Concrete retaining walls in Covina CA - a wall that drains and stays put
Slope washing onto your yard, or an old wall leaning and stained? We build concrete walls with the drainage planned first, so they hold.
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What goes into a retaining wall that holds up in Covina?
The short answer: A concrete retaining wall holds back the soil on a sloped yard, so you get flat, usable ground and a slope that stops sliding onto your patio, your driveway or the neighbor's side. At Covina Concrete we build them in Covina and the cities around it, and on most jobs the planning and approval take longer than the pour.
Most people call because a slope keeps washing out or an old wall has started to lean. The price moves with the length and height of the wall, how much dirt has to be dug out and hauled away, how the drainage gets built and how easy it is to get a crew and a concrete truck to the spot. The schedule turns mostly on the city's review, and when a wall needs a permit, we pull it before anything gets scheduled. After I look at the slope, you get a written estimate that lists what's included.
How do you know a slope or an old wall needs work?
Wall leaning or bowing out
If the top of the wall has tipped forward or the middle has bulged, the soil and water behind it are pushing harder than the wall can take. A lean usually keeps going once it starts, and every rainy season makes it worse, so it's cheaper to deal with before a section comes down.
Damp stains or white crust
Dark wet patches or a chalky white crust on the face mean water is working through the wall instead of draining out behind it. That water is weight and pressure, and a wall carrying it year after year tends to crack and tip.
Mud running onto your patio
When rain carries dirt off a bare slope onto your patio, driveway or walkway, the slope is slowly coming down. Each storm takes a little more, and the water can start working under the edge of the slab next to it.
How we build concrete retaining walls
Water is what takes walls down, so I plan the drainage before anything else, meaning where water will collect behind the wall, how it gets out and where it goes from there. We dig out for the footing, the wide concrete base the wall stands on, down to firm ground, then set the rebar, the steel bars that let the wall resist the soil pushing on it, build the forms and pour. I'd rather put in drains you can clear out later than count on weep holes, the small openings through the face, because those tend to plug up over the years. Backfill, the soil that goes back behind the wall, waits until the wall is ready to carry it, and it goes in with gravel and the drain behind the wall so water has a way out from day one.
A wall usually makes room for something else. Once the slope is held back, the new level ground is often where a concrete pool deck goes, and when a wall is cut into a hillside for a workshop or storage building, we can pour the slab inside with our concrete floor installation work.
Poured concrete wall
A wall poured in forms with steel inside suits slopes holding up a driveway, a patio or a lot of soil, because it's one solid piece tied to its footing. It takes more forming work than block, and it gives you a clean, solid face.
Concrete block wall
A block wall filled with grout and steel suits shorter walls between yards or around garden beds, since it goes up without big forms. It can be stuccoed or capped to match the house.
Plain or textured face
A plain broom or smooth face costs the least, and a textured or stamped face looks more finished from the patio. If the budget's tight, this is where to save, because the drainage and the footing behind the face are what keep the wall standing.
What happens when you call about a retaining wall in Covina?
Here's how a retaining wall job runs with us, from the first call to the walk-through. Most of the waiting happens at the city before we dig, so it helps to know the order.
- Step 01
Call and talk it through
You call (626) 412-8840 or send the form, and we talk through the slope, what sits above and below it and whether the wall would land near the property line. Photos of the slope help me come out prepared.
- Step 02
I measure and write it up
I come out myself, look at the slope and measure it. You get a written estimate that lists what's included, drainage and all, so you know what you're paying for before you decide.
- Step 03
Permit and city review first
If the wall needs a permit, we take care of it before anything gets scheduled. The city's first plan check can take 4 to 6 weeks to complete, so we set the start date once that's through.
- Step 04
Pour day and final walk
I'm there on pour day, and since the city doesn't allow noisy construction from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m., on Sundays or on public holidays, the work happens inside those hours. When it's done, we walk the wall with you before we call it finished.
What Covina asks for before a concrete retaining wall goes in
Covina Planning requires a Wall and Fence approval for every wall, whatever its height or location, before the building official will issue a building permit. A retaining wall also needs structural plans for that permit, and the city's grading guidelines list retaining walls as work that needs its own grading plan. If the wall sits on the property line, your neighbor has to sign a shared wall agreement before the city gives its approval, which is why I ask about the line at the first visit. We pull the permit as the licensed contractor and set up the inspections, and before any of that we check that your address is under the city and not the county, because that decides which office we work with.
A lot of the walls we're asked about here hold a back yard up against the neighbor's, or keep a cut slope off a new patio, and we see the same kind of slopes on jobs in Glendora and Diamond Bar. Before we dig on any of them, we call Underground Service Alert so the buried lines get marked, which the city's grading notes require.
Get a written estimate for your retaining wall
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time for me to come out. The on-site estimate is free and written, with no obligation, and it helps if you include your address, photos of the slope and whether the wall sits on the property line.
Why Covina homeowners call Covina Concrete
The owner writes every estimate
I come out, measure the slope and write the estimate myself, and a crew I've worked with for years does the forming, pouring and finishing. You're dealing with the person who decided how the wall gets built, not a salesman.
Doing concrete full time since 2013
I ran a landscape installation business first and learned concrete from the finishers I used to hire, then switched over full time in 2013. That's 13 years of paying attention to what's under and behind the concrete, not just the face.
Licensed and insured, easy to check
We're fully licensed and insured, and you can look up any contractor's active license and license types on the Contractor State License Board site. Covina's permit technicians check licenses too before they issue any permit, so it's worth checking before you sign.
The drainage on a wall disappears once the backfill goes in, so it's the part to settle before the pour. Tell us about your slope and I'll come out and take a look.
Retaining wall questions we hear in Covina
Does a retaining wall in Covina need city approval?
Yes, Covina requires a Wall and Fence approval for every wall, no matter its height or location, before a building permit is issued. A retaining wall also needs structural plans, and we handle that as the licensed contractor.
What causes a retaining wall to fail?
Poor drainage is by far the most common reason retaining walls perform badly, and that can turn into outright failure. Water that can't get out builds up pressure behind the wall, so when you compare bids, compare how each one drains it.
How long does it take to get a retaining wall approved in Covina?
The first plan check submittal in Covina can take 4 to 6 weeks to complete. Build that into your plans before you pick a start date, since the work gets scheduled after approval.
How much does a concrete retaining wall cost in Covina?
A concrete retaining wall in Los Angeles usually costs about $12 to $36 per square foot of wall face, installed. Where yours lands in that range comes down to the site, and your written estimate spells out what's included.
Can I pull my own permit for a retaining wall on a rental in Covina?
Not as an owner-builder, because Covina's checklist says California law limits owner-builder permits to the owner's principal residence. Rentals and second homes fall outside that, so the permit goes through a licensed contractor.
Do I need a soils report for a hillside retaining wall in Covina?
You might, because on hillside lots Covina's grading plan submittal may include a soils and geology report along with the wall details and structural calculations. I'll tell you at the estimate if your lot looks like it's headed that way.
Concrete work that often goes with a wall
Concrete pool decks
Once a slope is held back, the new level ground is often the right spot for a pool deck that sheds water away from the house.
Concrete floor installation
If the wall cuts into a slope to make room for a workshop, studio or storage building, the slab floor inside needs the same packed base and planning.
Send us photos of your slope
Call (626) 412-8840 or use the form, since a slope that's moving now usually moves a little more with every rain.