Concrete retaining walls in Whittier CA - built to drain water and hold your slope
Soil sliding into your yard or an old wall leaning out? We build concrete walls that drain the water and hold the ground.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
When does a Whittier yard need a concrete retaining wall?
A concrete retaining wall holds back soil and stands up to the sideways push of the earth behind it, so a sloped yard in Whittier, CA can have level, usable ground without the hill sliding down onto it.
We're based in Whittier and work across the cities around it, and most retaining wall calls start with a slope that keeps washing onto a patio or path, or a homeowner who wants to cut into the hill for flat ground. The price mostly moves with the wall's height and length, how much digging the footing needs, how much steel and drainage go in, and how easy it is to get a crew and concrete into your yard. The schedule turns on what approvals your spot on the lot needs and on the weather, since we plan the pour around it. After the pour, the concrete needs time to cure, which means it sets and gains strength before the soil goes back behind it. I'll come look at the yard and write up an estimate with the figure for your wall.
How do you know your slope needs a retaining wall?
Soil washing down after rain
If you find mud on the patio or the walkway after every storm, the slope is moving and nothing is holding it. Each rain takes a little more, and soil that piles against a slab or a fence can start to undermine it.
An old wall leaning out
A wall that tips forward or bulges in the middle is usually carrying more push than it was built for, often from water trapped behind it. The longer it leans, the more likely it becomes a full tear-out instead of a smaller fix.
Damp stains along the base
Wet patches on the face or a soggy strip at the foot of a wall mean water is sitting in the soil behind it. Water adds weight and pressure, so a wall that stays wet is working harder every season.
How we build concrete retaining walls
I start with two questions, where the water goes now and where on the lot the wall will sit, because water building up behind a wall is what pushes it out of line and the spot changes what the city or county will allow. With the drainage designed first, our crew digs out for the footing, the concrete base the wall stands on, and prepares the soil under it, since the whole wall rests there. Then we set the rebar, the steel inside that helps the concrete take the push of the soil, form and pour the footing and the wall, and check the drainage as the wall goes up, before any soil goes back behind it. If the budget gets tight, I'll tell you to save on the look of the face before you save on the footing or the drainage, because nobody sees those once the soil is back and they're what keeps the wall standing straight.
A retaining wall usually makes room for something, so the job rarely stops at the wall. The flat ground a wall creates is often where a concrete pool deck goes, and we plan the wall's drainage so the water runs away from the deck too. When a wall cuts into a hill to make space for a lower room or workshop, we can handle the concrete floor installation for that space as well.
Short walls for beds and terraces
These suit a gentle slope, a raised planting bed or a step down beside a patio. A short wall carries less push from the soil and needs less digging, which usually keeps the price lower.
Taller walls that hold back a hillside
These suit a yard where you want to cut into the slope for a flat lawn, patio or pool area. Taller walls carry far more push, so they need a wider footing, more steel and careful drainage, and where they sit on the lot matters more to the city or county.
Get an estimate for your retaining wall, written after I see the slope
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time. I come out, look at the slope and where the water runs, and write up a free estimate. No pressure, no obligation.
- Based in
- Whittier, CA 90602
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
What happens when you call about a retaining wall in Whittier?
Here's how a retaining wall job runs from your side, from the first call to walking the finished wall together.
Call or send us a message
Call (562) 358-3032 or use the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out. You don't need measurements yet, just a sense of what the wall needs to hold back.
I come out and ask questions
I ask what the wall is for, look at where the water goes now and check whether your address falls under the city or the county. Then I write up an estimate, so you see the figure for your own wall before you decide anything.
We plan the pour and build
When you're ready, we plan the pour around the weather, and our own crew does the digging, forming, pouring and finishing. I'm on site while we work, so questions get answered the same day.
We walk the finished wall together
Once the wall is done, we walk it with you and go over the drainage and anything else you want to see. Satisfaction guaranteed.
Why people in Whittier call Classic Whittier Concrete for a retaining wall
I see every job myself
I come out to look at every job before we price it, and I'm on site while our own crew forms, pours and finishes the wall. You talk with the person making the decisions about your slope, not someone passing notes along.
Licensed and insured for concrete
We're licensed and insured. That matters on a wall because California only lets an unlicensed person do minor work up to $1,000 when the job needs no permit and they employ no one, and the state licensing board counts forming, pouring and finishing concrete as concrete contractor work.
Since 2020, on the tricky yards
We've been in business since 2020, and the jobs we're known for are the ones others call tricky, like slopes, tight yards and old concrete that needs cutting out. A retaining wall is often all three at once.
If your slope is moving or an old wall is leaning, send us the details or call (562) 358-3032, and I'll come take a look.
Retaining walls, slopes and approvals in Whittier
Who approves your wall depends first on whether your address is inside Whittier or on unincorporated county land nearby, so that's the first thing I check. In unincorporated areas, LA County Public Works issues retaining wall permits. Inside the city, a wall in a front or street side yard needs a development review application and has to follow the fence and retaining wall designs the city council approved, and a mid-lot wall over six feet needs a minor conditional use permit, a special zoning approval for that wall. Which of these applies comes down to where your wall sits, so I look hard at the spot before we price anything, and when your job needs a permit, we apply for it and we're there for the inspections.
Plenty of yards around here step down from the house, with a slope at the back or along the side, and hillside soil rarely comes in one even layer, so we dig out and look at what's under the footing before we pour. We see the same kind of sloped lots on jobs in Hacienda Heights and La Habra.
Questions about concrete retaining walls in Whittier
What type of concrete retaining wall is best for my yard in Whittier?
A gravity wall usually suits shorter walls with room for a thick base, because it holds the soil back with its own weight, while a cantilever wall is reinforced concrete held steady by the soil resting on its footing, so it can stay slimmer as it gets taller. The type sets how much steel goes in and whether the wall needs soil sitting on its base to stay up. I pick it once I've seen the slope and how much room there is behind the wall.
What causes a concrete retaining wall to fail?
Poor drainage is the most common cause, more often than weak structure, according to one engineering guide, because water trapped behind a wall adds pressure it wasn't built to carry. A footing can also give way if the soil under it was poorly prepared or has layers of poor material, and then the wall sinks or tilts. That's why we put real time into the ground under the footing, since the whole wall rests on it.
How do I plan drainage behind a concrete retaining wall?
Plan it before the wall goes up, because drainage is what takes the water pressure off the wall. One engineering guide recommends weep holes, small openings along the base, fed by a layer of clean granular fill right behind the wall, with filter fabric between that layer and the soil so it doesn't clog. It's fair to ask any contractor how they'll check the drainage during the work, since the same guide advises checking it every time.
How much does a concrete retaining wall cost near Los Angeles?
A concrete retaining wall in the Los Angeles area usually costs about $20 to $45 per square foot. That's what the work generally runs in the area, not our price, and height, digging, steel, drainage and how hard your yard is to reach push it up or down. I'll write up the figure for your wall after I see it.
How tall can a retaining wall be in Whittier?
Whittier's code caps a retaining wall in the rear yard setback at six feet, or eight feet next to a commercial or manufacturing zone or the Greenway Trail. In the front yard setback, the open strip kept along the street, a wall on a lot above street grade is limited to forty-two inches, and a front yard wall over three feet has to sit at least four feet back from the right-of-way line, the edge of the public street land, with that space landscaped. These limits come from an older version of the city code, so check current figures with the city, and we confirm them for your address before we plan the wall.
How do I check if my Whittier home is in an earthquake hazard zone?
Type your address into the state's EQ Zapp tool, which shows whether the property lies in a mapped earthquake hazard zone. It's worth looking up before you plan a wall, and you can show me what it says when I come out.
Concrete work that often goes with a new wall
Concrete pool decks
When a new wall flattens part of the yard for a pool, the deck around it needs to drain away from the pool and the house.
Concrete floor installation
A wall that cuts into a hillside sometimes makes room for a lower room, shed or workshop, and that space needs a flat, solid concrete floor.
Cities where we build retaining walls
Classic Whittier Concrete is based in Whittier, California, and builds retaining walls across the cities around it, from South Whittier to West Covina. The 12 cities below have their own pages. If you're nearby and don't see yours, just ask.
Book a visit to look at your slope
Have your address and a rough idea of the wall's length and height ready when you call, so I can start checking which office covers your lot before I get there.