Concrete retaining walls in El Monte CA - a wall that drains and holds your yard
Leaning wall, a slope washing out or water seeping through the face? We build concrete retaining walls with the drainage done right behind them.
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What goes into building a retaining wall in El Monte?
A concrete retaining wall holds back the soil where your yard changes level, and we build them in El Monte on a concrete footing that keeps the wall from tipping or sliding, with steel set upright inside to take the push of the dirt. Most of the work happens below ground and behind the wall, before you see much of anything.
Most calls start with a slope that's sliding onto a patio or a driveway, or an old wall that's leaning and wet at the bottom. The price moves with the wall's height and length, what sits above it, how easy it is to dig and whether an old wall has to come out first. The schedule turns mostly on whether your wall fits the city's ready-made plans or needs its own design, and the estimate puts your figure in writing with what it covers and what it doesn't.
How can you tell a retaining wall is in trouble?
Top leaning outward
If the top of the wall has tipped out past the bottom, the dirt and water behind it are pushing harder than the wall was built for, usually because the water has nowhere to go or the footing is too small. That lean only gets worse, and when a wall finally lets go it drops the slope onto whatever sits below it.
Wet face after rain
Dark wet patches, a white crust or water trickling through cracks mean water is trapped behind the wall instead of leaving through a drain. Every storm that soaks the dirt adds weight against the wall, so a wall that's always wet is carrying more than it should.
Slope washing into the yard
If mud slides onto your patio, walkway or driveway after every heavy rain, the slope needs something holding it back. Waiting means you keep losing yard, and the dirt that comes down ends up against the slab or the side of the house.
How we build concrete retaining walls
Water building up behind a wall is what pushes it out, so the drainage gets as much attention as the concrete. We dig out for the footing, the wide concrete base that keeps the wall from tipping, set the rebar, the steel bars that hold the wall together against the push of the dirt, and pour. Then we build the wall with steel running up through it, lay drain rock or filter fabric and a perforated pipe behind it with outlets so water has a way out, backfill in layers and slope the ground on top so rain runs away instead of soaking in. If you're planning a driveway near the wall, tell me now, because the weight of cars, extra fill or water left to build up can undo what the wall was designed for even when the concrete itself is strong.
A wall usually comes with flat work above or below it. When the wall levels out a backyard for a pool, we can pour concrete pool decks that tie into it, and when it cuts into a slope to make room for a shed or workshop, we handle the concrete floor installation too, planning the drainage for both so neither one sends water toward the other.
City standard plan wall
Suits a wall with level ground behind it and nothing heavy above, because El Monte already has drawings for that and following them saves the cost of a custom design.
Engineered wall
Suits a taller wall, a slope above it, a driveway close by or a curved layout, because each of those pushes on the wall in ways the standard drawings don't cover.
Get a written price for your retaining wall
Tell us the wall's rough height and length and what sits above it. We reply within one business day, and I'll call to set a time to look at it with you. The estimate is free, done at your property, and comes with no pressure and no obligation.
(626) 416-2123Concrete retaining walls in El Monte and the permit question
El Monte's Building Department issues the permits, and the city code text we've seen exempts walls no more than 3 feet tall, measured from the top of the footing to the top of the wall, unless the wall holds back extra weight like a driveway or a slope above it. That text was written before the city's latest code update, so we check the current rule with the counter staff, who also tell you which other city departments need to sign off. Permit or not, the wall still has to meet the city's zoning rules.
We're based in El Monte and work in the cities around it, and the ground is the other thing we watch. The city recommends a soils report on any project here because some soil swells when it gets wet and some can turn soft in a strong earthquake, and I'd rather know what's under a footing before we pour it. Walls run taller in the hillier parts of Monterey Park and West Covina, where more of them end up needing their own design.
What happens after you call about a retaining wall?
Call or send the form
I call you back and set a time to come see the wall or the slope that needs one. A couple of photos sent ahead help me show up with the right questions.
Walk the site together
I walk it with you, ask what the wall is for and give you a written estimate that lists what's in the price and what isn't. That's where a soils report, an engineer or hauling off an old wall shows up, so none of it surprises you later.
Line up permit and reports
If the wall needs a permit, we pull it and schedule the inspections. If the city wants a soils report or an engineer's plans first, you hear it at the start and we help you get them.
Build it, then walk it again
We dig, pour and build the wall, then put in the drain and backfill, with the city's inspections along the way. When it's done I walk it with you again and show you where the water comes out.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a concrete retaining wall cost in El Monte?
A 3-foot-high poured concrete retaining wall in the Los Angeles area usually costs about $50 to $54 per square foot, and that covers site prep, digging and the steel. That's the going rate in the area, not our price. Curved walls, stamped or multi-colored faces, walls over 3 feet and difficult soil all push it higher, and our written estimate gives you our number for your wall.
When do I need an engineer or a soils report for a retaining wall in El Monte?
You need a registered engineer or architect when your wall changes the materials, methods or sizes on El Monte's standard retaining wall plans, which owners can use when applying for a permit and which need no engineer if followed exactly. Those plans are block walls drawn for level ground behind them. The city requires a soils report when a wall is over 6 feet tall or its footing sits closer to a slope than the building code normally allows.
How do I keep a retaining wall draining properly?
Keep the weep holes, the small openings near the base, and the drain pipe outlets clear, because water that can't get out builds pressure against the wall and leaks through it. One drainage guide suggests checking twice a year and walking the wall after heavy rain to see water coming out of the weep holes and the pipe. If they stay dry after a storm but the face looks wet, give us a call.
Does a retaining wall contractor need a license in California?
Yes, for any wall that needs a permit. California's small-job exemption only covers work up to $1,000 that needs no permit and where the person doing it has no employees, so a permitted wall falls outside it. The state defines a concrete contractor as one who forms, pours, places and finishes concrete work, so that's the license to ask about.
Can I build a retaining wall right on my property line in El Monte?
Only if the whole footing stays on your side, because El Monte's standard plan requires footings on the owner's own property, and you get a survey when the line is in question. The plan also lets drainage run onto a neighbor's lot, a flood control channel or an easement only with Public Works approval first. We plan the footing and the drain outlets around both before we dig.
How long does it take to build a concrete retaining wall?
The build is usually the shorter part, and the paperwork sets the pace. A wall that follows the city's standard plan can go in for a permit sooner, while an engineered wall waits on the engineer and any soils report first. Once it's poured, the concrete needs time to cure and gain strength before we backfill against it, and we don't cut that wait short.
El Monte, CA
Plan your retaining wall before the dig
Call or send the form with the wall's height and length, any driveway plans and your property survey if you have one, and I can tell you early whether the city's standard plan fits.