What it is
Retaining Walls — built right.
A retaining wall holds back earth — that's the whole job. Most failed walls didn't fail because the stone was wrong. They failed because drainage behind the wall was wrong, or the base wasn't engineered, or the slope load wasn't calculated. We build retaining walls with engineered base, proper backfill, drainage tile behind the wall, and weep holes. The face material — limestone, flagstone veneer, segmental block — is the cosmetic decision. The structure is the real work.
Hill Country Relevance
Local conditions.
Hill Country slopes erode fast in heavy rain. A 2-3' garden wall and a 6-8' structural retaining wall are completely different engineering problems. We build both — and we won't build a structural wall without a soil and slope read first.
Materials & Process
How we build it.
- Site survey — slope angle, soil type, water source above the wall, intended use behind it.
- Wall design — height, batter (lean-back angle), foundation depth, drainage plan.
- Excavation and compacted gravel footing — depth depends on wall height and frost line.
- Drainage tile behind the wall, gravel backfill, weep holes through the face.
- Stone selection — Hill Country quarried limestone, Oklahoma flagstone veneer, or engineered segmental block.
- Dry-stack or mortared depending on wall purpose and aesthetic.
- Cap stone, finish grade, plant native borders if the wall transitions into bed work.