Retaining Walls

1. Site Assessment and Planning – The opening phase of a retaining wall project is meeting with a member of our team to discuss your project and take measurements of the location for your new wall. We then take your ideas and requests for colors, styles and material types and compile them with the dimensions (height and length) of the wall, add-ons such as steps and capstones, and then present a proposal with the price for the project.

2. Excavation and Base Preparation – After agreements are signed and deposits are made, we place your project onto our schedule. On the arrival day, our crew gets to work beginning with excavation of the area where your wall will be built. It is dug deep enough to ensure the foundation of your wall is solid and will withstand the wide range of North Carolina weather. Next, we add base material (usually class 5 gravel) and continually compact it until it’s at a depth of at least 4″-6″ or more, depending on the scope of the project.

3. First Course and Stacking – After the base is compacted and prepared thoroughly, our crew begins laying the base course block (or stacking and fitting boulders with our machinery). This phase is crucial for the structural integrity of your wall when using manufactured block. Each block on the first course must be perfectly level along the entire length of the wall. Once the base course is squared away, we begin stacking the next course and placing pins or glue (depending on the block style – if the wall is built from boulders, they’ll be stacked accordingly) in each one. During this process we stagger the block to ensure there are no gaps and place the block at their designated offset to ensure the wall is slightly focused towards the slope behind it and if drainage is needed, it’s installed during this phase.

4. Finishing Work and Final Walk Through – Once the wall is completely stacked and any necessary block cuts have been made, the top course of capstones are placed and glued to give your new wall a refined appearance. Depending on the slope, other terrain and native soil type, drainage pipe may be placed in or behind the wall as our crew back-fills compacted soil or gravel behind the wall to ensure it stays put for years to come. Lastly, our crew will complete any landscaping near the newly-built wall, grading, add black dirt and sod, etc. 

To learn about our block and boulder wall build process, or get started on your next project, give us a call today at (704) 343-8885 or schedule a design consultation by filling out our online quote request form.