Concrete retaining walls in Durango CO - a wall that holds back your slope
Soil creeping down the slope or an old wall leaning out? We build a drained concrete wall that keeps the ground where it belongs.
Request an estimate
Do you need a poured concrete wall to hold your slope?
A concrete retaining wall in Durango is a structural wall our crew casts in place on your site to hold back soil and keep a slope from sliding toward your yard, driveway or house.
Usually the call starts with dirt washing onto a path, a bank that keeps slumping, or an old wall leaning out at the top. The price moves with the wall's height and length, how much digging and drainage it takes, how easy it is to get a crew and concrete to the spot, and whether the city wants an engineer's design and a rock facing. The schedule turns more on the permit review and the weather than on the pour itself. Your own figure comes from the estimate, where I walk the slope and tell you plainly what we'd build. We're based in Durango and work in the cities around it too. The city requires every contractor working here to hold a valid City of Durango Business License, so ask anyone bidding your wall to show theirs.
How we build a concrete retaining wall
First I'll tell you straight whether your site needs a poured wall or whether a much cheaper stacked wall, laid dry with open joints, does the job, because there's no sense paying for concrete the slope doesn't need. If we pour it, we dig out to firm ground and pack the base, since a wall is only as good as what it sits on, and if the budget gets tight that's the last place I'd cut. Then we set the forms and the rebar, the steel inside that holds the concrete together when the soil pushes. Because water pushing on the back is what takes walls down, the bid spells out the drainage: gravel backfill, a drain pipe along the bottom and weep holes, small openings through the wall that let water out. We let the concrete cure, the wait while it gains strength, before we backfill against it.
A retaining wall is often one piece of a bigger change to the yard. When a wall holds back the slope beside a pool, we can pour the concrete pool decks in the same project so the deck and the wall drain together, and when the wall goes in with a permitted cut for a shop or an addition, we also handle the concrete floor installation for the building.
What Durango allows for a concrete retaining wall
Durango may approve a retaining wall when it's an engineering fix for erosion, an unstable slope, stormwater, a permitted cut and fill, or a geologic or wildfire hazard. A wall built only to turn a sloped lot into a flat yard isn't allowed, so I'll tell you at the estimate whether your reason for the wall fits what the city accepts.
The city also wants walls finished with native rock or masonry that looks like natural rock or traditional local materials in scale and texture, so a bare gray face isn't an option here. We put that facing in the plan and the price from the start, because it changes how the wall is built and what it costs. On jobs around Durango we mostly see sloped yards, driveways cut into hillsides and older walls that have started to lean, and the fix nearly always starts with what's behind and under the wall.
- Call (970) 844-8095
- Mon–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
- Durango, CO 81301
What happens after you call Durango Concrete Company in Durango?
Call or send the form
Call (970) 844-8095 or use the form and tell us where the wall goes and what the slope is doing. We'll set a time for me to come out.
I walk the slope with you
I come out myself, look at the ground, the drainage and the access, and listen to what you want the wall to do. You get a plain account of what we'd build and what moves the price.
We sort out permits first
Before anyone digs, we find out what the city or county needs for your wall and handle the application when a permit is required. The review time goes into the schedule so you're not left guessing.
I run the crew through the pour
Our crew digs, forms, pours and backfills with me on site, working within the city's 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. construction hours. Once the wall has cured and the backfill is in, we clean up and walk it with you.
Why Durango homeowners call Durango Concrete Company for retaining walls
I look at every wall myself
I come out to every job, and I'm on site running the crew through the pour. The person who priced your wall is the one watching the base and the drainage go in.
Licensed and insured on every job
We're licensed and insured, so damage or an injury on your property during the job isn't yours to carry. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
Footing depth explained before we dig
The city sets the frost line for footings at 32 inches minimum below the undisturbed ground, and I'll tell you at the estimate how deep your wall's footing goes. Ground that freezes under a shallow footing can heave and tip a wall, so it's a fair question to ask anyone bidding.
Three years around lived-in homes
We've been in business since 2023, and our work is around houses people live in, with kids, cars and gardens still there. We plan the dig and the concrete truck's path around your driveway and garden so the house keeps working while the wall goes in.
On a retaining wall, the part that matters most is the part you'll never see, the base under it and the drainage behind it. If your slope is moving, send us the details and I'll come out and look.
Request an estimateGet a free on-site estimate for your retaining wall
We reply within one business day, and the estimate is free with no obligation. I come out, walk the slope, look at the drainage and the access, and tell you plainly what we'd build.
- Licensed and insured.
- Phone
- (970) 844-8095
- Location
- Durango, CO 81301
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
Questions about concrete retaining walls in Durango
How much does a concrete retaining wall cost in Colorado?
A retaining wall in Colorado usually costs about $30 to $50 per square foot, a statewide figure for the work in general rather than our price. Your own number comes from the estimate after I've seen the slope.
Do I need a permit to build a retaining wall in Durango?
Yes, for any wall 30 inches tall or more, because the city requires a Retaining Wall Permit from the City Engineer before construction starts. Lining that up is part of what we sort out before anyone digs.
When does a retaining wall in Durango need an engineer?
A Durango wall needs an engineer's design and stamp when it stands six feet or taller at its highest point, and the engineer has to be a Colorado Registered Professional Engineer specializing in structural engineering. A wall four feet or taller needs one too when it's taller than its distance from a shared property line or the line where the street's land begins, and on those walls we build to the engineer's plan.
How tall can a retaining wall be in Durango?
Durango caps a retaining wall at eight feet tall. Where a slope needs more height than that, the city calls for a series of terraces, or benches, at least five feet wide and planted with approved landscaping, and we lay out the steps so each wall stays under the cap.
How do I keep the weep holes in a retaining wall from clogging?
Keep the openings clear of plants, trash and animal nests, because weep holes often clog that way, and once they're plugged they stop draining. Poor backfill clogs them from behind too, which is why we put clean gravel behind the wall instead of the dirt we dug out.
How long does it take to build a concrete retaining wall in Durango?
The permit review, any engineer's design the city requires and the concrete's cure usually take longer than the building itself. We can't dig until the paperwork is through, and once the wall is poured it has to cure before we backfill against it, so I'll lay out the full schedule at the estimate.
Other concrete work around a new wall
Concrete pool decks
A pool tucked against a slope usually needs a deck poured to drain away from the water and the wall, with a finish that stays grippy underfoot.
Concrete floor installation
A shop, garage or addition built into a hillside needs a flat, well-based floor slab, and pouring it alongside the wall keeps one crew on the whole job.
Book a look at your slope
Have the wall's planned height and its distance from the property line handy when you call (970) 844-8095, because those two numbers tell us early what the city will ask for.
Request an estimateCall (970) 844-8095