Hold the slope without holding water
South Davis, Wildhorse, and El Macero — energy-efficient, sustainable concrete designs that match Davis's green ethos. Our retaining walls crew serves Davis and surrounding Yolo neighborhoods with the same engineered specs, written warranty, and licensed crew we use on every Sacramento-metro pour.
20+
Years in Sacramento
500+
Projects Completed
4.9★
Customer Rating
2yr
Workmanship Warranty
Hold the slope without holding water
Sacramento-metro specialty
About this service
A retaining wall has one job: keep soil where it is, against the force of gravity, water, and time. Most failed retaining walls fail for the same two reasons — no drainage and no engineering for the actual lateral load. We build retaining walls that respect both: drainage gravel and weep holes behind every wall over 3 feet, structural reinforcement designed to actual surcharge loads, and footings sized for the soil bearing capacity at your specific site.
Concrete retaining walls offer the strongest load capacity and the longest service life of any common retaining option. Done right they last 50+ years. Done wrong they bulge, lean, and eventually fail catastrophically, usually after a heavy winter that saturates the back-fill. The difference is the drainage detail and the footing design — neither of which is visible after backfill, but both of which determine whether you've built a wall or a future emergency.
We build poured-in-place retaining walls, with engineered footings, vertical and horizontal reinforcement to drawings, drainage gravel and perforated pipe at the base, weep holes through the face, and a water-side membrane on walls over 4 feet. For walls above 4 feet in height, an engineer-stamped design is required by code in California — we work with structural engineers across the metro to deliver that.
Working in Davis
Every Yoloneighborhood has its own soil, drainage, and permitting realities. Here's what we've learned pouring concrete in Davis.
Davis sits on alkaline alluvial Yolo soil with a relatively high water table in winter. The biggest concrete consideration here is the city's extensive bicycle infrastructure — properties often have side-yard bike paths or greenbelt connections that require specific finish textures and ADA-compliant transitions. Summer heat in Davis routinely tops 100°F, so we schedule pours pre-dawn and use a retarding admixture to keep working time reasonable.
City of Davis Public Works has specific bike-and-pedestrian-network requirements for any work touching the public path or sidewalk system — finish texture, slope, transition radius are all spec'd. We handle these submittals. UC Davis property has its own permit office; commercial work near campus needs that coordination. Davis is also strict on construction noise hours.
Driveway approaches that connect to the city's bike-path grid get a lot of our attention here — proper transitions are the whole job. Patio and outdoor-living work concentrates in Wildhorse, Mace Ranch, and Stonegate where lots are larger. Downtown Davis and Mace Ranch commercial give us a steady run of ADA upgrades, exterior flatwork, and bike-rack pad work.
Davis neighborhoods we cover
7 areas · same crew, same spec
What's Included
These are the specifications and details we build in by default. Not upgrades. Not extras. Standard scope on every project.
Walls 4 feet and taller require an engineer-stamped design by California code. We work with structural engineers across the metro and handle the design coordination.
12 inches of drainage gravel behind the wall, a 4-inch perforated pipe at the base wrapped in filter fabric, daylighted at both ends. Water never builds up against the wall.
Weep holes spaced per code through the wall face for redundant drainage. If the back-side pipe ever blocks, the weeps catch the load — defense in depth.
Reinforcement schedule per the structural drawings, properly developed into the footing, with appropriate splice lengths and tied — not skipped to save a couple hundred dollars of steel.
Tall walls get a peel-and-stick or sheet waterproofing membrane on the back face. Combined with drainage gravel, that's belt-and-suspenders water management.
Walls don't have to look like a freeway sound wall. Form-liner textures, stamped patterns, integral color, or stone veneer can be applied — design choice, not a structural compromise.
Our Process
Measure the slope, identify the load behind the wall (just soil, or soil plus a driveway, or soil plus a structure), and probe for soil type and any subsurface water.
For walls over 4 feet, a structural engineer designs the footing, wall thickness, and reinforcement. We coordinate, you stamp.
Excavate to footing depth (typically 18–36 inches below grade), form the footing and the wall, tie rebar, set drainage pipe.
Pour footing and wall (or stem in stages depending on height), cure, strip forms.
Place 12 inches of drainage gravel, install perforated pipe and filter fabric, then backfill compacted in lifts. Daylight the drain at both ends.
Technical Specifications
Most contractors won't publish their specs. Ours are below — what we build to, every time.
Retaining Walls FAQ
Specific to retaining walls in Davis, CA
Still have questions?
Call us directly — we're happy to answer anything about your retaining walls project.
Call 877-542-9872Nearby Cities We Serve
Sacramento County · Placer County · Yolo County
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Learn moreFree on-site estimate, itemized written quote within 48 hours, and a real human on the phone — not a call center. Serving Davis and the entire Sacramento metro.
