Our retaining wall services
Retaining Wall Services in San Francisco, CA
The short answer
San Fran Retaining Wall Pros handles every common kind of retaining wall job in San Francisco and around the Bay. Some of the work is general, like new installation, repair and replacement. The rest is specific to the wall type, because a concrete wall, a stone wall and a gabion wall each have their own rules.
Start with the job. If you need a new wall, that's installation. If an existing wall is leaning or cracked, that's repair, and sometimes replacement. If water is the problem, that's drainage. Then pick the material, which depends on height, soil, access and how the wall should look.
Height drives most of the decisions. Short garden walls can be timber, dry-stack stone or interlocking block. Walls over four feet from the bottom of the footing to the top, and any wall carrying a driveway, a building or a slope above it, usually need engineering and a permit. Those are the jobs for reinforced concrete, reinforced block and hillside systems like piers and tiebacks.
Access matters just as much. A concrete truck can't reach a stairs-only lot, so block and hand-built stone often win there. A boulder wall needs a machine that fits through a gate. A gabion wall can be hand-filled or machine-filled. We'll tell you what works on your lot before you commit to a material.
Every wall we build includes drainage, because water is the leading cause of failure. That means free-draining rock, filter fabric, a pipe and an outlet, plus weep holes where the wall type needs them. The pages below explain each service in detail, with the engineering, the materials and the Bay Area conditions that matter.
All 12 wall services
Retaining Wall Installation
New retaining walls built from the footing up, sized to the soil, the slope and the load sitting behind them.
How it works
Retaining Wall Repair
Leaning, cracked, bulging or draining badly? We find the cause first, then repair the wall or tell you it needs replacing.
How it works
Retaining Wall Replacement
When repair makes no sense, we remove the failed wall, deal with why it failed, and build a replacement sized for the real loads.
How it works
Concrete Retaining Walls
Cast-in-place reinforced concrete walls with real footings, board-formed or smooth, for tall cuts and tight lots.
How it works
Cinder Block Retaining Walls
Reinforced, grouted CMU walls for backyards and side yards, finished in stucco, paint, stone veneer or left raw.
How it works
Wood Retaining Walls
Redwood, treated Douglas fir and landscape timber walls for lower grade changes and garden terraces.
How it works
Stone Retaining Walls
Dry-stack and mortared stone walls built with proper footings, batter and drainage, not just a pretty face.
How it works
Boulder Retaining Walls
Large rock walls placed with an excavator, set into a keyed base and drained like any other engineered wall.
How it works
Interlocking Block Retaining Walls
Segmental block walls with geogrid reinforcement, the common choice for tiered yards and curved patios.
How it works
Gabion Retaining Walls
Wire basket walls filled with rock. Free draining, flexible, and a good fit for creek banks and rough access.
How it works
Retaining Wall Drainage
French drains, weep systems, waterproofing and outlets that stop water from loading your wall.
How it works
Hillside Retaining Walls
Soldier pile, tieback, soil nail and tiered systems for steep lots where a simple wall will not do.
How it worksGot a wall that needs work? Let's look at it.
Not sure which wall you need? Call San Fran Retaining Wall Pros, and we'll look at the lot and help you pick.