Retaining Walls in Louisville, KY

Retaining walls hold soil back where a yard changes level: along a driveway cut into a hill, at the edge of a patio, or where a backyard steps down. Jefferson County is not all flat river plain, and even gentle lots often need a low wall to make a level patio or garden bed. A wall looks simple. What makes it last is everything behind and under it.

Why retaining walls fail

Nearly every leaning, bulging or cracked wall we see failed for one of these reasons:

• Water pressure. Wet soil is heavy. Without gravel and a drain behind it, a wall gets pushed by saturated ground every time it rains.
• No footing or base. Blocks set straight on dirt settle unevenly and tip.
• Too tall for its design. A wall that is fine at 3 feet can fail at 5 without reinforcement.
• Roots and loads. Trees, a driveway or a shed close to the top add pressure the wall was not built for.

The Kentucky Geological Survey notes that on the shale slopes of the Muldraugh Escarpment in Jefferson County, drain pipes and limestone riprap are used to keep water out and the slopes stable. The same idea applies to a backyard wall: control the water and the wall can do its job.

What goes into a wall we build

Excavation and base. We dig below the first course, compact a crushed stone base and set the bottom course level and partly buried.

Drainage. Clean gravel backfill behind the wall and a perforated drain pipe at the base, run to daylight or another outlet.

Reinforcement where needed. Taller segmental walls get geogrid layers tied back into the soil. Poured or block walls get steel.

A cap. Cap stones or a brick rowlock finish the top and shed water.

HomeGuide's retaining wall guide says segmental walls handle up to about 3 to 4 feet without extra reinforcement, and that walls 4 feet or taller usually need an engineer's design.

Louisville permits

Louisville Metro Construction Review says retaining walls over 4 feet tall require a building permit. Taller walls usually need an engineered design as well. Many residential walls are kept under that height or built as two terraced walls with a planting bed between them. If your address is in one of the small cities inside Jefferson County, or across the line in Bullitt, Oldham or Indiana, we confirm with the local office.

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Choosing a material

• Segmental concrete block: interlocking units, the most common and usually the least expensive for walls up to a few feet.
• Natural stone: Kentucky limestone and other stone laid dry or in mortar, with a natural look that suits older homes and wooded lots.
• Brick: a brick face over a block or concrete core, matched to a brick house.
• Poured concrete with veneer: for taller structural walls, faced in stone or brick.

Repairing a leaning wall

A wall with a slight lean and no drainage can sometimes be taken down and rebuilt using the same block, with a new base and gravel backfill. A wall that is cracked through or holding back a driveway or structure is usually replaced. We will tell you which applies after looking at it.