Concrete retaining walls in Springdale AR - a wall that drains and holds the yard

A poured concrete retaining wall about 3 feet high in Springdale usually costs about $33 to $36 per square foot, with the concrete, materials and supplies included. That range leaves out stamped or decorative finishes, major demolition or digging, curved forms and walls taller than 3 feet, and the site and the design move it too. I come out across Springdale and the cities around it to price your wall on the slope itself.

A gravity wall holds the ground back with its own weight, while a cantilever wall is reinforced concrete standing on a footing, and it uses much less concrete but needs more design and careful building. Where there's room, I like a gravity wall because there's less to get wrong, and where space is tight, the cantilever is worth the extra planning as long as the design is settled before we pour. If the spot is hard to reach or needs tight curves, a segmental block wall built from small, light units can be the better fit.

Poor drainage is by far the most common cause of retaining wall trouble, and left alone those problems can grow until the wall fails. Clay is hard to drain once it's soaked, so wall designs almost always call for a drainable granular backfill, a coarse fill water runs through, which lowers the side pressure wet clay puts on the wall. When you compare quotes, compare the drain plans, and know that our work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.

In Springdale, drains and pipes carrying water from any structure have to run to a public right of way, a drainage easement or a public drainage system, and they can't be pointed at a neighbor's property. That's why we settle where your water ends up before we design the drain, not after the wall is built.

You can, but on Springdale jobs with clearing and grading, the city wants the ground left undisturbed for at least 25 feet from the top of the bank of any creek, stream, river, lake or other water body. Bigger sites need more, because work that disturbs soil or clears plants on half an acre or more needs an approved stormwater pollution prevention plan, and the city's Engineering Department has to approve it before construction starts.

Keep the weep holes, the small drain openings along the face of the wall, open and clear. They often clog with poor backfill, plants, animals or trash, and a plugged weep hole does nothing for the wall. A quick look after big storms and pulling weeds away from them goes a long way.