Concrete retaining walls in Lansing MI - a wall that holds your slope and drains well
Bank sliding onto your driveway or yard? We build poured walls with the footing and drainage planned first, so the slope stays put.
Is a poured concrete wall right for your slope?
Concrete retaining walls in Lansing hold back a steep bank with a poured, steel-reinforced wall and drained backfill behind it, so the soil stays where it belongs instead of creeping onto your yard, driveway or foundation. The wall you see is half the job. The footing and the drain behind it are the other half.
Usually the call starts with a bank that keeps slumping every spring, an old timber or block wall that's started to lean, or a yard that drops off right beside a concrete driveway. The price mostly follows the wall's height and length, how much digging the footing takes, how far the drain has to run to an outlet, whether a driveway or the house sits close above it, and whether you want a stone or brick face. The schedule turns on the permit, the weather and the curing wait, which is the time new concrete needs to gain strength before soil can push against it. When I come out, I look at all of that and send you a written estimate with your own figure.
How we build a concrete retaining wall
I dig out to firm ground first, because a wall is only as steady as its footing, the wide concrete base it stands on. Most of the walls we pour are cantilever walls, with a fairly thin stem rising from a base slab whose back edge sits under the soil it holds, so the weight of that soil helps keep the wall upright. That design uses much less concrete than a solid gravity wall, but it only works when the footing and the pour are done carefully and the rebar, the steel bars that let the wall take the soil's push without cracking apart, goes exactly where the plan puts it. On a poured wall the drainage matters as much as the concrete, so we plan the drain, the backfill and where the water goes before we form anything. That means weep holes, which are openings through the wall that let water out, with gravel wrapped in filter fabric behind them so fine dirt doesn't plug them, and a perforated pipe at the base that carries water to a daylight outlet or a storm connection. We also ask where your plowed snow will end up, because salty snow piled against a wall is about as hard on concrete as it gets, and we want to know that before the concrete is chosen. If the budget gets tight, I'd rather drop the stone veneer than trim the footing or the drain, because a face can be added later and a footing can't.
A wall is often one piece of a bigger plan. When a slope gets cut back to make level room for concrete pool decks, we plan the wall and the deck together so the deck's runoff heads to a drain instead of soaking the backfill. When a wall holds grade along a garage, shop or walkout, we can take on the concrete floor installation as part of the same project, with the floor and the wall planned around the same water.
Retaining walls, drains and permits in Lansing
The City of Lansing requires a building permit before construction begins, and its Building Safety Office reviews the plans. That's the city's general rule, so the office is the place to ask about your own wall, and you can reach the Building Safety Office at 517-483-4355. When a job needs a permit, we take care of the application and the inspections, and we keep you posted on where things stand.
Around Lansing we see a lot of walls that carry a driveway above them or sit tight against a house on a narrow lot, which is where a poured wall earns its keep, and winters bring plenty of freeze and thaw against the wet side of a wall. We see the same kinds of slopes on jobs in Grand Ledge and Okemos, and we work across the cities around Lansing.
How a retaining wall job works
Call us or send the form
Call (517) 246-3566 or send the form with a little about your slope, and we'll set a time for me to come out. If there's a driveway or a building above the bank, mention it.
I walk the slope with you
I come out myself to look at the bank, ask how you use the space above and below it, and answer your questions. Then I send a written estimate, so you have the price in writing before you decide anything.
We sort out the office and date
Once you're ready, we find out which office covers your address and handle any permit the job needs. Then we set a date that suits the job and the season, since a wall pour needs weather the concrete can cure in.
We build it and clean up
I work the job with our crew from the dig through the pour, and we let the concrete cure before the drain stone and backfill go in behind it. When the wall is done, we clean up the site.
Get a free estimate for your retaining wall and drainage
We reply to every call and message within one business day. The estimate is free and done on site, and there's no pressure to book. After you send this, we'll set a time for me to come out, and I'll follow the visit with a written estimate.
Questions before you book a retaining wall
What does a concrete retaining wall cost in Lansing?
Poured concrete retaining walls in Lansing usually cost about $35 to $45 per square foot of wall face, which is what this work runs in the area, not a quote from us. Where a wall lands in that range comes down to the things in the opening above, like height, the dig, the drain run and the finish. I'll give you your own figure in a written estimate after I see the site.
Is poured concrete better than block for a retaining wall on my slope?
For a tall wall, a steep bank near a foundation or a wall with a driveway above it, an engineered poured wall is stronger foot for foot and takes up less room front to back, which helps on a tight lot. The catch is that it's rigid, so it cracks if the footing sits above frost depth or the drainage is wrong, and a cracked poured wall is a bigger repair than a few loose blocks. When you compare bids, ask each contractor how deep the footing goes and how the wall drains.
How long will a poured concrete retaining wall last?
One guide says a poured wall with a working footing drain and clear weep holes holds its line for decades. The same guide says a wall backfilled with clay and no outlet starts shifting within a few freeze-thaw cycles, so drainage decides how long the wall holds. That's why we plan the drain before we plan anything else.
Do I need a permit for a retaining wall in Lansing?
The city requires building permits before construction begins, so ask Lansing's Building Safety Office about your own wall, using the number in the Lansing section above. If your wall needs one, we take it from there.
How long does it take to build a concrete retaining wall?
Most of the time goes into the dig, the footing and the forms, then the curing wait before backfill, so a wall takes longer than the pour day suggests. Weather and any permit review can move the start date, and I'll talk through the timing with you when I see the site.
Can a concrete retaining wall look like stone or brick?
Yes, a poured wall gives a clean, solid face that can take a stone or brick veneer, which suits an older home. The veneer adds to the cost, so some owners put the money into the footing and drain now and dress up the face later.
Why Lansing homeowners call Benchmark Lansing Concrete Company for retaining walls
I look at the slope myself
I come out to look at the job myself, and I work alongside our crew when the wall is built. The person who planned your footing and drain is the one watching them go in.
Taught on my dad's job sites
We've been in business since 2023, and I learned concrete on my dad's pours long before that, from tying steel to finishing slabs. He taught me that a job is only as good as the prep under it, and that's how I plan a wall.
A license you can check
We're fully licensed and insured. Michigan's licensing department lists on each contractor license the trades its holder is qualified to practice, such as concrete and excavation, so it's worth checking for anyone you hire.
Permits through the right office
Addresses inside the City of Lansing go to the city's office, and Clinton County's building department lists the city outside its coverage. We sort that out before your date is set, so the paperwork doesn't hold up the dig.
On a retaining wall, what matters most is the footing and the drain you won't see once the backfill is in. When you're ready, send us your project or call (517) 246-3566.
Related concrete work
Concrete floor installation
If the wall holds grade beside a garage, shop or walkout, a new concrete floor poured on a well-packed base gives that space a flat, solid surface.
Concrete pool decks
A deck around a backyard pool on sloped ground needs a level, well-drained base and a surface that handles wet feet, sun and Michigan freeze-thaw.
Plan your retaining wall and drain with us
Send the wall's rough length and height and a few photos of the slope and any driveway above it, by calling (517) 246-3566 or using the form, so I come out already knowing what to look at.
