Retaining wall construction in Longview, TX - a wall that holds your slope
Soil washing down your slope or an old wall starting to lean? We build block retaining walls with real drainage behind them.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
What goes into building a retaining wall in Longview?
Retaining wall construction in Longview, TX means building a wall that holds back the soil on your slope and stands up to the weight of that soil pushing on it. Gravel and a drain pipe behind it carry water away, and most of the job is in that part you never see once it's done.
Maybe your yard falls away from the house, or a bank drops dirt on the driveway every time it rains, or an old timber wall is giving up. The price turns mostly on how tall and long the wall runs, whether it needs reinforcing and an engineer's design, how much digging the site takes and how far we have to carry water to a low spot. The schedule turns on the same things, plus any design or permit work before we can dig, and I'll give you your own figure in a written estimate after I've walked the slope.
How do you know your slope needs a retaining wall?
Soil washing off the slope
After a hard rain you find dirt on the patio or driveway and a rut forming at the bottom of the bank. That usually means water is running straight down the face with nothing to hold the ground, and every storm takes a little more, sometimes from under a fence or a walk.
An old wall leaning out
A wall that tips forward at the top or bulges in the middle is usually losing the fight with wet soil behind it, often because nothing back there lets the water out. Once a wall starts moving it rarely stops on its own, and when it goes, it takes part of the yard with it.
Timber wall going soft
Railroad ties or treated boards that crumble when you push a screwdriver in, or sag between posts, are rotting from the inside. They tend to fail a whole section at a time, so it's easier to replace them when you choose than after they've dumped dirt across the yard.
How we handle retaining wall construction
Most of what makes a retaining wall last is behind it, in the gravel and drain pipe that carry water away, so that's where I start. Before we dig, we work out where that water will go, and if your wall needs an engineer's design, we bring one in before we build. Then our crew digs out, packs a firm, level base and sets the first course of block carefully, because every row above it follows that one. We build up with gravel and pipe going in behind the blocks as the wall rises, backfill, cap it and rake the yard out before we leave.
A wall often comes with other work around it. If you've got an old brick or stone wall that's leaning but still worth keeping, masonry restoration can be the better call than tearing it out. And when a new wall gives you level ground behind the house, some folks finish it off with a patio and fireplace installation, and it's easier to plan for that footing now than to dig for it later.
Gravity block wall
This wall has no reinforcement in the soil behind it, so it holds the slope with the weight and backward lean of its blocks. It suits shorter walls and tighter yards because it needs less room dug out behind it, though each block maker sets its own height limit for this kind of wall.
Engineered reinforced wall
Sheets of grid get laid into the soil behind the wall as it goes up, tying the earth and the block together so it can hold a taller, bigger slope. The block makers' guides say it has to be designed by a qualified engineer and needs more digging room behind it, so plan for both.
Get a free written estimate on your retaining wall
We get back to you within one business day and set a time for me to come see the slope. The estimate is free and in writing, and there's no pressure to book.
(903) 309-1954- Based in
- Longview, TX 75601
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM
What happens after you call about a retaining wall in Longview?
Here's how your wall goes from the first call to the final walk-through, and who you'll deal with along the way. Mostly, that's me.
Call or send the form
Call (903) 309-1954 or use the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out. A few photos of the slope and a rough length and height help me show up ready.
I measure and price it
I come out myself, measure the slope, take photos and look at where water runs now and where it can go. You get a written estimate laying out the wall type and the drainage, so you know the cost before anything starts.
We build and walk it
Once you say go, we take care of any permit the job needs and our crew builds the wall, with me on site working alongside them. When it's done, we walk it with you and show you where the water comes out before we pack up.
Why Longview homeowners call Superior Longview Concrete and Masonry for retaining walls
The owner on every job
I come out to look at every job myself, and I'm on site with our crew when the wall goes up. The person who planned your drainage is the one watching the gravel and pipe go in behind the block.
Fully licensed and insured
We're fully licensed and insured, which matters on a wall because heavy digging and block go in close to your house, fence and walks. Ask to see it before we start and we'll show you.
In business since 2023
I started this business in 2023, after learning the trade hauling brick and mixing mortar on other masons' crews until I was handed a trowel. We're based in Longview and work the cities around it, so the person you call is a short drive from your yard.
Satisfaction guaranteed, yard left clean
We haul off the dirt we dig and rake the yard out, and I make sure you understand what went in behind the wall and why. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
If you've got a slope that's moving or a wall you've been putting off, send us the details or call (903) 309-1954 and I'll come take a look.
Permits, creeks and retaining walls in Longview
In Longview, permit applications go through the city's Building Inspection Department, and each one has to be filled out completely before it's turned in. Whether your wall needs a permit is the city's call, not mine, so we check before we build, and if it does, we handle the paperwork, set up the inspections and tell you if anything needs your signature.
Some yards here run down toward a creek, and that's where we slow down. Counties and cities may set buffers or easements along creeks, and retaining walls usually aren't allowed inside them, so we find out where that line runs before we lay out the wall. We see the same sloped backyards and tired timber walls on jobs in Kilgore and Tyler, and we plan the water on those walls the same way.
Questions about retaining walls in Longview
How much does a retaining wall cost in Texas?
Retaining wall construction in Texas usually costs about $30 to $39 per square foot, as a statewide going rate, not our price. That number can swing a lot with how complicated the design is, where the job sits and how much work the site needs, and an engineered wall adds design and extra digging. Your own figure comes in the written estimate after I've seen the slope.
When does a retaining wall need an engineer?
A wall built with layers of reinforcing grid in the soil behind it needs to be designed by a qualified engineer, according to the block makers' guides, and those are the walls used on taller, larger slopes. A gravity wall works without that grid up to the height limit its block maker sets. I'll tell you at the estimate which side of that line your wall falls on.
How does water get out from behind a retaining wall?
Water soaks down through the gravel behind the blocks to a drain pipe set as low as it'll go, and the pipe carries it to a storm drain or a spot lower than the wall. Block makers also call for surface water to run away from the wall instead of pooling above it or at its base, so it doesn't soak in behind the blocks or wash out the bottom. It helps to know where your yard's low point or nearest storm drain is before we start.
Who can answer code questions about a retaining wall in Longview?
Longview's Building Inspection staff help homeowners as well as contractors with code questions before a permit is issued, and you can reach them at 903-237-1074. If you'd rather not make the call yourself, I'm glad to ask about your wall when we check on the permit.
How long does it take to build a retaining wall in Longview?
The longest waits usually come before we dig, from an engineer's design if the wall needs one, any permit and getting underground utilities marked through 811, which takes a few days. After that, the build turns on the wall's length and height and how much digging the site takes.
Is a block retaining wall better than a timber one?
For most yards, yes, because concrete block doesn't rot the way treated timbers and railroad ties do. The concrete masonry trade group's design manual, from 2009, notes that segmental block resists cracking and is free of the splintering and decay seen in timber walls. We can tear out an old timber wall and build block in its place.
Related masonry work for your yard and home
If an old brick or stone wall on your property is cracked or crumbling but still sound underneath, restoring it can keep the look you already have.
Once a retaining wall gives you level ground out back, a masonry fireplace on that patio turns it into somewhere you'll sit on cool evenings.
Retaining wall work in Longview and nearby cities
Superior Longview Concrete and Masonry is based in Longview, Texas, and builds retaining walls across the cities around it, including Kilgore and Marshall. These are the 8 cities with their own page on our site, and we work beyond them too.
Longview, TX
Send us photos of your slope
A rough length and height, a few photos and a note on where water runs now let me come out with the right questions about your wall.