Concrete retaining walls in Aliso Viejo CA - a wall that keeps your slope in place
Slope creeping onto the patio or an old wall starting to lean? We build poured walls from an engineer's design, with the drainage planned in.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
Is a poured concrete retaining wall right for your yard?
A poured concrete retaining wall in Aliso Viejo is a steel-reinforced wall on a wide footing that holds back the soil on a slope, so you get flat, usable yard where the hill used to be. The footing reaches back under the soil it holds, and that soil's own weight helps keep the wall from tipping.
Maybe the slope behind your house keeps sliding toward the patio, or an old wall is done and you want to know if poured concrete is the right fix. At All Star Aliso Viejo Concrete we're based in Aliso Viejo and work across the cities around it in Orange County, and on these jobs the price mostly comes down to the wall's height and length, how much digging the footing takes, how easy it is to get equipment to the spot, and the engineer and the forms, which cost about the same whether the wall is short or long. The schedule turns on the engineer's design and any permit first, then the curing, the wait while the concrete gains strength before soil gets packed against it, and your written estimate lays out what's included for your wall.
How can you tell a retaining wall is in trouble?
The wall leans outward
If the top of your wall sits farther out than the bottom, the soil behind it is pushing harder than the wall can take, often because water is stuck back there. A lean rarely stops on its own, and the farther it goes, the bigger the fix gets.
Cracks keep getting wider
A fine hairline crack in a poured wall isn't unusual, but one you can watch opening up from season to season means the wall is moving. Left alone, it lets more water into the wall and behind it, which speeds the whole thing up.
Dirt washing out underneath
Soil spilling out at the base, or a gap opening under the footing, usually means water is finding its way under or through the wall and taking dirt with it. Once the ground under the footing goes, the wall loses what holds it up.
How we build a concrete retaining wall
Every poured wall we build starts with an engineer's design, and a national building guide treats that as normal, calling this a job for an engineer and an experienced concrete contractor and telling owners to plan for both from the start. The usual order, as that guide lays it out, is the wide footing first with rebar, the steel bars that keep the concrete from pulling apart, bent up into the wall, then forms, a grid of tied steel and a pour that's vibrated to settle it and then cured. On our jobs we dig out for the footing, set the forms, pour and cure the concrete, and watch the drainage behind the wall the whole way, because water sitting back there is what causes trouble.
Plenty of walls around here go in to make room for something else. Cutting a level pad into a slope is often the first step toward a pool, and the concrete pool deck around it needs its own base and drainage. When a poured wall doubles as the side of a lower room or a garage, we plan the concrete floor installation along with it so the two work together.
Get a written estimate for your retaining wall
Send the wall's rough length and height, a few photos of the slope and where your property line runs. I'll get back to you within one business day to set up a free on-site estimate, with no obligation.
- Based in
- Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call about a retaining wall?
Here's how a wall job runs from your first call to the final walk-through, and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call and talk to me
When you call, you talk to me, and we set a time for me to come see the slope. I'll ask how you use the yard now and what you want the flat ground for.
I measure and write it up
I measure, look over the site and where the water runs, and hear how you plan to use the space. You get a written estimate that spells out what's included, like tear-out, hauling and the finish, so you can line it up against other bids.
We form, pour and cure
Once the engineer's design and any permit are squared away, we set the forms, pour and cure the concrete. The city allows construction 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays, with none on Sundays or federal holidays, so our work days fall inside those hours.
Walk the finished wall together
I walk the finished wall with you before we pack up, so you can ask about anything you see. We leave the site cleaner than we found it, the way my dad taught me.
Why Aliso Viejo homeowners call All Star Aliso Viejo Concrete for retaining walls
The owner writes every estimate
I come out to look at every job and write the estimate myself, then I work on site alongside our crew. The person who walked your slope and talked you through the drainage is the one there when it goes in.
Raised on my dad's crew
I grew up pouring concrete with my dad and spent years on his crew before I started this business in Aliso Viejo in 2023. He taught me the work nobody sees matters most, and on a retaining wall nearly all of it ends up buried.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured, so you aren't carrying the risk for the people working on your property. In California, the state's concrete contractor license covers the people who form, pour, place and finish concrete, so it's fair to ask every bidder on your wall about theirs.
Planning for Aliso Viejo's weather
The city's design values for buildings in general include a rainfall rate of 2 inches per hour and Seismic Zone D and E. Those numbers are why I want the engineer's design and the drainage plan settled before we dig.
On a retaining wall, what counts most ends up buried behind it, so that's where I spend the most time at your estimate. Request an estimate or call (949) 619-8302 and I'll come out to see the slope.
Retaining walls and hillside yards in Aliso Viejo
Before any digging, it helps to know that Aliso Viejo's Public Works requires a water quality permit when a project disturbs 250 cubic feet or more of soil or hard surface, and digging out a wall footing plus the backfill behind it can add up to that quickly. Whether your wall needs any other permit is a separate question for the city's building office, so we check with them on each job and handle the permit paperwork when one's needed.
Lots of yards here climb or drop off behind the house with neighbors close on both sides, so a wall often goes where there's little room to work and the runoff from the slope above has to go somewhere. We see the same hillside yards on jobs in Laguna Niguel and Mission Viejo, and on every one I start by figuring out where the water off that slope wants to run.
Questions about retaining walls in Aliso Viejo
What does a concrete retaining wall cost in Orange County?
A retaining wall in Orange County usually costs about $35 to $55 per square foot of wall face, the side of the wall you see. That's the going rate around here, not a quote from us, and a tall wall on a tight lot lands differently than an easy one with open access. Your written estimate shows what's included for your wall.
Is poured concrete worth it for a short retaining wall?
Often it isn't, because fixed costs like the engineer and the forms make a poured wall expensive for its size on a short run. Poured walls can compete on tall walls on tight sites, where a block wall would need a lot of digging and grid, the reinforcing layers buried in the soil behind it. If a short wall is all you need, I'll tell you straight.
What causes a concrete retaining wall to fail?
Trapped water is behind most retaining wall failures, because soaked soil pushes far harder on the wall than dry soil does. A national building guide suggests comparing quotes on the drainage itself: crushed stone backfill, filter fabric, a perforated drain pipe and weep holes, the small openings near the base that let water out. The same guide suggests a swale, a shallow channel along the top of the wall, and keeping downspouts away from it.
How do I take care of a concrete retaining wall?
Poured walls need little routine care, mostly keeping an eye out for hairline cracks, clogged weep holes and efflorescence, a white crust that shows water moving through the concrete. Small cracks can be sealed, and clearing the weep holes keeps the drainage doing its job.
How do I fix a leaning retaining wall?
Get an engineer's assessment first, because movement like the signs above needs more than a patch. Repairs often involve tiebacks, anchors run back into the soil behind the wall, a partial rebuild or a full replacement. Call me once you notice it moving and I'll come take a look.
Whose name goes on the permit for a retaining wall in Aliso Viejo?
The city issues a permit in the name of either the licensed contractor or the property owner, and whoever holds it is responsible and liable for the construction. I tell you up front whose name it'll go under, and it's a fair question to ask every contractor before work starts.
Related concrete work for hillside yards
Concrete pool decks
If the flat ground behind a new wall is headed for a pool, the deck around it needs a solid base and a finish that grips wet feet.
Concrete floor installation
A garage, workshop or lower room built into a cut slope needs a poured floor on a well-packed base so it stays flat under what you put on it.
Service areas around Aliso Viejo in Orange County
All Star Aliso Viejo Concrete is based in Aliso Viejo, California, and we build retaining walls across the cities around it in Orange County. The 12 cities listed here, including Laguna Hills and San Clemente, each have their own page, and they aren't the only places we work.
Call me about the wall your slope needs
The engineer's design comes before any digging, so the sooner I see your slope, the sooner that part gets moving.
Aliso Viejo, CA