We Build, Repair, and Replace Retaining Walls
We are your Hampton, Virginia retaining wall specialists!
Retaining walls are a great addition to any landscape, especially if your property has an existing slope. Building a retaining wall allows you to reclaim some of that lost space by carving out usable outdoor spaces on sloping ground that would otherwise not be usable. Retaining walls can hold back earth and soil which helps to create new level areas for the construction of a new garden bed, a new lawn, a patio or an outdoor cooking area, a parking area, and more. Retaining walls can be built using a variety of materials including rock, brick, block, boulders, or even wood.
Why Do You Need Retaining Walls On Your Property?
- Do you need to prevent soil erosion on your property?
- Do you have an existing retaining wall that has failed and needs repair or rebuilt?
- Do you have a sloped property you’d like to landscape?
- Do you want to create a new outdoor living space?
- Do you want some raised garden beds around your home or property?
Outdoor Living Experts is a landscaping contractor based out of Hampton, Virginia and serving the Virginia Peninsula. We provide our services in Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, Suffolk, Smithfield, and Williamsburg.
We specialize in designing and building functional retaining walls for property owners looking to landscape their naturally sloped property. From a 60′ foot long curved block retaining wall to hold back earth around the edge of your home to larger, more complicated, retaining walls for your terraced property. The team at Outdoor Living Experts will be able to provide you with a retaining wall solution that will benefit your specific property.
Construction Of New Retaining Walls
At Outdoor Living Experts, we're proud to be certified by both the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI) and the National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA), ensuring we bring top-level skill to every retaining wall project. We choose to work exclusively with Techo-Bloc’s outstanding retaining wall products, celebrated for their strong build, beautiful design, and innovative features. In the Virginia Peninsula, homeowners often opt for styles like the modern 'Graphix' wall, the adaptable 'Mini-Creta Architectural' series, and the classic 'Prescott' wall. Each offers a unique way to enhance outdoor areas, making them more functional and visually appealing.
Segmented retaining walls bring a lot of benefits to the table. They’re not just good to look at; they’re also flexible in design, affordable, easy to put together, and built to last. These walls are pre-engineered, which means we can construct them according to your project’s specific needs without the immediate need for an architect or engineer’s design. However, for bigger or more complex walls that need it, we have the capabilities to work closely with qualified engineers. This ensures your retaining wall is not just safe and sturdy, but also a beautiful addition to your property.
Retaining Walls & Building Permits in Virginia
When you're looking to build a retaining wall in Virginia, it's important to follow local regulations to ensure safety and compliance. A building permit is required if your wall is over three feet high, situated in a flood risk area, or supporting an unusual amount of fill.
All plans for the retaining wall must adhere to the County Codes (they might vary from county to county) and be submitted with detailed construction documents, including site development and construction drawings, a geotechnical report, and a Statement of Special Inspections, all prepared by licensed Virginia professionals.
Our team, certified by ICPI and NCMA, specializes in Techo-Bloc products, ensuring that your retaining wall is not only compliant and will meet local building codes but will also be durable and aesthetically pleasing.
Proper Drainage For Retaining Walls
We are often contacted by potential customers who have an existing retaining wall that has failed, it’s either falling down, bulging, or collapsing. One of the most common reasons for retaining wall failure is that the original wall was built with poor drainage in place.
Retaining walls are designed to hold back earth from erosion. This also makes them excellent at holding back water too. The water that builds up behind a retaining wall is referred to in the industry as “hydrostatic pressure” and the external force of the soil or fill held behind your retaining wall coupled with the weight of the water held behind it is often enough to seriously compromise the integrity of your wall which can lead to failures such as bulging and even a total collapse.
Well-built retaining walls must incorporate good drainage if it’s going to last for many years. Depending on the type of material being used to build your retaining wall there are a variety of ways to integrate sufficient drainage such as lateral drains, French drains, weeping drains, blanket drains and also the use of very granular soil or fill behind the wall can also work to disperse rather than hold the water.
Understanding Retaining Wall Surcharges
When designing a retaining wall, especially when using premium Techo-Bloc products, it’s vital to take into account any additional loads that may be placed on or near the wall, commonly referred to as "surcharge". This term refers to any extra weight that the wall will need to support, aside from the soil it’s retaining. This could include vehicles like boats or RVs in a designated parking area, or even additional structural elements like tiered walls, fences, or other heavy objects positioned atop or behind the retaining wall.
Ensuring that your Techo-Bloc retaining wall is up to the task requires thoughtful design and expert installation. Our team, with its extensive experience and industry certifications from ICPI and NCMA, is well-versed in accounting for these additional loads in the construction process. We integrate specialized materials such as geo-grid into the structure of the wall, providing enhanced tensile strength to each layer, effectively tying the wall to the soil it’s supporting. This technique is critical for ensuring the long-term stability and durability of the wall, preventing potential issues like buckling or collapse due to the surcharge.
Choosing Techo-Bloc products for your retaining wall not only guarantees a stylish and sophisticated finish but also assures you of the structural integrity required to handle surcharges. Get in touch with us to discuss your specific needs, and let’s create a retaining wall that stands strong, looks great, and lasts for years to come.
Failure to properly stabilize retaining walls is another very common failure that we are called out to repair.
What Materials Do We Use For Retaining Walls?
There are many different materials to build your retaining wall out of. Below are some of the more popular materials in our area because of their availability.
- Block retaining walls
- Natural stone retaining walls
- Large boulder retaining walls
How Our Retaining Wall Construction Process Works
When building a retaining wall on your property that is designed to hold back soil and earth from erosion there is very little margin for error so when required we work directly with engineers if your wall height or surcharge requires it. We use Techo-Bloc pre-engineered retaining wall systems which can eliminate the need for detailed building plans as the system is already engineered.
- We start with our initial consultation.
- We determine how many feet of retaining wall you need.
- We determine the height of the wall and if a building permit or engineer will be required.
- We take into account any surcharges (weight) the wall might be exposed to.
- We consult with you on the materials you’d like your retaining built with.
- We’ll provide you with an accurate written estimate for the work.
The amount of work required to build a retaining wall can vary widely from project to project. The slope of your property, the amount of earth your retaining wall must hold back and the overall accessibility of your property will all contribute to the final cost. We’ll be able to offer you an accurate estimate only after a site visit.
What Does It Cost To Build Retaining Walls?
Retaining walls can vary in price depending on the size, scope, length, height, and the materials chosen. Larger walls will need to be engineered which can add to the cost.
Smaller Garden Walls
$3000 - $5000
This would be for a small garden wall (under 2 feet high) to surround a small garden or to surround a small landscaping bed.
Medium Sized Walls
$10,000 - $25,000
This would be for a medium sized wall up to 4 feet high. Installed with drainage and geo-grid so it lasts.
Large Retaining Walls
$30,000 - $100,000+
This would be a ballpark cost for a very large or tiered retaining wall or multiple wall with courses that are 4 feet or higher
Retaining Wall Projects Can Include
A beautiful retaining wall isn't just for looks. They have an important job to do. Whether we're building a brand new retaining wall or replacing an existing retaining wall that has failed, there are a number of things we do.
These prices do not include stairs. If you need stairs built within your retaining wall there will be an additional cost. These price ranges are for a typical wall built using readily available landscape block. There are a wide variety of styles and patterns available and we'll be able to provide you with a selection during our consultation. The price can vary significantly depending on the specific material you choose.
These prices are ball park figures to give you a rough idea as to what you should expect. Your particular project may vary depending on site accessibility, materials chosen, and the overall scope of work. If you need a firm price please request a consultation so we can view your potential project, listen to your ideas, and determine the actual scope of work required to complete your project. After our on-site consultation we'll be able to provide you with a firm estimate to complete your project.
Retaining Wall Repair Or Replacement
We specialize in rebuilding retaining walls that have failed and/or collapsed.
Retaining Wall Repairs
It's pretty common for us to get called out to repair an existing retaining wall that has collapsed or failed in some way. This could be an old wood retaining wall that is rotting away or a block wall that is bulging or on the verge of collapse if it has not collapsed already.
Typically we don't recommend "repairing" retaining walls. The wall has failed for a reason and that reason is typically poor construction or a poor choice of materials. When a wall has failed we will usually recommend tearing the wall out and replacing it. This would include demolition of the old wall, re-excavating the area to allow for proper base materials, installation of proper drainage, and proper backfill. Building it right is the more cost effective option in most situations.
Rebuilding Failed Retaining Walls
If your existing retaining wall has failed and needs to be replaced it's usually more cost effective to demolish the old wall, remove the materials, re-excavate the site, install a proper base, geo-grid if necessary, install drainage, and build the retaining wall properly.
We specialize in rebuilding retaining walls that have failed and would be happy to provide you with a consultation if you have a wall that you believe needs to be replaced.
Quentin and crew transformed our unique and failing backyard landscape into a space we use and enjoy. We are very happy with both the result and the process, from start to finish.
We were in the market for a nice fire pit and planned on just doing a traditional wood burning fit pit. Outdoor Living Experts (OLE) happen to come with an excellent proposal for investing into a gas fire pit and did an excellent job explaining the added benefits of the investment. We chose to move forward based off their recommendations and are so happy we did! Our family and friends love visiting in the cooler months of the year to warm up by the clean burning fire pit, that we can light up without any hassle. Best regards - David L.
Always professional from concept to design to execution. Friendly and easy to work with. We’ll be using Ole again in the near future.
They were prompt, clearly communicated and finished the job in just three days. I am extremely happy with the results.