Retaining wall construction in Ventura CA - a wall that drains and holds the slope
Is your slope sliding into the yard or your old wall leaning? We build drained, well-compacted walls that keep the soil where it belongs.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Do I need a retaining wall, and what goes into building one?
Retaining wall construction in Ventura means building a wall of block, stone, concrete or boulders that holds a slope back, so you get usable level ground and soil that stays where it is.
Most people call us because a slope keeps sliding into the yard, an old wall has started to lean, or they want flat ground for a patio or garden they've been planning for a while. The price mostly turns on the material you pick, how tall and long the wall runs, how much water we have to move away from it and how easy it is to get a crew and equipment into the yard. The schedule turns on those same size questions plus whether the wall needs an engineer or a city permit, and when it needs a permit, we handle the application and the inspections. I'll put all of it in writing for your wall at the estimate, with what I'd do and why.
How do you know your yard needs a new retaining wall?
Wall leaning or bowing out
When the top of a wall tips forward or the face bulges, the soil behind it is pushing harder than the wall was built to take, usually because water is trapped back there. Waiting lets it keep moving until it comes down, and then you're paying to clear the mess before anything new goes up.
Soil washing onto your patio
Mud and gravel spreading across a patio or path after rain means water is running over or through the slope instead of away from it. Left alone, it keeps eating at the ground under the slope, and the repair gets bigger with every storm.
Rotting timbers or split ties
Old wood walls go soft, split and bow as the timbers rot, and once they break down they stop holding anything back. If you catch it while the wall is still standing, you can plan the replacement on your own schedule instead of after it falls.
How we handle retaining wall construction
We plan where the water goes before we plan the wall, because water behind a wall adds weight, washes soil out and softens the ground the wall stands on. That starts with walking the yard to see where your roof, downspouts and paving send rain, so we can steer it away from the wall wherever we can. Then we dig out, pack a firm base for the bottom row, set a drain behind the wall and build it up row by row. We compact the fill behind it in layers as the wall rises instead of dumping it in, since loose fill settles, holds water and pushes harder on the wall. On taller walls or weak ground, we bring in an engineer before we build anything.
If you already have an older brick or stone wall that's still standing straight, I'll tell you plainly if masonry restoration makes more sense than a new wall. And once a wall gives you level ground, a lot of people want a place to gather on it, so we also do fireplace installation.
Interlocking concrete block
This suits most yard walls, because the blocks stack, lock together and stand up to water and weather without cracking easily, splintering or rotting the way wood timbers do. It's the material I point most people toward when they're weighing block against timber.
Natural stone or boulders
Stone suits a yard where you want the wall to look like it's always been there, and it can be laid with or without mortar. It usually costs more than block because the stone and the hand fitting take more, so it's worth it mostly where the wall is in plain view.
Get a written plan for your retaining wall
Send the form with your wall's rough height and length and a few photos of the slope and any downspouts near it. We reply within one business day, and the on-site estimate is free with no obligation.
(805) 507-9163- Based in
- Ventura, CA 93001
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–11 PM
What happens when you call about a retaining wall in Ventura?
Here's how a retaining wall job runs from your side, from the first call to the walk around the finished wall.
Set a time to look
Call (805) 507-9163 or send the form and we'll find a time for me to come out to your house. I look at the slope, where the water runs and the ground behind it, and answer your questions before I write anything up.
Read your written estimate
It says what we'd build, how we'd drain it and why, so you know what you're paying for before any work starts. When you're ready, we line up any permits and set a start.
Build it, then walk it
Our masons do the work while I run the job on site and check the base and each layer of fill as it goes. At the end I walk the finished wall with you.
Why Ventura homeowners call A&B Ventura Concrete and Masonry for retaining walls
I look at every wall myself
We're based in Ventura, and I come out to every job myself, then stay on site running it while our crew of experienced masons builds. You deal with the person who planned your wall from the first look to the last walk.
Fully licensed and insured
We're fully licensed and insured. California puts walls of block and stone, built with or without mortar, under its masonry contractor license, so it's fair to ask any builder you're weighing which license they hold.
In business since 2021
I learned the trade under an older mason after years of yard work, and started this business in 2021. Satisfaction guaranteed.
If you're thinking about a wall, the first thing to settle is where the water will go, and I can show you that on site. Set up a visit or call (805) 507-9163.
Retaining walls and grading on Ventura lots
In Ventura, the city requires a permit for a retaining wall 4 feet or taller, measured from the bottom of the footing, the buried base the wall sits on, and for shorter walls that hold up extra load, which the city calls a surcharge. If anything sits above your wall, we ask the city whether it counts before we start. The digging and fill can also need a grading permit, and the city sends owners to its Land Development office to ask, with its own grading requirements for hillside lots. If you live in Pierpont or the Ventura Keys, the city wants you to check with its Planning office too. When a permit is needed, we handle the application and set up the inspections, and when it isn't clear, we ask before anyone digs.
Most walls we're asked about around Ventura hold back a sloped back yard that was cut flat years ago. We see the same kind of slope on jobs in Ojai and Thousand Oaks, and we check with whichever city or county office covers your address.
Questions about retaining walls in Ventura
How much does a retaining wall cost in Ventura?
Retaining wall construction in Ventura usually costs about $20 to $55 per square foot of wall face, the side of the wall you see, and that's the going rate in the area rather than our price. The material is the biggest reason a wall lands high or low in that range. Your written estimate spells out what we'd build for your wall and why.
Do I need a permit to build a retaining wall in Ventura?
Often, yes, because the city requires a permit once a wall reaches a certain height or holds up extra load, and the digging can bring in a grading permit too. The height rule and the other checks are laid out in the section on Ventura lots above, and we sort out which ones apply to your lot.
When does a retaining wall need an engineer?
One block maker's guide says walls taller than 36 inches above the ground, terraced walls, meaning stepped walls set one above another, and walls on weak soil call for a qualified engineer and a professional contractor. We bring in an engineer on taller walls or weak ground. Keep in mind the maker measures from the ground you see, while the city's permit height counts from the bottom of the footing.
How long does it take to build a retaining wall?
The building itself usually moves quickly, and one industry guide figures an experienced crew of three or four lays 300 to 500 square feet of interlocking block wall a day. Most of the calendar time usually goes to permits, an engineer when the wall needs one, and the digging and drainage before the first block goes down.
Do I need to call 811 before building a retaining wall?
Yes, call 811, the Call Before You Dig line, a few days before work starts so underground utilities get marked and the crew can dig around them carefully. A wall needs a trench for its footing and room behind it for drainage, so even a short one goes deeper than most people expect.
How do I check for easements before building a retaining wall?
Look at your Title Report, because the city tells owners to check it for easement restrictions before they build. An easement can limit what you put on part of your lot, so have the report handy when I come out and we'll place the wall with it in mind.
Related masonry work around your new wall
Masonry restoration
Worth a look if an older brick or stone wall on your property is sound underneath but shows crumbling joints, chipped faces or years of weather.
Fireplace installation
When you're already planning masonry for the house or yard, a built-in fireplace is work our crew does too, and the new level ground can make room for one.
Cities where we build retaining walls
A&B Ventura Concrete and Masonry is based in Ventura, CA, and builds retaining walls across the 12 cities listed here, from Oxnard to Santa Barbara. If your city isn't on the list, call and ask.
Ventura, CA
Book a look at your retaining wall
Seeing what's behind the slope and where your rain really runs, in person, tells us more about the right wall than any photo can.