back soil that's pushing sideways on it, and sometimes groundwater or the weight of a driveway or building above it, so a slope becomes flat, usable ground that stays where you put it.
Most of the walls I'm called out for start with a hillside that keeps washing into the yard, an old wall that's started to lean, or a flat spot needed for a patio or pool deck. Caliber Chesterfield Concrete Company is based in Chesterfield, and we build walls here and across the cities around it in St. Louis County and St. Charles County. The price moves with the wall's height and length, how much drainage the slope needs, what the soil and anything above the wall ask of it, and how easy the site is to reach, and you'll see your own figure in a written estimate after I've looked at the site. The schedule usually turns on city and county approvals and the weather more than on the pour itself, and we're fully licensed and insured for the work.
How do you know your yard needs a retaining wall?
Most people call about a wall after the ground has already started moving. These are the things homeowners notice first, and what each one usually tells me about the slope and the water behind it.
An old wall leaning out at the top usually means water or soil pressure is winning behind it.
Soil washing down a slope after every heavy rain means the ground needs something to hold it.
Wet ground or standing water along the base of a wall usually points to drainage that isn't working.
Cracks through a wall or blocks pushed out of line mean it's carrying more than it was built for.
A patio or walk at the top of a wall dropping or cracking often means soil is moving behind it.
A slope too steep to mow or build on can usually become flat, usable ground with a wall.
If a wall is leaning or soil is on the move, call before another season of rain, since that kind of trouble rarely fixes itself.
What happens when you call about a retaining wall in Chesterfield?
Here's how a wall goes from a phone call to a finished, backfilled job, and who does what along the way. I'm on this job from the first visit to the last walk-through.
I come out and look
I come out myself to look at the slope, where the water runs now and what sits above and below the wall, and I ask how you want to use the ground. That first look tells me most of what the wall will need.
You get a written estimate
It lays out the wall type, footing, steel and drainage I'm pricing, along with what's in the price and what isn't. If the wall isn't worth building the way you pictured it, I'll tell you that too.
We line up approvals and dates
Once you say go, we find out which city and county offices your address answers to and handle the paperwork with you, and Chesterfield's zoning review usually takes 3 to 5 business days before the county building permit can follow. With approvals in hand, we pick a pour date the weather agrees with.
We pour, backfill and walk it
Our small crew forms and pours with me working alongside, and the backfill, the soil that goes back behind the wall, goes in slowly in packed layers once the wall is strong enough, with heavy equipment kept back. Then we walk the finished wall with you and go over how to care for it that first season.
Get a written estimate for your retaining wall
Send the form and we reply within one business day to set up a free on-site visit, with no pressure and no obligation. I come out myself, and your written estimate follows.
- Call
- (636) 237-0079
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM
Wall types and what goes behind the concrete
Most poured walls come in two kinds. A gravity wall is thick and heavy and holds the ground with its own weight, with light steel or none. A cantilever wall is thinner and reinforced with rebar, steel bars set inside to carry the strain concrete can't, and it stands on a wide footing so the soil resting on the back of that footing does most of the work of keeping it upright.
Segmental block walls stack manufactured concrete units dry, without mortar, and hold the soil mostly with their own weight, much like a gravity wall. They can make sense for a low garden wall or a curving bed. When a wall carries a driveway, a building or a tall bank, I'd usually point you to poured, reinforced concrete, and I'll explain why on site.
Behind a poured wall, the design usually calls for drainage gravel, perforated drain pipe with outlets, and ground shaped so water runs off instead of soaking in. None of that shows once the backfill's in, which makes it the first thing people want to trim. I'd keep it and trim the face instead, because a plain wall with good drainage holds up better than a fancy one with water trapped behind it.
Retaining wall questions from Chesterfield homeowners
Do I need a permit for a retaining wall in Chesterfield?
Yes, if the wall is over 3'-0" tall, over 2'-0" below a driveway or pool, or within its own height of a property line, because St. Louis County issues building permits for those walls. The county measures height from the ground at the base of the wall to the ground on the high side, and Chesterfield's zoning approval comes before any construction, as in the steps above. A project that disturbs 5,000 square feet or more of ground may also need a city grading permit, and city staff decide that case by case.
How much does a poured concrete retaining wall cost in the St. Louis area?
Poured concrete retaining wall installation in the St. Louis area usually costs about $10 to $35 per square foot, and that's a rough area guide, not our price. Those figures generally leave out tearing out an old wall, terraced or curved designs, decorative finishes, extra height and new landscaping, so any of those push a job higher. Your own price comes in the written estimate after I've seen the site, and the work is satisfaction guaranteed.
Why does drainage matter so much for a concrete retaining wall?
Poor drainage is by far the most common reason retaining walls perform badly, and left alone those problems can grow into a wall that fails. Water trapped behind a wall can greatly raise the push against it, so we give the gravel and drains behind the wall as much attention as the concrete in front.
Can I build a retaining wall near a creek in Chesterfield?
Not close to the bank, because Chesterfield allows no clearing, grading, digging or construction within 50 feet of the top of bank of Bonhomme, Caulks or Creve Coeur Creek, or within 25 feet of other natural streams on the city's map. Wherever the wall goes, the county wants swales, the shallow ditches that carry run-off, and natural run-off paths left open unless Public Works or the Metropolitan Sewer District of St. Louis has approved a drainage plan, so that's worth sorting out early.
How do I keep a retaining wall drain working?
Keep the drain outlets clear and flowing, because that's part of a wall's regular upkeep. Weep holes, the small openings through the face of a wall, tend to clog over the years, which is why drains you can reach and clean are more reliable, and when we walk the finished wall I'll show you where yours come out.
How do I tell if a retaining wall quote is a good one?
Look for more than a height and a price, because height alone isn't enough to size a concrete retaining wall. The footing, the steel, the drainage and the soil it's holding should come from a project design or the code that applies, and a quote with only a height behind it isn't much of a quote.
Concrete work that often goes with a wall
Concrete floor installation
If the wall levels off ground for a shed, workshop or lower-level room, a poured concrete floor is often the next job on that new flat space.
Concrete pool decks
A wall is often what makes room for a pool on a sloped lot, and planning the pool deck with it keeps water running away from both.
Tell us about your retaining wall
Call (636) 237-0079 or use the form, and mention the wall's rough height, how far it sits from the property line and any driveway, pool or creek nearby, since those decide which approvals it needs.
Mon–Fri: 8 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM