Concrete retaining walls in Santa Barbara CA - a wall that holds your slope and drains
Old wall leaning, or a slope sliding into the yard? We pour reinforced concrete walls with drainage behind them, so water has a way out.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
What does it take to build a concrete retaining wall in Santa Barbara?
A concrete retaining wall in Santa Barbara is usually a reinforced wall shaped like an upside-down T or an L, with a thin upright stem on a wide base, and it holds back a slope so you get level, usable ground on your lot.
Most people call us because a slope is eating into the yard, an old wall has started to tip, or they want a flat spot for a patio where the ground falls away. The price moves mostly with the size of the wall face, so its height and length, then with how much digging it takes, how easy it is to get a crew and concrete to the spot, and the drainage behind it, which our bids include. The schedule turns on the city more than on us, because a taller wall or one near the front of the lot adds review steps, and on curing, the wait while the concrete hardens and gains strength before we put soil back against it. My written estimate spells out the wall type, the drainage and everything else that's in the price for your wall.
How do you know you need a retaining wall, or a new one?
Wall leaning at the top
An old wall that tips forward or bulges in the middle is usually losing to the soil and water behind it. Once a wall starts moving it tends to keep going, and when one comes down it takes part of the yard above with it.
Water or mud at the base
Wet soil, stains or mud seeping out at the bottom of a wall usually mean the drain behind it is clogged or was never there. Every rainy season that water sits in the soil, the wall carries more load than it was built for.
Slope washing onto the yard
Soil sliding down onto a patio, path or driveway after rain means the slope needs holding back. Left alone, it keeps undercutting what sits above and burying what's below, so the fix gets bigger each winter.
How we build a concrete retaining wall
Before anything else, I tell you which type of wall I'm proposing and why, and how its height and spot on the lot will play into the city steps. On the job, we dig out for the base and pack the subgrade, the ground the wall sits on, so it doesn't settle under the weight. We set the forms and the rebar, the steel inside that carries the bending as the soil leans on the wall, then pour the base with its toe, the part under the wall's face, and its heel, the part that reaches back under the soil the wall holds. The stem goes up on that base. Behind it we lay perforated pipe in gravel along the bottom, because water building up behind a wall is the usual trouble and the pipe carries it off. Once the concrete has cured, we backfill in layers and clean up.
A wall is usually there to make flat ground, and what goes on that ground is often concrete too. Behind a pool on a sloped lot, we plan the wall and the concrete pool deck together so the deck drains away from the wall instead of into it, and where a wall is cut into a hillside to make room for a workshop or garage, we can pour the slab with our concrete floor installation work.
Reinforced cantilever wall
This is the T or L shape, and the soil sitting on the heel works like a counterweight, so it holds back a lot of ground with far less concrete than a solid wall of the same height. It's what I propose for most walls that hold a real slope.
Gravity wall
A gravity wall holds the soil back by its own weight, so it's thick and heavy all the way up. It can make sense for a low garden wall or planter edge, but it takes much more concrete as it gets taller, which is why we usually steer taller walls to cantilever.
Get a written estimate for your retaining wall
We reply within one business day. The estimate is free and in person, with no obligation. I come out, measure the slope and check the drainage, then send a written estimate that spells out what's in it.
(805) 869-0160- Based in
- Santa Barbara, CA 93101
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM
What happens when you call about a retaining wall in Santa Barbara?
Here's how a retaining wall job runs once you get in touch, and who you'll deal with at each step, from the first visit to the final walk-through.
Call or send the form
Call (805) 869-0160 or send the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out to your property. If you have photos of the slope or the old wall, send them along.
I measure and check the ground
I measure, look at the soil and where water runs across the lot, and ask what the flat ground is for. You get a written estimate that names the wall type, the drainage and what's included, so you can compare it line for line with other bids.
We sort out the city steps
Before we set a date, we check what your address needs from the city or county, and if the wall needs a permit, the city's plan reviewers check the plans against state and local codes and its inspectors later check the work against those approved plans. We build the schedule around that review.
We build, then walk it together
Our crew forms, pours and finishes with me on site, and the drainage goes in before any soil goes back. When it's done, I walk the finished wall with you.
Why Santa Barbara homeowners call Premier Santa Barbara Concrete for walls
I estimate and stay on site
I come out to measure and price every wall myself, and I'm there while our crew forms, pours and finishes it. The person who planned your drainage is the one watching it go in.
Learned here, in business since 2017
I learned the trade on a flatwork crew here in Santa Barbara, on forms, pours and finishing, and started this business in 2017 once I could stand behind every part of the work. That's why I put the most care into what you can't see later, the ground, the forms and the drainage.
Fully licensed and insured contractor
We're fully licensed and insured. California's licensing board sorts contractors by trade and keeps a classification just for concrete work, forming, pouring, placing and finishing, which is exactly the work a poured wall is.
The first things to settle on any wall are its height and where it goes, so send us the details and I'll come take a look.
Retaining walls, slopes and city rules in Santa Barbara
In the City of Santa Barbara, building permits come from the city's Building Counter & Plan Review, and the city doesn't require one for a retaining wall 4 feet or less, counting the footing, with no surcharge, the city's word for extra load pressing on the soil behind it, like a driveway or a slope above. Past that, plan on a permit, and on a single-family lot a permit for a wall 6 feet or taller goes to the city's Single Family Design Board for design review. Spot matters too, because within 10 feet of the front lot line the city's fence, wall and hedge guidelines limit walls to three and a half feet, though administrative approval can let one go up to four feet over that. If you want a fence on top, the part of the retaining wall above finished grade counts toward the total height. We check with the city or county office that covers your address before we set a date, and if the wall needs a permit, we pull it or walk you through it.
A lot of homes here sit on slopes, and the walls we get called about have often spent years holding back wet soil without much of a drain behind them. Parts of the South Coast also fall in the state's mapped Seismic Hazard Zones, where weak soil or rock is likely underneath and can fail in an earthquake unless it's handled with care during grading and building, so I look hard at the ground before we price a wall. We're based in Santa Barbara and work across the South Coast, and we see the same hillside work in Montecito and Carpinteria.
Questions about retaining walls in Santa Barbara
How much does a concrete retaining wall cost in Santa Barbara?
Poured concrete retaining walls in Santa Barbara usually run about $35 to $50 per square foot of wall face, which is the going rate in the area, not a quote from us. Where yours lands depends on its height, how much digging and hauling the site needs, how easy it is to reach, and the drainage behind it. My written estimate shows what's in the price for your wall.
Does a short retaining wall need a permit in Santa Barbara?
A short wall often doesn't in the city, under its rule for low walls with nothing extra pressing on them, covered above. Taller walls, walls near the front lot line and walls with a fence on top bring other city steps, so we check with the office that covers your address before we set a date.
Why does drainage matter so much behind a retaining wall?
Drainage matters because water is where most wall trouble starts. Soaked soil is heavier and pushes harder, and a perforated pipe behind the base, wrapped in gravel and usually filter fabric, carries that water off before it fills the backfill, the soil the wall holds. Whoever you hire, ask to see the drainage plan in the bid.
How much can a contractor ask for up front in California?
California's Contractors State License Board says a contractor can't ask for or take a down payment of more than $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less, on any home improvement project. After that, each payment has to be clearly listed in the contract and tied to work already done or materials already delivered to your home, so you can hold any payment request up against that rule.
How do I check my retaining wall for problems?
Walk the wall each spring and look for leaning, bulging, cracked caps and clogged weep holes, the small openings near the bottom of the face, which is what one wall-building guide suggests. The same guide says a lean of more than 1 inch for every 4 feet of height needs attention, and since most failures start with water, it says to fix drainage problems first.
How long does it take to build a concrete retaining wall?
Building the wall is usually the shorter part of the job, and the city steps and the curing before backfill usually take longer. A wall that needs a permit or design review waits on the city, and once it's poured, the concrete has to cure before we load soil against it. At the estimate visit I'll walk you through the order for your wall.
Concrete work that often goes with a wall
Concrete floor installation
When a wall makes room for a lower workshop, storage room or garage cut into the slope, the floor slab inside it needs its own careful base.
Concrete pool decks
A pool on a sloped lot often needs a wall and a deck planned together, so splash and rain run away from the wall, not into its backfill.
Service areas for retaining wall work
Premier Santa Barbara Concrete is based in Santa Barbara, CA, and builds retaining walls across the South Coast. Eight cities have their own page below, including Goleta and Santa Ynez, and we work in the cities around them too.
Santa Barbara, CA
Get your retaining wall measured and priced
A quick note with the wall's rough height, length and spot on the lot lets me show up ready to tell you which wall type fits and what the city will want.