Retaining Walls

Bessemer's terrain — with graded lots in older neighborhoods and rolling ground throughout McCalla and Pleasant Grove — creates frequent need for retaining walls along property lines, at grade changes, and around raised planting beds. We build both CMU block and poured-concrete retaining walls for three primary applications: structural walls that hold soil against grade changes, privacy or screening walls, and decorative garden walls that define landscape zones.

Every structural retaining wall starts with a properly sized footing, engineered drainage behind the wall, and a permit where required by City of Bessemer code. West Jefferson County's clay soil holds a lot of water after Alabama's frequent spring rains, so drainage design isn't optional — a wall built without a drain line and gravel backfill is a wall that will eventually fail from hydrostatic pressure, no matter how well the blocks are laid.

The part of a retaining wall you don't see determines how long it lasts. That means a reinforced footing sized to the wall height and soil load, grouted and rebar-filled block cores where the engineering calls for it, gravel backfill with a drain line so hydrostatic pressure can't build up behind the wall, and weep holes to let water escape. We handle engineering coordination and City of Bessemer permits on structural walls so the job is done right and on the record.

We install retaining walls across Bessemer and the surrounding West Jefferson County communities we serve — from Mountain Brook to Vestavia Hills. See every service area we cover, or request a free estimate to get started.