retaining wall drainage
A surprising number of wall calls turn out to be water calls. Downspouts discharging straight into the backfill, a yard that grades toward the wall instead of away, a spring that only shows itself after heavy rain. Fix the wall and leave the water and you have bought a few years at most. We treat drainage as its own piece of work with its own scope, whether or not there is a wall in front of it.
A large share of the failing walls we are asked to look at did not fail structurally first. They failed because water had nowhere to go. Downspouts discharging straight into the backfill, a yard graded toward the wall instead of away from it, a seep that only appears after heavy rain, or an outlet that silted shut years ago and was never noticed.
Fix the wall and leave the water and you have bought a few seasons at most. That is why we scope drainage as its own piece of work, whether or not there is a wall in front of it.
Perforated pipe bedded in clean stone, wrapped in filter fabric so it does not silt up, run to an outlet that actually daylights somewhere sensible. Above ground, that means regrading so surface water moves away from the structure, routing downspouts properly, and cutting swales where the lot allows.
On new work, drainage is quoted as part of the wall rather than as an addition. Where the ground has to be opened up to reach an outlet, that is excavation work, and where a wall has already moved, drainage is the first thing we check on a repair.
Common everywhere, and especially in newer developments: Cranberry Township, Upper St. Clair and Bethel Park, plus Pittsburgh, Shaler and Mt. Lebanon.
How long does it take? Most residential drainage work is a day or two depending on run length and outlet distance.
These usually come up on the same job, and we can handle them in the same visit:
Leaning, cracked, bulging or sliding walls. We find out why it moved before we price the fix.
Learn More →Cut, fill, haul-off and site access on tight hillside lots where reaching the wall is half the job.
Learn More →Terracing a slope, levelling a yard, or holding a cut for a patio or driveway. Base and drainage quoted with the wall.
Learn More →Free - No Obligation
Send a few details and we'll come look at it. Photos help - a picture of a lean or a crack tells us more than a paragraph.