Retaining wall construction in Springfield IL - a wall that drains and stays put
Slope washing out or an old timber wall leaning? We build block and stone walls that hold the dirt back and let the water out.
What goes into a retaining wall that lasts in Springfield?
Retaining wall construction in Springfield is building a wall that holds back the dirt on a slope so your yard, driveway or patio stops creeping downhill, and most of what makes it last sits below the ground and behind the block.
Most people call me when a slope washes out after every hard rain or an old timber wall has started to lean and rot. We're based in Springfield and build walls in the cities around it. The price mostly comes down to how long and tall the wall is, what it's built from, how much digging and drainage it takes and how easy it is to get equipment to the spot. The schedule turns on what your city asks for at your address, getting underground lines marked and the weather, and my estimate puts your own figure in writing once I've seen the slope.
Our retaining wall construction, from the dirt up
Before the first block goes down, I work out how water gets out from behind the wall, because a wall holding back wet dirt has a much harder life than one that drains. Most walls we build are segmental walls, dry-stacked concrete block with no mortar that holds the soil back by its own weight. We dig out the line, pack a solid base and set the first course below grade so the bottom has something to push against, then stack the block and backfill as we go with the drainage built in. Where a wall carries a lot of dirt, block can be paired with flat layers of soil reinforcement that reach back into the fill, so the wall acts wider and heavier than it looks. We finish with the cap, grade the dirt and clean up, and I pick block or stone that looks like it belongs with your house.
Sometimes the wall you already have is old stone or brick worth keeping, and masonry restoration makes more sense than tearing it out. When a new wall levels off part of the yard, some people use that flat ground for a fireplace, and our fireplace installation work picks up from there.
Planning a retaining wall and its permit in Springfield
Springfield's Building & Zoning Department takes the city's permit applications and issues floodplain development permits for any development within a floodplain, but its list names fences and new buildings, not retaining walls. So whether your wall needs a permit isn't settled until someone asks, and we check with the city or village office for your address before we start and take care of the paperwork if it does. Two things stay with you as the owner. A city permit is subject to any existing easements and the city's review doesn't search for them, so pull out your closing papers before we settle where the wall runs. The applicant and owner are also responsible for soil compaction and mine subsidence research, since the permit makes no claim that the land suits the project.
The calls we get here are usually for backyards that fall off toward the street, walls along driveways and old railroad-tie walls that have rotted out. We see the same kinds of yards on jobs in Chatham and Decatur, and the work goes the same way there.
How a retaining wall job goes
Call or send the form
Call (217) 210-0722 or send the form with your address and a rough idea of the wall you want. We get back to you and set a time for me to come look.
I look over your slope
I walk the slope with you, see where the water runs and measure what the wall has to hold. You get a written estimate showing the wall, the material and the drainage I'd use, and what each one does to the price.
We check rules and schedule
Once you say go, we check what your city or village asks for at your address and set a date. Underground lines get marked through 8-1-1 a few days before digging, so the start date leaves room for that.
We build it and walk it
Our crew digs, builds the base and drainage, stacks the wall and backfills it. Before we pack up, we walk the finished wall with you and clean up the yard.
Get a written price on your retaining wall and drainage
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. I come out myself, look over the slope, tell you what I see and write up a free on-site estimate. There's no obligation to go ahead.
Questions before you build a retaining wall
How much does a retaining wall cost in Springfield, IL?
Retaining wall construction in Springfield usually costs about $20 to $50 per square foot of wall face, which is the part you see from the front. Where a wall lands in that range depends mostly on the material, whether that's boulders, stone, wood, concrete, interlocking block or railroad ties, plus the digging and drainage your slope needs. I'll price your wall once I've seen it.
Does a block retaining wall last longer than timber or railroad ties?
Yes, because concrete block doesn't rot, splinter or decay the way treated timbers and railroad ties do. A concrete block trade group's design manual also says block units resist cracking and freeze and thaw effects. If your tie wall is going soft, that's usually the time to replace it rather than patch it.
What is the best way to drain a retaining wall?
Give the water a way out at the bottom and keep more from running in at the top. One wall reinforcement maker calls for a perforated pipe behind the base that drains into the open, the bottom of the wall set into the ground and the surface sloped away from the wall. When you compare quotes, ask each contractor how theirs handles the pipe, the buried base and the grading.
Where do I apply for a retaining wall permit in Springfield, IL?
The city's permit office takes applications at 300 S. 7th St., Room 304. If your wall needs a permit, we take care of the paperwork, so you usually don't have to make that trip yourself.
How long does it take to build a retaining wall?
A concrete block trade group's manual says an experienced crew of three or four typically builds 300 to 500 square feet of block wall a day, which gives you a yardstick for any schedule you're quoted. The digging, the base and the drainage around that stacking take real time too, and I'll tell you what your wall needs at the estimate.
What causes a retaining wall to lean or bulge?
Water and a weak base cause most of it. Wet dirt pushes a lot harder than dry dirt, and a wall stacked on loose ground or sitting on top of it has little to keep it from tipping. If yours is already leaning, I'll tell you straight whether it needs a rebuild or just a section reset.
Why Springfield homeowners call Artisan Springfield Concrete and Masonry for retaining walls
I look at every wall myself
I come out to every job, look it over and write the estimate myself, and I work right alongside our crew once the job starts. The person who told you what your wall needs is standing there when the base goes in.
In business since 2013
I learned brick under an older mason, spent close to ten years doing other work and came back to start this business in 2013 because I missed building things you can stand back and look at. That's 13 years of telling people what their masonry needs, even when it's less than they expected.
Licensed and insured for wall work
We're licensed and insured. A wall job means heavy digging and equipment in your yard, so that coverage matters if something goes wrong.
Your local office checked first
Springfield, Chatham and the other cities we work in each have their own office and rules, so I check the one for your address before the design is settled. That way nobody builds a wall and then finds out it needed something different.
Get the drainage right and the rest of the wall has an easy life. Contact us or call (217) 210-0722 and I'll come take a look.
Other masonry work that goes with a new wall
Masonry restoration
An old stone or brick wall on your property may be worth saving, and restoring it can keep the character a brand-new block wall won't match.
Fireplace installation
Once a new wall levels off part of the yard, an outdoor fireplace built on that flat ground gives you a reason to sit out there into fall.
Get your retaining wall and slope looked at
Call (217) 210-0722 or send the form with the wall's rough length and height, a few photos of the slope and any easement records, and I'll show up already knowing what I'm looking at.
