Concrete retaining walls in Norfolk NE - a wall that drains and holds the slope
A bank sliding onto your driveway or an old wall starting to lean? We pour a concrete wall that drains and holds the ground.
Drainage plan
Where the water behind your wall goes, settled first.
Footing and forms
Dug out, formed and reinforced before any concrete goes in.
Poured wall
Concrete placed and finished to hold back your bank.
Backfill and cleanup
Soil goes back behind the wall, and we clean up.
What goes into a concrete retaining wall in Norfolk?
A concrete retaining wall holds back a bank of soil so a sloped yard in Norfolk gets flat, usable ground and a slope that stays put. It stands up to the soil's sideways push either by its own weight or with a reinforced wall on a footing.
Walls come in two kinds. A gravity wall holds by its own weight and the soil it carries, with little or no steel. A cantilever wall uses rebar, the steel that keeps concrete from pulling apart, and sits on a footing whose back edge, the heel, has soil resting on it that gives the wall most of its stability.
The first thing I settle on a wall is where the water behind it will go, and we'd rather build in drains that can be cleaned out than openings that plug up. Price moves with the wall's length and height, the footing depth and how easy the spot is to reach, while the schedule turns on weather and the permit check. Your estimate lists each step and what's included.
- Water behind the wall planned first
- Drains built to be cleaned out
- Flat ground you can actually use
- An estimate that lists every step
How do you know your yard needs a retaining wall?
Most calls start with soil that won't stay where it belongs or an old wall that's starting to give, so here's what to look for.
Soil washing onto the walk
After a hard rain, dirt from the bank ends up on your sidewalk or driveway, and the slope keeps creeping lower each year.
Old wall leaning out
A wall that tips toward you at the top is losing to the soil behind it, and leaning rarely reverses on its own.
Water seeping at the base
Wet spots, staining or pooling water along the foot of a wall usually mean the water behind it has nowhere good to go.
Cracks and bulges
Cracks that keep widening or a face that bows out in the middle mean the soil's sideways push is winning.
Rotting timbers or loose blocks
Old landscape timbers go soft and stacked blocks shift out of line, and that's often when owners move to poured concrete.
A slope you can't use
If the yard falls away too steeply to mow, play on or build on, a wall can turn part of it into flat ground.
Get a retaining wall estimate
Send the wall's rough length and height and what it holds back. We reply within one business day, and I come out for a free, no-obligation estimate.
What I look at on a retaining wall visit
Before I recommend a wall type or a price, I walk the slope and look at the water, the load, the room you've got and how we'd get in.
Where the water goes
I watch how rain runs off the slope and toward the wall, because that decides where the drains go and where they empty.
How much it holds back
The height of the bank and what sits above it, like a driveway or a patio, decide how much a wall has to hold.
Room behind the wall
I check how much space there is behind the wall and to your property line, since that can decide which kind of wall fits.
Getting the crew in
Access for forms, the concrete truck and digging equipment changes how we stage the job and what it costs.
How a retaining wall job runs
We plan a retaining wall around your yard, your schedule and the weather, so you know what each step is before anyone digs.
You call or write
Call or send the form with what's happening on your slope, and we'll set a time for me to come out.
I walk the site
I come out myself, look at the slope and the water, and ask what you want the finished yard to do.
Written estimate
You get a written estimate that lists each step of the wall and what's included, so there's nothing to guess at.
Permits and scheduling
Once you say go, we check with the office that covers your address, handle any permit paperwork with you and plan around weather.
Build and walk-through
Our crew digs, forms and pours the wall, then we walk the finished job with you before we call it done.
Why Norfolk homeowners call Norfolk Concrete Company for retaining walls
You get the person who prices your wall standing on the job while it's built, and a call back when you leave a message. Call (402) 844-1238 to set up a visit.
Owner on every job
I come out to look at your slope and write the estimate myself, and I'm on site with our own crew.
Water and frost, learned here
Years of lawn and snow work in Norfolk showed me how water and frost move around houses, before I started this company in 2023.
Fully licensed and insured
We're fully licensed and insured, so a crew digging into your slope isn't a risk you carry.
Calls returned, paperwork clear
You get your call returned and a written estimate you can follow line by line. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
Concrete retaining walls in Norfolk and the cities around it
Nebraska winters drive frost about three to three and a half feet into the ground. One technical guide calls for a poured wall's footing to sit below that depth so frost heave, the ground lifting as it freezes, can't push it. That's why a wall's footing in Norfolk goes deep, and I work out how deep before I price it.
We're based in Norfolk and build walls in Wayne and the other cities around it. Calls here usually come from sloped yards, where someone wants to keep a bank off the driveway or cut out flat ground for a concrete pool deck or a shop that needs concrete floor installation.
Got a slope or a leaning wall you want looked at?
(402) 844-1238Retaining wall questions we hear
How much does a concrete retaining wall cost in Nebraska?
Retaining wall construction in Nebraska usually runs about $32 to $37 per square foot, which is what the work tends to cost around the state, not our quote. Because it's priced by the square foot, the wall's length and height make the biggest difference, followed by footing depth, drainage and access. Have a rough length and height ready when you call, and I'll price your wall on site.
What causes retaining walls to fail?
Poor drainage is by far the most common reason retaining walls perform poorly, and left alone those problems can end in a wall failing outright. That's why where the water goes is the first thing to settle with any installer, ahead of looks or price.
What is the best way to keep a retaining wall draining?
Drains that can be cleaned out are the more reliable choice, because traditional weep holes, the small openings that let water out through the wall, are likely to clog over the years. You can ask any installer for drains you can maintain, and that's what we'd rather build in.
Is a poured concrete or block retaining wall better for my yard in Norfolk?
Poured concrete handles a tight lot better and block handles a tight curve better, according to one technical guide. Where a block wall's reinforcing mesh, called geogrid, can't extend into a neighbor's property, a poured wall can use a cantilever design or tiebacks, anchors set back into the soil, but curves that come easily with block need costly custom forms for a poured wall. A block industry group also says block walls typically cost less, and while we pour concrete walls, I'll tell you on site if your lot would suit block better.
How long before soil can go behind a new poured retaining wall?
A poured wall needs time to cure, the wait while concrete gains strength, before soil goes back behind it. Segmental blocks are different, since they're at strength when they leave the mold and can be backfilled right away. Before we pour, I'll tell you how long your wall needs so you know when the yard goes back together.
How do I check a concrete contractor in Nebraska before hiring?
Start by making sure they're registered, because Nebraska requires contractors and subcontractors doing work on property that isn't their own to register with the Nebraska Department of Labor. The department notes that registration doesn't ensure quality or protect against fraud, so also ask how the wall will drain and how deep the footing goes.
Ask Norfolk Concrete Company about your wall
A bank is easier to hold while it's still standing, so call or send the form and I'll come look and price it on site.