Concrete Retaining Wall

Master Decker has been forming and pouring residential and light commercial retaining walls across London, Hamilton, Brantford, and Kitchener-Waterloo since 2014. We handle everything from low 3-foot walls that define a planting bed to taller walls managing a full yard grade change. The approach is always the same: proper drainage first, right-sized reinforcement second, quality concrete third. The result is a wall that doesn't bow, doesn't crack along the footing, and doesn't require any attention once the backfill settles.

A retaining wall is only as strong as its footing. We excavate to below the frost line — a minimum of 4 feet in Southwestern Ontario — and form a continuous spread footing sized to the wall's height and the anticipated lateral earth pressure. Taller walls, walls on steep slopes, or walls supporting surcharge loads like driveways or structures above them require wider and deeper footings, and we engineer those dimensions before we pick up a shovel.

The wall stem rises from the footing with continuous vertical and horizontal rebar tying the two elements together. The rebar extends from the footing up through the full height of the wall so the two can't separate at the most critical joint — the base. We calculate rebar size and spacing based on wall height and anticipated soil load, not on what's quickest to form.

Every poured retaining wall we build includes drainage infrastructure behind the stem. We install a perforated drain pipe in a gravel envelope at the base of the backfill zone, wrapped in filter fabric to prevent soil migration into the stone. Weep holes through the lower portion of the wall provide secondary drainage relief. Without these elements, hydrostatic pressure builds behind the wall after every rainfall and every thaw cycle — and that pressure is what cracks, tips, and eventually topples retaining walls.

The gravel backfill immediately behind the wall is specified as clear stone — not native clay soil, not a mixed fill. Native clay holds water and expands during freeze-thaw. Clear stone drains freely, keeps the load on the wall's design envelope, and prevents the frost-expansion cycles that are the primary cause of retaining wall failure in Ontario.

We use engineered plywood or steel forms, properly braced and tied, to produce a wall face that's plumb, smooth, and uniform. Form ties are pulled after stripping and the holes are patched so there's no path for water infiltration through the face. The concrete is placed in lifts and vibrated to ensure consolidation around the rebar and eliminate honeycombing in the lower portions of the wall where blowouts are most damaging.

Exposed wall faces can be left as-poured for a clean modern look, given a broom or brush texture, or — on request — formed with a liner that imprints a stone or board pattern directly into the concrete face. We can also accommodate colour oxide in the mix for walls that need to complement existing stonework or landscaping. All walls are damp-proofed on the backfill face before the gravel and drain tile go in.