Concrete retaining walls in Sheridan WY - built to drain and hold your yard in place
Slope sliding, soil washing onto the lawn or an old wall leaning? We build concrete walls that drain and hold the ground back.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free quotes on site.
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What does it take to build a retaining wall that holds?
A concrete retaining wall in Sheridan holds back a slope with a reinforced wall and footing, so you get flat ground you can use and soil that stays where it belongs. Most of how well a wall holds up is decided below grade, in the footing, the soil under it and the drainage behind it.
Most people call when a slope is creeping toward the driveway, dirt is washing onto the patio after every storm, or an old wall has started to lean. The price moves with the wall's height and length, whether it's poured concrete or block, how much digging and hauling the site needs, how the water gets out, and whether the wall needs an engineer's design. The schedule turns on that design, the weather for the pour and what we find once the ground is open, and the written estimate I give you after seeing your site puts your own numbers on all of it.
How we build a concrete retaining wall
On a retaining wall the first thing I ask is where the water will go, because water trapped behind a wall is what ruins most of them. Then we dig out for the footing, the wide concrete base the wall stands on, and get down past loose fill and soft spots so it sits on soil that won't give. We set forms and tie rebar, the steel that lets the wall take the push of the soil, pour the footing and the wall, and build the drain as we backfill, with gravel behind the wall, a perforated pipe along the bottom and weep holes, small openings that let water out through the face. Taller walls, walls on a slope and walls near a building get an engineer's design, and we build to it.
A wall usually comes with other work, because the whole point is to make level ground you can use. On a backyard that used to fall away, that's often room for one of our concrete pool decks, and on a cut into a hillside it can be the pad for a shop or shed, which is where concrete floor installation comes in.
Poured cantilever wall
This is a reinforced concrete wall on an L-shaped footing, and the soil sitting on the back part of that footing, called the heel, does most of the work of keeping it upright. It suits taller walls and sites where block isn't a good fit, because the wall and footing are tied together in steel.
Segmental block wall
Concrete units are stacked dry without mortar, so water can seep out through the face instead of building up pressure behind it. It works well for lower walls on firm ground, and the soil under it decides whether it's an option at all.
Footing on one side only
When a regular footing would cross a property line, a cantilever wall can be built with the footing only at the back, the heel, or only at the front, the toe. It's one way to put a wall tight along a fence line or a neighbor's yard.
Concrete retaining walls on Sheridan clay
About 26% of the soil area in Sheridan County is expansive clay, the kind that swells when it's wet and shrinks when it dries out. That's a county-wide figure, so your yard may or may not have it, but it matters for which wall you build, because one block wall installation guide lists expansive soils as unsuitable to set those walls on. The Sheridan County Conservation District and NRCS give out soils information for the county free of charge. It comes from a 1986 survey, so I treat it as a starting point and then dig to see what's actually there, and we run into the same mix of clay and old fill on jobs all over Sheridan.
We check with the City of Sheridan Building Division before a wall goes in, and if a permit is needed, we get it. If you're comparing builders, it's fair to ask whether their city contractor license is current, and the city's contractor FAQ explains how often those licenses need renewing.
Why Sheridan homeowners call Sheridan Concrete for retaining walls
I see every wall myself
I come out to look at every job before you get a price, and I'm on site with our crew when the wall goes in. The person who asked where your water goes is the one watching the drain get built.
Raised on Sheridan concrete crews
I spent my summers through school on concrete crews around Sheridan, starting on a shovel and working up to finishing, and started this business in 2023. Three years in, we're known for the jobs with a catch, like a wall that has to drain.
Licensed and insured on every wall
We're licensed and insured. That matters on a wall job, where we're digging and moving heavy soil close to your house and your neighbor's.
If you've got ground that's moving or a yard you'd like to level off, tell us about it and I'll come out and take a look.
Request a quoteGet a free on-site estimate for your retaining wall
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out. The estimate is free and done at your place, and there's no pressure to book.
What happens when you call about a retaining wall in Sheridan?
Call or send the form
We get back to you and set a time for me to see the site. Tell us the wall's rough height and whether it's on a slope or near a building.
I walk the slope with you
I look at the ground, where water runs now and how you want to use the space above and below the wall, then walk you through the wall choices. After that you get a written estimate, so you know what you're signing up for before anything starts.
We prep, form and pour
Once you say go, we prep the ground, set forms, pour and finish, with me on site the whole way. If the wall has an engineer's design, we build it to those plans.
Walk the finished wall together
We go over the finished wall with you and show you where the drain lets out. I'll also cover what to watch for and how to care for it through the first season.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a concrete retaining wall cost in Sheridan, WY?
A concrete retaining wall is priced mostly by its height and length, since those set how much concrete, steel and digging go into it. Poured walls with rebar usually cost more than block, and an engineer's design, drainage work, hauling soil away and a tight site with no room for equipment all add to it. I'll give you a written estimate once I've seen your site.
Why does drainage matter so much behind a retaining wall?
Poor drainage is by far the most common reason retaining walls perform badly, and left alone it can end with a wall that fails. Water that can't get out pushes on the wall along with the soil, and ordinary weep holes are likely to clog over the years, so a drain built to be reached and cleaned out is the more reliable way to keep water moving. Ask any builder you talk to how their wall will drain.
When does a retaining wall need an engineer's design?
One national concrete guide advises having a licensed structural engineer design any retaining wall over 4 feet tall, and any wall on a slope, near a structure or under heavy soil pressure. If yours falls in one of those groups, build the design into your budget and your schedule, and we'll build to the plans.
What happens before anyone digs for a retaining wall?
Underground utilities get marked first, and one installation guide advises calling 8-1-1, Call Before You Dig, to have them marked before excavating. After that the dig starts at the footing, and that's the first real look at the soil the wall will stand on.
Is a block wall or a poured concrete wall better for my yard in Sheridan?
A poured cantilever wall is usually the better pick for taller walls and clay or soft ground, and a block wall can work well for a lower wall on firm soil. Block drains through its face, but it needs good ground under it, which is why the clay I mentioned above rules it out on some Sheridan lots. I'll tell you which one I'd build once I've seen your site.
What causes a retaining wall to lean or tilt?
Most leaning walls come down to water pressure behind them or soil under the footing that gave way. The ground under a footing can sink if it was poorly prepared or has layers of weak material in it, and then the wall settles or tips with it, which is why the footing prep matters more than anything you'll see on the finished wall.
Other concrete work that goes with a retaining wall
Concrete pool decks
If your wall levels off a sloped backyard, a pool deck is often the next job, and it needs the same attention to where water runs off the slab.
Concrete floor installation
A wall cut into a hillside can open up room for a shop, shed or garage, and that building needs a level, well-supported concrete floor to sit on.
Sheridan, WY
Tell us about your slope and wall
Send the wall's rough height, whether it sits on a slope or near a building, and any county soils information you have, so I show up with the right questions.