Lubbock is flat, so you might not think you need concrete retaining walls. But many yards have a slope near a patio, a pool, a driveway or a playa lake bed, and building pads are often raised. Where soil needs to be held back, or where a raised bed meets a lower yard, concrete retaining walls do the job.
Lubbock Concrete builds poured concrete retaining walls and short landscape walls in Lubbock, TX and the South Plains. We plan footings, steel, drainage and finish, and we give a free written estimate.
When you need concrete retaining walls
Walls are for grade changes. A raised patio, a sunken driveway, a pool deck cut into a slope, a terraced garden or a pad for a shop all need soil held in place. Short walls of two to three feet are common in landscaping. Taller walls hold more soil and need engineered design.
Concrete walls resist heat, fire and rot better than timber walls, and they last longer than most block walls when built right. They can also be stamped or colored for a finished look.
- Raised patios and planting beds
- Grade changes beside driveways and pools
- Pad edges for sheds, shops and RV pads
- Drainage walls around low spots
How we build concrete retaining walls
Every wall starts with a footing. We dig, set steel and pour a footing wide enough to carry the wall. Then forms go up for the wall with vertical and horizontal steel inside. We pour the wall, finish the face and strip the forms after the concrete has gained strength.
Behind the wall, we place gravel and a drain pipe so water does not build up. Water pressure is what makes most walls fail. We send the pipe to a safe outlet, away from your slab and your neighbor.
Drainage, soil and wind on the South Plains
Our heavy rains come fast, and flat yards hold water. Without drainage, soil behind a wall turns heavy and pushes. With clay soil, swelling adds force. That is why drainage, steel and footing size are not optional. Taller walls need an engineer, and we follow the drawings.
Finishes include a smooth form face, a board texture, or a stamped stone look. Read about stamped concrete and concrete footings for related details.
Cost, timing and next steps for concrete retaining walls
Price depends on length, height, footing size, steel, drainage and access. Short walls can take a few days to build, and taller ones take longer. The wall should cure for about a week before backfill, and your plans may require longer for tall walls.
Send a sketch or photos through the contact page, or call us. We will visit and give you a free written estimate.
Concrete Retaining Walls questions answered
How tall can concrete retaining walls be without an engineer?
Many places treat walls up to about four feet, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, as ordinary landscape walls, as long as they do not carry extra loads like a driveway, a building or a steep slope. Taller walls, and any wall that holds back a load, usually need an engineered design. Rules vary, so we check what applies to your address.
If your wall needs an engineer, we can work with yours or recommend that you hire one. We pour to the drawings. For shorter walls, we choose footing size, steel and drainage that fit your soil and your wall, and we explain why. Walls that fail are almost always walls with poor drainage, so we spend our time there. Mowers, trailers and heavy planters can scratch or chip a fresh surface, so wait a week before moving them back. Hairline cracks are normal in concrete and usually harmless, but a crack that grows or has one side higher than the other deserves a visit.
Why do retaining walls fail?
The top reason is water. Soil that soaks up water gets heavy and pushes on the wall. If there is no drainage behind the wall, that pressure builds until the wall leans or cracks. Other causes are footings that are too small, not enough steel, soft soil under the footing and walls that are too tall for their design.
We build walls with gravel and a drain pipe behind them, with footings that match the height and the soil, and with steel inside. Clay soil adds swelling force, so we are careful in that case. After the wall is built, keep roof water and sprinklers from soaking the soil behind it. Control joints are shallow cuts that give the concrete a planned place to crack, and they keep cracks straight and neat instead of random. Before a big project, a quick call to the city or county about setbacks and permits is time well spent.
Can you build a concrete wall around my pool or patio?
Yes. A short concrete wall can hold the soil on one side of a patio or a pool deck, and it can double as a seat wall. We can pour the wall and the deck as one piece or in stages, and we can finish the face with color or stamped texture. We also plan drainage so water from the deck does not run into the pool or against the house.
Tell us the height of the grade change, and we will design the wall and the footing to fit. See our pages on concrete pool decks and concrete patios. We take pride in straight lines, square corners and clean edges, because those are the details people notice when a job is done. We call you before each major step, so you always know what is happening and when the crew will be on your property. Ask us how we handle cleanup, because a good crew leaves your yard tidy and takes the debris with them.
How long before I can backfill behind a new wall?
Concrete retaining walls should cure for at least a week, and taller walls longer, before soil is placed behind them. Backfilling too soon can push the wall before it has gained strength. When we backfill, we place gravel and soil in layers and compact lightly so we do not shove the wall.
Your plans may set a longer time, especially for engineered walls. We tell you the exact day when we pour, and we can handle the backfill, or we can coordinate with your landscaper. Patience at this stage protects the wall for the long haul. We are glad to meet your builder, plumber or electrician on site so the sleeves, steel and forms all line up before the pour. Heavy trucks, moving vans and delivery vehicles should stay off new concrete for about four weeks, until it reaches its full strength. If your budget is tight, we can phase a project, doing the most important slab first and the rest later.
What finish can a concrete retaining wall have?
A plain form finish is the most affordable and has a clean, simple look. We can add a board form texture that looks like wood, a stamped pattern that looks like stone or a colored face. We can also apply a stain or a sealer after the concrete cures. A cap on top gives a finished edge and a place to sit.
Bring a photo of the look you like. We can tell you what works for the height and the budget. For a wall near a pool or patio, a color that matches the deck ties the space together. Light colors keep the wall cooler in the Lubbock sun. We confirm the pour day with you the afternoon before and again that morning, so nothing about the schedule is a surprise. Good drainage keeps puddles, ice and algae off your concrete, and on flat land it takes careful planning of every slope.
Do you tear out and replace failing walls?
Yes. We remove a failing wall, fix the soil, add proper drainage and build a new one with a stronger footing and steel. If the old wall is in good shape and only needs a small fix, we say so. Sometimes adding a drain behind the wall is enough, and sometimes the whole wall has to come down.
We look at the lean, the cracks and the drainage, and we explain the options. See our page on concrete removal if a wall has to be torn out. We give a free written estimate for the fix and for the replacement. We pour year round on the South Plains, and the plan changes with the season, not the quality of the work. Keep a copy of your estimate and any approvals with your home records, since they are handy when you sell or add on. Small differences in color from one pour to another are normal in concrete, and they soften with time and sunlight.
Ready for a free estimate? Call (806) 541-4636 or use the estimate form. Lubbock Concrete gives clear written estimates for patios, slabs and driveways across the South Plains.