Discipline · 08 of 12
Retaining Walls
Holding Grade, Holding the Eye.
A retaining wall does two jobs at once — it holds the soil and it holds the composition. Designed well, the wall reads as a piece of architecture for the property; designed poorly, it reads as engineering. We approach every wall as both.
Approach
How we draw and build retaining walls.
Retaining walls are a structural problem before they are an aesthetic one. We engineer base, batter, drainage, and tieback for every wall we build — soldier-course, gravity, segmental, or natural-stone — and only then choose the face material that will sit on the property. Walls under three feet are usually a straightforward gravity build; anything taller requires geogrid tieback and engineered drainage to last.
“Retaining walls are a structural problem before they are an aesthetic one.”
We carry the engineering with our installs so the wall meets code and ages well in our soil and rainfall.
Field photograph · Retaining Walls
What we offer
The work, in its parts.
- 01
Natural-stone walls
Hand-laid fieldstone, granite, and limestone walls with mortar or dry-stack detailing.
- 02
Segmental concrete walls
Belgard, Techo-Bloc, and Versa-Lok walls for cost-effective grade change up to ten feet.
- 03
Brick retaining walls
Engineered brick walls with concrete-block backing — matched to the home's brick if applicable.
- 04
Seating walls
Eighteen-inch built-in seating walls integrated with patios, fire pits, and gardens.
- 05
Terraced walls
Stepped retaining systems that turn a slope into a series of usable garden rooms.
- 06
Drainage detailing
Drain tile, geotextile, and weep-hole detailing designed before backfill.
In the field
Photographs from recent work.
Why Yardie
Three reasons for retaining walls.
01 · Retaining Walls
Engineered, not eyeballed
Base, batter, drainage, and reinforcement designed before the first stone is set.
02 · Retaining Walls
Permitted and drawn
We carry permitting and engineering on walls over four feet so the build meets code.
03 · Retaining Walls
Matched to the home
We tune stone or block selection to the architecture so the wall reads as continuous.
FAQ
Common questions.
The questions we’re asked most often about retaining walls. Don’t see yours? Send us a note.
- Walls four feet and taller (measured from the bottom of the footing) typically require a building permit and engineered drawings in Pitt County. We handle the permitting on every wall we build above that threshold.
- The single most common failure mode is drainage — water builds up behind the wall, freezes, and pushes the wall outward. Every wall we install includes drain tile, washed gravel backfill, and a weep system.
- Properly engineered natural-stone and segmental walls carry a 50-year-plus service life. Walls without drainage or proper reinforcement can fail in under ten.
- Yes — eighteen-inch seat walls are one of the most popular features we draw. Capped with bluestone, they read as architecture and serve as bench seating around fire pits and patios.
Goes well with
Disciplines we often draw together.
Ready to start your retaining walls project?
Tell us about the property. The first conversation is at no cost.
Or call (252) 756-7788
