Is your yard sliding toward the drive or washing out at the edge? We build a concrete wall designed to hold it back.
A concrete retaining wall in Balch Springs holds back soil by standing up to the earth pushing sideways against it, so a slope stays put and the ground above and below it stays usable.
Most people call when a bank is creeping onto a patio, a yard is washing out every time it rains, or an old wall has started to lean. The wall you see is only part of the job. What keeps it standing is the footing under it, the steel inside it and the drainage behind it, and that's where I spend most of my time on an estimate.
The price moves with the wall's length and height, the footing and steel the design calls for, how much digging there is, the soil we find and whether you want curves or a decorative face. The schedule mostly turns on the permit and inspection, the weather and the wait while the concrete gains strength before soil goes back against it. Your own figure comes from the estimate, where I walk the job, measure it and write down what the price covers.
Here's how a wall job goes from your first call to the cleanup, so you know who you're dealing with at each step.
Once you call or send a message, I come out to measure and look the site over with you, because I come out for every estimate myself. I started this business in Balch Springs in 2023 after years of learning concrete next to my dad.
You get a written estimate that spells out what the price covers, including the footing, the steel and the drainage. Once you say yes, we take care of the permit side and set the pour date around the inspection.
We're licensed and insured. I'm on the job with our crew from the forms through the pour and the cleanup, so the person who measured your slope is the one checking the steel before the truck shows up.
I don't quote a wall on height alone, because groundwater, the slope above it and any car or building weight nearby all change what it has to carry. We price it from a design that covers the footing, the steel and where the water behind it goes. Then we dig and form the footing, set the steel, pour the wall, give it time to gain strength and backfill it with drain rock, filter fabric and perforated drain outlets, plus weep holes, small openings that let water out, wherever the design shows them.
Walls often come with level ground we build on afterward, like a terrace for concrete pool decks on a sloped back yard or a pad for a shop that needs concrete floor installation. If you're planning a driveway or new fill near the wall later, tell me before the design is set, because that extra weight or soil can undo a wall that was never built to carry it.
If the budget gets tight, I'd rather you skip a fancy face on the wall than shave the footing or the drain, because you can dress up a wall later but you can't get back under it.
We call 811 to have underground utilities marked before any digging starts, so nobody hits a buried line. If the ground under the footing turns out soft or settling, I tell you right then, before we go further.
Rebar, the steel bars inside the concrete, is what lets the wall stand up to the soil pushing on it, so we tie it exactly where the design puts it. I check the forms twice and measure again before a truck gets called.
We pour early in the day when we can, because midday heat can leave a weak, dusty surface. Curing is the wait while the concrete gains strength, and the wall needs that time before anything leans on it.
Soil goes back behind the wall only after it has enough strength and any bracing it needs, and we keep heavy machines off the back of a young wall so it isn't overloaded. The drain rock and outlets go in as we fill, and we make sure the water has a way out before we clean up.
Send a few photos of the slope, the wall's rough length and height, and any driveway you're planning nearby, or call (214) 286-6733. We reply within one business day, and then I come out to measure and look the site over with you for a free on-site estimate. There's no obligation to go ahead.
(214) 286-6733A concrete retaining wall in the Dallas area usually costs about $17 to $44 per square foot installed, going by one price guide's numbers for the area. That ballpark leaves out stamped or decorative faces, major demolition or digging, curved forms and walls taller than 3 feet, so expect those to cost more. Your own number comes from the estimate, where I write down what it covers.
Water trapped behind a wall can greatly increase the load on it and cause leaks, even when the concrete itself is strong. That's why keeping the drain outlets clear is part of the upkeep, and a look at them after a hard rain is a good habit.
It can, both through the ground the footing sits on and the water the clay holds behind the wall, which we cover below. Wisconsin highway guidance says cantilever walls, the kind that stand on their own wide footing, suit firm ground best, and poor or settling ground may call for piles or foundation work that significantly raise the cost. I can't tell you which your lot needs until I've looked at it and we've started digging.
The city of Balch Springs permits office covers required permits for projects in the city, so that's who decides whether your wall needs one. We check with the city on each job, and when it needs a permit we file it, book the inspections through inspections@balchspringstx.gov and tie the pour date to them.
Houston Black clay runs across the Blackland Prairie from north of Dallas south to San Antonio, and it shrinks and swells a lot as it gets wet and dries out. It also drains very slowly, soaking up water fast when it's dry and cracked but barely taking any in once it's moist. That's regional ground, not a report on your lot, but it's why I plan where the water goes before I talk about anything else.
We're based in Balch Springs and work across the cities around it, including Mesquite, Garland, Forney and Lancaster. A lot of the walls we get called about sit at the back of sloped yards or beside driveways cut into a grade, and the same care with footings and drainage goes into every one of them.
A slope that's already slumping usually gets worse with each soaking rain, so call (214) 286-6733 or send the form and I'll come take a look.
If you're still sizing up that slope, call or send a note and we'll talk it through.
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