Retaining wall construction in Henderson NV - a level yard and a slope that stays put
Soil washing onto your patio or an old wall leaning out? We build walls that hold the slope back and give water a way out.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
What goes into building a retaining wall in Henderson?
Retaining wall construction in Henderson, NV means building a wall of block, poured concrete or stone that holds a slope in place, so you get flat ground you can use and soil that stays where it belongs.
Most calls start with a slope that keeps creeping toward the house, or a back yard that's more hill than yard. The price mostly follows how tall and long the wall is, whether it needs steel inside or an engineer's plan, what we hit when we dig and whether an old wall has to come out first. The schedule turns on the same things, so a short garden wall and a tall wall on a steep lot are very different jobs, and I'll put your own number in a written estimate after I've seen the slope.
How do you know your yard needs a retaining wall?
Soil washing onto the patio
After a hard rain you find dirt and gravel on the patio or piled against the house. That usually means nothing is holding the slope, and every storm takes a little more and can start working its way under slabs and walls.
Old wall leaning or bulging
A wall tipping out at the top or pushing out in the middle is losing to the soil behind it, and trapped water is often the reason. Once a wall starts moving it rarely stops on its own, so the fix only gets bigger.
Rotting timbers or ties
Soft, split or crumbling wood ties mean that wall is near the end of its life. When they give, the soil comes down with them, so it's easier to replace the wall on your schedule than after it lets go.
Our retaining wall construction, start to finish
Before I price a wall I look at three things, how tall it has to be, how steep the slope is and what's in the ground, because those decide whether it needs steel or an engineer. Then we dig out, pack down a gravel base and set the first course, the bottom row of block, dead level, since every row above follows that one. My old boss used to say a wall is only as straight as its first course, and he'd make me pull it if it wasn't. We build up row by row, backfill behind it with gravel so water has a way out, and cap the top. If we run into caliche, the hard cemented layer a lot of yards around here sit on, I'll stop and explain what it means for the digging and the cost before we go any further.
Not every slope needs a brand new wall. If you've got an older stone or block wall that's worn but still sound, masonry restoration may save it, and I'll tell you straight which way I'd go. Once a yard is leveled, some folks want to use that flat ground, so we also do fireplace installation for a spot to sit by a fire out back.
Get a free estimate on your retaining wall
We respond within 1 business day to set a time. I come out for a free on-site estimate, look the slope over with you and leave a written estimate, with no pressure, no obligation.
- team@hendersonconcreteandmasonry.com
- Based in
- Henderson, NV 89015
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call about a retaining wall?
Here's how it goes from your first call to the last walk around the finished wall, and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call or send a message
Call (702) 832-0706 or use the form on this page. We get back to you and find a time for me to come out.
I look the slope over
I come out myself, walk the yard with you and ask what you've noticed about water and soil. You get a written estimate, so you know the number before anything gets dug.
We handle permits and build
Once you say go, we take care of any permit the job needs, checking first with the office that covers your address, since the cities and the county run things differently. Then our own crew digs, sets the base and builds the wall while I check it along the way.
Walk the finished wall together
Before we pack up, I walk the finished wall with you and we clean up after ourselves. Anything you're unsure about, we talk through right there.
Why Henderson homeowners call us for retaining walls
On a retaining wall, the parts that matter most are the ones you never see again, the base and the drainage behind it. Tell us about your slope and I'll come take a look.
The owner writes every estimate
I come out to look at every job and write the estimate myself, and our own crew does the building while I keep an eye on it. You're talking to the person who answers for that wall, not a salesman.
Taught to tear out bad work
We've run this business since 2021 the way my old boss drilled into me, slow where it counts and clean when we leave. I'd rather explain why a step takes a little longer than skip one nobody sees until the wall gives out.
Licensed and insured, just ask
We're licensed and insured. The Nevada State Contractors Board licenses each contractor in a classification that sets the kind of work they can do, so it's fair to ask any builder, us included, which one covers your wall.
Retaining walls and yard masonry around Henderson
If you have your heart set on a rockery, a wall of big rocks stacked without mortar, that one starts with a design professional here. Southern Nevada's building officials publish a rockery wall standard, but it's a design aid for designers, not a drawing a crew can build straight from. So we won't freehand a rockery. We'll work from a designer's plan, or talk with you about a block or concrete wall that fits the slope instead.
Most of what we build around here holds back a slope behind or beside the house, and the digging is where yards surprise people, because you usually can't tell what's under the topsoil until we're into it. We run into the same hard desert ground on retaining wall jobs in Boulder City and Enterprise, so we plan the dig with that in mind.
Questions about retaining walls in Henderson
How much does a retaining wall cost in Henderson, NV?
Retaining wall construction in Henderson usually costs about $20 to $50 per square foot of wall face, which is the front you see from the yard. A basic price for a poured concrete wall covers site prep, digging, concrete, gravel backfill and reinforcement, but tearing out an old wall, curves, extra height and tough soil all run beyond it. I'll give you your own number in a written estimate after I see the slope.
How do I know if my retaining wall needs reinforcement or an engineer?
The wall's height and the ground around it decide that. Trade guidance calls for a reinforced block wall when it's taller than an unreinforced wall can handle, or when there's a slope above it, extra weight near the top or difficult soil, and it rates organic and expansive soils as poor ground to build a block wall on. The same guidance says to check the local code before starting to see whether the job needs engineering, and then the approved plans are followed to the letter, while a wall without engineering is built to the block maker's design charts.
Does my retaining wall need a drain pipe?
Often, yes. One block maker's install guide requires a drain pipe behind every reinforced wall, every unreinforced wall over 4 feet tall and any wall on a site that drains poorly. Water that can't get out pushes on the back of the wall, so drainage gets planned in from the first day.
How can caliche affect my retaining wall project?
Caliche can slow the dig and raise the cost, because it's a rock-like cemented soil that changes in thickness and hardness without warning. Breaking it out can add expense and delay, and some digging methods can shake nearby walls and slabs enough to damage them. It can also cause uneven settling when a footing sits partly on caliche and partly on soil that compresses, which is why I stop and talk it over with you before we go on.
Is a block retaining wall better than wood ties?
For most yards, I'd pick block. Concrete retaining wall block resists cracking and won't splinter or rot the way treated timbers and railroad ties do. If you want a wall you won't be pulling rotten wood out of down the road, lean toward block.
How long does it take to build a block retaining wall?
The building itself usually goes faster than people expect, since an experienced crew of three or four typically puts up 300 to 500 square feet of block wall a day. What stretches a schedule is the work before the first block, like engineering when a wall needs it, hard digging and getting underground lines marked. The 8-1-1 call-before-you-dig service marks utilities a few days ahead of digging, so the schedule leaves room for that.
Related masonry work for your yard and home
Masonry restoration
Cracked joints, loose stones or stained brick on an older wall don't always mean starting over, and bringing it back keeps the look your house already has.
Fireplace installation
A fireplace gives your family a reason to be outside on cool desert evenings, and it pairs well with the patio space a new wall opens up.
Areas we cover around Henderson
Artisan Henderson Concrete and Masonry is based in Henderson, Nevada, and we build retaining walls in the cities around it, including Paradise and Spring Valley. Ten areas have their own page here, and they aren't the only places we work.
Henderson, NV
Get your retaining wall looked at
Have the wall's rough height and length, how steep the slope is and any soil or drainage trouble you've seen ready, and we can talk it through on the first call.