Concrete retaining walls in Daphne AL - a wall built to drain and hold the slope
Slope washing out or an old wall starting to lean? We pour concrete walls with a real drain behind them, so the ground stays put.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Concrete retaining walls we build
Poured cantilever walls
A thin upright stem on a wide base slab, tied together with steel. It uses far less concrete than a solid wall but takes more design and care to build.
Solid gravity walls
A heavier poured wall that holds the slope mostly by its own weight. It suits shorter runs where a simpler build is worth the extra concrete.
Drains behind the wall
The gravel, fabric, weep holes and base pipe that let water out from behind a wall. We build them as part of the wall, not as an extra.
Replacing a failing wall
Tearing out an old wall that's leaning, cracking or holding water, then building a new one with the footing and drain it was missing.
Do I need a concrete retaining wall for my yard in Daphne?
A concrete retaining wall in Daphne holds back a slope of soil, called the backfill, so you get flat ground you can use and a yard that stops washing out. A poured wall stands on a base slab, and part of that base reaches back under the soil it holds, which is what keeps the wall from tipping.
Most people call us when the yard keeps sliding toward the driveway or the patio, or when an old wall has started to lean. A damp band low on a wall after rain, white salt bloom or rust stains under the weep holes mean water is sitting behind it, and that's usually where the trouble starts. The price mostly turns on the wall's height and length, what sits above it, how easy it is to get equipment in and how much drain it needs. The schedule turns on the permit, the weather on pour day and the curing wait before we backfill. If the budget's tight, cut the fancy face before you cut the drain, because nobody sees the drain and it's the part that keeps the wall standing. Your written estimate prices out the main parts so you can see where the money goes.
Retaining walls, drains and the ground behind
I size each wall by its height, what will sit above it and where the water runs. The drain gets its own line in your price, because we build it as carefully as the wall.
Dig out to firm ground
We dig past the loose topsoil and pour the base the wall stands on, because a wall is only as steady as its footing.
Forms and rebar
We set the forms and tie in rebar, steel bars inside the concrete that take the soil's push without the wall cracking apart.
Pour and cure
We pour before the midday heat and let the wall cure, the wait while concrete gains strength, before any dirt goes against it.
Weep holes and base drain
Weep holes, openings through the wall, and a perforated pipe along the base give water a way out instead of letting it push.
Gravel wrapped in fabric
Clean gravel behind the wall gets wrapped in filter fabric, so fine soil can't wash in and plug the weep holes or the pipe.
Backfill and the flat ground
We backfill in layers and grade the top, leaving level ground ready for concrete pool decks or a slab from our concrete floor installation work.
Why Daphne homeowners call Precision Daphne Concrete
I learned this trade next to older finishers who'd make you redo an edge if it wasn't right, and I still care most about the parts you can't see once it's poured. On a wall, that's the footing and the drain. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
The owner looks at your wall
I come out to look at most jobs myself, and our own crew does the work with me running it, so the person who priced your wall is there for the pour.
Pouring concrete since 2013
What started as weekend patios and walks for neighbors became a full business in 2013, and that's 13 years of learning what holds up underneath.
Fully licensed and insured, ask to see it
We're fully licensed and insured. Ask to see it at the estimate, and ask the same of every other contractor bidding on your wall.
What happens when you call about a retaining wall in Daphne?
We plan each wall around how you'll use the ground above it. If you hire us, we check on permits, pour with our own crew and walk the finished wall with you before we leave.
or call (251) 572-8074
You call or send the form
Call (251) 572-8074 or use the form on this page, and most of the time it's me who calls you back.
I look at the slope
I walk the wall line with you, ask what you'll use the ground for and check where the water runs off your lot.
You get it in writing
You get a written estimate with the main parts priced out and the drain on its own line, so you can compare it with other bids.
Get a written price for your retaining wall and its drain
Send the wall's rough length and height, a few photos of the slope, and any creek, pond or wetland nearby. I'll reply within one business day to set up a free on-site estimate with no obligation.
Retaining wall questions we hear in Daphne
How much does a concrete retaining wall cost in Alabama?
A retaining wall in Alabama usually costs about $32 to $39 per square foot of wall. That's the going rate across the state, not our price, and a taller wall, tight access or a longer drain run moves your number. The on-site estimate gives you your own figure.
Should I use block or poured concrete for a retaining wall?
Block usually costs less for a low garden wall, and poured concrete is the better pick once the wall needs steel or carries weight above it, like a driveway. That's how one wall guide puts it, and it matches what we see. If block makes more sense for your wall, I'll tell you.
What causes a retaining wall to fail?
Poor drainage is by far the most common reason walls that hold back earth stop doing their job, because trapped water keeps pushing on the back of the wall. One wall guide suggests asking each contractor to price the drain and the footing apart from the wall face, then comparing those lines across bids.
Do I need a state permit to build a retaining wall on my lot?
You need state permit coverage when a site will disturb one acre or more, and that can reach a single home lot inside a subdivision plan that adds up to an acre or more. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management lists home landscaping and fences as needing no permit, but not retaining walls, so don't assume a wall is exempt.
Does a retaining wall contractor need a license in Alabama?
The state's general contractor board goes by project size, and anyone doing a structure, site work or grading worth $100,000 or more in labor and materials counts as a general contractor. Daphne's permit checklist also asks for a copy of the contractor's city business license, so ask every bidder for one.
How long does it take to build a concrete retaining wall?
It turns on the wall's length and height, the permit and the weather, so I can talk you through your schedule once I've seen the slope. The part people don't expect is the curing wait before we put dirt against the wall, and we don't rush it.
Other concrete work around your wall
Concrete floor installation
A new wall often leaves flat ground for a workshop or storage building, and that building needs a level floor slab poured on a packed base.
Explore Concrete floor installationConcrete pool decks
If the wall holds back a slope beside a pool, the deck around it needs the same care with drainage so water runs away from both.
Explore Concrete pool decksConcrete steps construction
A wall that splits the yard into two levels usually needs steps between them, and pouring them with the wall keeps the grades lined up.
Explore Concrete steps construction
Building concrete retaining walls in Daphne
In Daphne, permits and fees go through the city's Building Inspection Department, and its checklist asks for a plot plan and detailed plans, so we sketch where the wall sits on your lot early. Whether your wall needs a city permit is a question for that office, and when a job needs one, we help with the paperwork and work with the city or county office that covers your address. If your lot runs to the water or has wetland on it, the city sends you to its Environmental Programs office, so tell me about it at the estimate. The checklist also lists a line locate where it applies, which you set up by calling 811 before anyone digs.
We're based in Daphne and work in Mobile, across Baldwin County and in the cities around them. Many of the walls we're called about hold up a driveway edge or a backyard that drops toward a neighbor, and we build them the same way on jobs in Spanish Fort and Fairhope.