Retaining Walls in New Orleans

Segmental block retaining walls that hold grade and move water off your lot, engineered for soft New Orleans soil and our high water table.

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Price That Holds

Plenty of metro lots are not flat. A yard slopes toward the slab, a bed washes out every storm, or a low corner stays soggy for days after a New Orleans downpour. A retaining wall fixes the grade and gives you usable, level ground. On our soft alluvial delta soil with its high water table, the wall has to do two jobs at once: hold the soil back and let water out. Build it wrong and the same heavy rain that flooded the yard will push the wall apart.

Why segmental block walls work here

We build segmental retaining walls from interlocking concrete units. There is no mortar to crack and no footing to heave when the ground shifts. The blocks lock together by weight and geometry, so the wall flexes with our moving soil instead of fighting it. Just as important, a segmental wall is built to drain. Water that collects behind a poured or mortared wall has nowhere to go, and that pressure is what topples walls in a wet climate like ours. Our walls are designed to release it.

How we build it

Excavate and compact a level leveling pad below grade
Set the base course dead level, since every course above depends on it
Backfill each course with clean angular drainage stone, not native soil
Run a perforated drain pipe behind the wall to carry water out to daylight
Separate stone from soil with filter fabric so the drainage path stays open
Add geogrid soil reinforcement on taller walls for long-term stability

Walls over a certain height or holding a driveway or structure get engineered. Permit rules and any height triggers vary by parish, so we check the local office in Orleans, Jefferson, or St. Tammany before we dig.

What you get to choose

Block style: straight-faced, tumbled, or split-face for a natural stone look
Color: blended tones that match your home and pavers
Caps: a finished cap course, with an option to build in seat-height walls
Curves and tiers: stepped terraces that turn a steep slope into planting beds

Pairs well with

A retaining wall rarely travels alone. We tie it into drainage and grading so the water you redirect actually leaves the property, level the new grade for a paver patio, and connect the spaces with walkways and pathways. Tell us what the yard does in a storm and we will map the fix with a written scope and a price that holds.

Serving the New Orleans metro

We build retaining walls in New Orleans, Metairie, Kenner, River Ridge, Slidell, Covington, Mandeville, Madisonville, and Abita Springs.

How tall can a retaining wall be?

Short garden walls go in as a straightforward build. Once a wall gets tall enough to hold real load, it needs geogrid reinforcement and often an engineer and a parish permit. Height triggers vary by parish, so we confirm with the local office before we start.

Why does drainage matter so much for a wall?

Water is what kills retaining walls. With our high water table and heavy rain, soil behind a wall gets saturated and pushes hard. We build in drainage stone and a drain pipe so that pressure has a way out, which is the difference between a wall that lasts and one that bulges.

Can a retaining wall solve a wet, soggy yard?

Often, yes, when we pair it with grading. The wall holds the new grade and the drainage we build behind and around it carries water off to a lower point. We look at the whole lot, not just the wall, so the water has somewhere to go.

Do segmental walls crack like concrete?

No. There is no mortar or rigid footing to crack. The blocks interlock and flex with our shifting delta soil, and if settling ever moves a course we can reset it rather than demolish the wall.