Concrete retaining walls in Auburn ME - a wall that holds the slope and drains well
An old wall leaning out or a slope washing into the yard? We build concrete walls that drain and are sized to your site.
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Do I need a concrete retaining wall, and what goes into one?
Sterling Auburn Concrete builds concrete retaining walls in Auburn, ME, and in Lewiston, Portland and plenty of other cities around them. A retaining wall holds back the sideways push of a slope so you get level, usable ground, and it also has to handle groundwater, frost and any driveway or building weight above it.
Most calls start with a slope that keeps sliding into the yard, a driveway edge that washes out every spring or an old wall leaning out at the top. The price moves with the wall's height and length, how much digging and hauling it takes, how easy the spot is to reach and whether it needs a design, and the schedule turns on that design, the permit check and the weather. If something has to give on budget, I'd trim the face finish before the drainage stone, because nobody sees the stone and everybody sees a wall that's pushed out. If the wall is there to level ground for a patio, we plan the two together, and you get your own figure in a written estimate after I've seen the site.
How we build concrete retaining walls
I start by looking at where the water runs, because a wall is only as good as the drainage behind it. Taller walls get a real design before we dig, not a guess, since height alone doesn't tell you how big the footing should be, how deep the wall sits or how much rebar goes inside to hold it together. Then we dig out and pour the footing, form and pour the wall, and lay drainage stone wrapped in filter fabric behind it with perforated drain pipe that has somewhere to empty. We backfill, grade the top so rain runs off instead of soaking in behind the wall, and show you the drain outlets you'll need to keep clear.
A wall is often the first step of a bigger job. Once the slope is held back, the flat ground above it is a natural spot for one of our concrete pool decks, and when the wall sits beside a walkout basement, addition or shed, we can handle the concrete floor installation inside while we're there.
Poured concrete wall
This suits walls that hold back a lot of soil, sit near a driveway or need a clean, solid face, because the footing and rebar make the whole thing one piece. It takes more forming and digging up front, and that shows in the price.
Segmental block wall
A dry-stacked wall of concrete blocks suits garden terraces and gentler slopes where you want a finished block face. Some designs rely on the blocks' weight alone and others tie reinforcement into the soil behind, and since block systems differ in what they can hold, we follow the block maker's recommendations for the soil load on your site.
What Auburn's rules mean for concrete retaining walls
In Auburn, Public Works takes fill and excavation permit applications and Permitting and Code Enforcement takes building permits, but neither list names retaining walls, so whether your wall needs a permit isn't settled until someone asks. Before we book, we check with the city on what it needs, and if a permit is called for, we handle the application. You can look over the city's permit list yourself if you'd like to see it.
A lot of the walls we're called about here run along a driveway cut into a hill or hold up a backyard that drops toward the street, and we see the same thing on jobs in Lewiston and Portland. If you're thinking about a driveway near the wall, more fill behind it or anything that changes where water collects, tell me during design, because those change what the wall has to hold even when the concrete itself is strong.
Why Auburn homeowners call Sterling Auburn Concrete for retaining walls
The owner measures and leads
I come out to look at the slope and give the estimate, and I'm leading the crew when we build it. Nothing gets lost between the person who quoted your wall and the people who dig it.
Pouring concrete in Maine since 2013
We've been at this for 13 years, through a lot of Maine winters. A wall here has to live with frost and spring melt, so we plan for both from the first visit.
Licensed and fully insured
Licensed and fully insured. A retaining wall means heavy digging close to your house and your neighbor's yard, so you want the crew doing it covered.
If you've got a slope that's moving or a wall that's starting to lean, send us the details or call (207) 707-4423 and I'll come take a look.
Request a quoteGet a written estimate for your retaining wall
We reply within one business day. Estimates are free, done on site and come with no obligation. After you send the form, we set a time for me to come out, look at the slope, measure it and ask how you plan to use the ground.
What happens after you call about a retaining wall in Auburn?
Call and set a visit
You call or send the form, and we pick a time for me to come out. I'd rather see the slope in person than guess from a description over the phone.
Walk the slope together
I look at the job, measure it and ask how you'll use the ground above and below the wall. You get a written estimate afterward, so the price isn't just something I said in your driveway.
Check permits, set the date
Once you're ready, we check what the local permit office needs and set a build date that suits the job. Then we get the footing and drainage right before any concrete shows up.
Finish, cure and walk it
We finish the wall and let it cure properly, which means giving the concrete time to gain strength before soil goes against it. Then I walk the finished wall with you before we pack up.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a concrete retaining wall cost in Auburn, ME?
Installing a retaining wall in the Lewiston-Auburn area usually costs about $2,400 to $11,000 per job. That's the going rate around here, not our quote, and where your wall lands in it comes down to the height, length, digging and design I mentioned up top. I'll give you your own number in writing after I've seen the slope.
Why does a concrete retaining wall need drainage?
Water that builds up behind a wall can greatly increase the load on it and lead to leaks and freeze damage. The drainage layer only works while the water can get out, which is why the outlets need to stay clear long after we leave.
What is the best way to protect a retaining wall from frost in Maine?
The most trusted and widely used way to stop frost heave, the ground lifting as it freezes, is to replace the soil in the freezing zone behind the wall with sand or gravel. A frost depth website puts Maine's frost at about four feet down along the southern coast and five feet or more inland and up north, so that zone runs deep here. Ask what's going behind your wall, and let the project design set how deep the footing sits.
Which Auburn office handles permits for a retaining wall project?
Auburn sends permit questions to the department that handles that kind of work, and completed applications go to Auburn Hall at 60 Court Street. Since the city's lists don't name retaining walls, we check before we book, as I said above, and handle the application if one is called for.
What soil is bad to build a retaining wall on?
One trade guide for block walls lists organic soils and expansive soils, the kind that swell when wet, as unsuitable to build on. If the dig turns up soil like that, the design has to deal with it before any concrete goes in.
How long does it take to build a concrete retaining wall in Auburn?
Most of the wait comes before the pour, in the design for a taller wall, the permit check with the city and a stretch of weather we can work in. After the pour, the wall needs time to cure before soil goes against it, so we set the date once those pieces are clear.
Other concrete work that goes with a wall
Concrete pool decks
If the wall is there to flatten a sloped backyard, the new level ground is a natural spot for a pool, and the deck around it needs its own solid base.
Concrete floor installation
When a wall goes in beside a basement, addition or shed, the floor inside still needs a packed base and a flat pour, and we can do both while we're already there.
Auburn, ME
Get your retaining wall estimate started
Have the wall's location, its rough length and height, a few photos of the slope and any driveway you're planning nearby ready, then call (207) 707-4423, use the form or email service@concreteauburn.com so I come out knowing what to look at.