Concrete retaining walls in Fontana CA - a wall that holds back soil and lets water out

Poured concrete retaining walls in the San Bernardino area usually cost about $35 to $45 per square foot of wall face, which is the part you see, measured by length and height. Where yours lands depends on how much digging the footing needs, how much steel and drainage the design calls for, and what sits above the wall. Our own price comes in a written estimate after I've seen the site, and the work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.

The city requires a building permit for solid fences or walls exceeding 42 inches in height, and Fontana Building & Safety is the office to ask about how that applies to your wall. When your wall needs a permit, we pull it under our license and work with the city ourselves, so you won't be the one filling out the application.

Water that builds up behind a wall can greatly raise the load on it and cause leaks, so drainage belongs in every quote you compare. A sound wall has drain rock, a filter, perforated drain outlets, weep holes where the design shows them, which are small openings that let water through, and surface drainage so runoff doesn't pour over the top. Those outlets need to stay clear and working over the years, so I'll show you where they come out.

It can, but not under Fontana's standard retaining wall plan, which can't be used on or next to a property line and isn't built to carry loads from vehicles or other structures. A wall right on the line also needs your neighbor's authorization, so it's worth talking to them early, and you can check what the city asks for on its building permits page. The city's draft hazard plan also flags earthquake liquefaction along the Lytle Creek corridor and landslide potential at its mountain-front edges, so if your lot sits near either, we'll talk about it before anything gets drawn.

The schedule usually depends more on the design, any permit and the inspections than on the day we pour. On a block wall built to the city's standard plan, an inspector checks the footing trench with steel in place, the block and steel before grouting, the grouted wall and drainage before backfill, and a final once the cap and cleanup are done. The concrete also needs curing, the wait while it gains strength, before we push dirt against it, and I'll walk you through that order when I come out.

Start by checking for a California contractor license, since the state contractor board licenses concrete contractors to form, pour, place and finish concrete work, and its masonry license exam covers building and repairing retaining walls. On home improvement work, a contractor can't take a down payment over $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less, and later payments should be listed in the contract and tied to work done or materials delivered. Then compare quotes that include the same footing and drainage, because the cheapest wall is often the one missing what's underground.