Concrete retaining walls in Lafayette LA - a wall that holds the slope and drains
Yard washing out or a slope creeping toward your drive? We pour concrete walls planned for the soil's push and the water behind it.
What should a concrete retaining wall in Lafayette include?
A concrete retaining wall is a poured wall that holds back the sideways push of the soil behind it, along with the groundwater, the slope and the weight of any cars or buildings nearby. At B&R Lafayette Concrete Construction, we build them in Lafayette with the base, the steel and the drainage worked out for your yard, not just the height you need.
Most calls start with dirt washing down onto a patio, a slope easing toward the driveway or an old wall that has started to lean. Height alone doesn't size a wall, so the footing it stands on, the steel inside it and the drainage behind it should come from a design or the code, and those, with the wall's length and how much digging it takes, are what move the price. The schedule mostly turns on the permit check, the weather and the curing time the concrete needs to harden before we put soil back against it. When you compare quotes, ask each builder how they chose the footing and the drainage, and look for the drain stone, filter fabric and outlets written in, because a quote that names them shows the builder has planned for water. Our written estimate lists what's included and what isn't, so you see your own figure line by line.
What happens after you call us about a retaining wall?
Call or send the form
When you call (337) 216-1997 or send the form, we set a time for me to come out to your property. We're based in Lafayette and work in the cities around it, so please ask if yours isn't named on our site.
I walk the slope with you
I come out to see the spot, ask how you'll use the ground above and below the wall and look at where your water goes. You get a written estimate that lists what's included and what isn't, and we check with the permit office for your address before anything is scheduled.
Our crew lead builds it
On the work days our crew lead runs the job with our finishers, and I come by to check the footing, the steel and the drainage and to answer your questions. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
How we build a concrete retaining wall, and the work that goes with it
We plan the drainage behind a wall from the start, because water building up back there can greatly raise the load on the wall and push leaks through it. Before anything is drawn, I ask whether you might add a driveway or anything heavy near the wall later, since a driveway added afterward, a change in the soil behind it or water left to pool can undo what the design counted on, even when the concrete itself is strong. Our crew then digs out for the footing and packs the ground under it instead of raking it level, sets the steel that keeps the wall from bending under the soil's push, builds the forms and pours. Behind the wall we lay filter fabric, a cloth that keeps dirt from clogging the stone, then drainage gravel and a pipe, with weep holes, the small openings that let water out through the wall, and we place the outlets where you can reach them to clear them. Lafayette Parish's soil survey found the soils here fine grained and no source of sand or gravel, so that drainage stone gets hauled in. Last comes the backfill, the soil that goes back behind the wall. If a budget has to give somewhere, I'd rather keep the face plain than cut the footing or the drainage, because nobody sees those once the dirt is back, and they're what decides how the wall holds up.
A wall often comes with flat concrete above or below it. When a wall cuts a level spot into a slope for a shed, shop or room, our concrete floor installation work can pour that slab while the ground is already open. On a sloped yard with a pool, the wall holds the ground at the edge of the concrete pool decks we pour, and we plan where both drain so water from one doesn't run onto the other.
Get a written estimate for your retaining wall
We reply to every call and message within one business day, and I'll set a time to come out, see the slope and look at where your water runs. The on-site estimate is free and comes with no obligation. It helps to send the wall's rough height and length, a few photos of the slope and any plan for a driveway nearby.
Retaining wall questions from Lafayette homeowners
How much does a concrete retaining wall cost in Lafayette, LA?
A poured concrete retaining wall in Lafayette usually costs about $30 to $40 per square foot of wall face, which is the front of the wall you see. One Lafayette cost estimate for a 3 ft high wall counts site prep, digging, gravel backfill and steel in that kind of price, and leaves out taller walls, curved walls, yards with difficult soil and taking out an old wall. Our written estimate shows which of those apply to your yard.
Do I need a permit to build a retaining wall in Lafayette?
Lafayette's residential permit list doesn't name retaining walls, so the answer has to come from the city for your address. Lafayette's Development and Planning Department issues permits for all development, and its residential list names sheds and fences over 7 feet but not walls like these. As in our steps above, we ask the permit office about your address first, and when a permit is needed we take care of the application and keep you informed.
Who is allowed to build a retaining wall in Louisiana?
Under the state contractor licensing board's rules, a home project of $50,000 or more, or one that needs any structural work, has to be bid and built by a licensed Residential Building Contractor. Home improvement work over $7,500 and up to $50,000 has to be bid or done by a home improvement registrant or a licensed contractor. We're fully licensed and insured, and it's fair to ask any builder which of these they hold.
How do I take care of the drainage behind a retaining wall?
Check it twice a year, and after a heavy rain walk the wall to make sure water is coming out of the weep holes and the pipe outlet. The drainage usually runs for years with little attention, but a blocked outlet lets water back up behind the wall, which is the load the drainage is there to take away. If nothing is draining after a storm, clear what you can reach and give us a call.
Can I bring in fill dirt behind a retaining wall if my Lafayette lot is in a floodplain?
Yes, but the same amount has to come back out, because the city requires no net loss of flood storage on floodplain lots. In the city's words, if you bring one bucket of fill in, you need to take one bucket out. A wall often comes with some regrading, so I check whether your lot is in the floodplain before we plan the dirt going in and out.
What causes a concrete retaining wall to lean or crack?
The usual causes are ground settling under the footing and water left to build up behind the wall. Highway design guidance from another state notes that cantilever walls, the common poured L-shaped kind, and rigid gravity walls are the least forgiving of settlement, the ground sinking beneath them. That's why we dig out and pack the ground under the footing rather than pouring on dirt that was only raked level.
Other concrete work that goes with a retaining wall
Concrete floor installation
When a wall levels off part of a slope for a shed or shop, you'll want a flat interior slab poured on firm, packed ground.
Concrete pool decks
If your pool sits below a slope or beside a raised bed, the deck around it needs to drain away from the water and the wall alike.
Call us about your retaining wall
Call (337) 216-1997 or use the form, and I'll walk the slope with you and explain what your wall needs before you weigh any other quote.