Retaining Walls

Retaining walls are probably the single most common thing we build. They turn unusable slopes into flat yards, carve out parking pads, hold up driveways, and keep neighbours' soil where it belongs. We build them in block, in boulder, in poured concrete — whatever the site and the budget calls for.

The Kinds of Walls We Build

• Concrete block (Allan Block, Redi-Rock, lock-block) — Clean, uniform, engineered for retention. Most common structural wall we build.
• Natural boulder — Big blast rock or fieldstone, placed with the excavator. Great for rural and acreage properties where a natural look matters.
• Poured concrete — Formed and poured on site. More labour-intensive but gives you a clean, permanent wall.
• Failed wall replacements — Old walls that are leaning, bowing, or falling apart. We rip them out and build something that lasts.

How We Build a Wall

1. Walk the Site

Every wall starts with a site visit. How tall, how long, what's it holding back, what's the soil like, what's the drainage situation. Holding three feet of grade behind a garden is not the same as holding eight feet behind a driveway — so we figure that out first.

2. Dig the Base

The base is where most walls live or die. We excavate to undisturbed subgrade, set a proper gravel footing, and run drain tile behind the wall line. You don't see any of this when the wall is done, which is exactly why it has to be right.

3. Build It Up

Course by course, block by block (or boulder by boulder). We backfill as we go, compact properly, and tie in the drainage. Cap it, clean up, and walk you through it before we leave.

Why Walls Fail

When a wall bows, leans, or collapses, it's almost always one of three things: no drainage behind it, a bad base, or the wrong materials for the load. Water builds up, freezes, pushes, and eventually wins. Good news is, all three of those are fixable — by building the wall right the first time. That's what we focus on.