Failing retaining wall replacement
When a wall has gone too far to fix, the goal is to rebuild it so the same thing doesn't happen again.
A wall that has partly collapsed, leans badly along its full length, or was built from timbers that have rotted through usually has to come out. Rebuilding it the same way is a bad bet. The replacement should fix whatever made the first one fail.
Why did the first wall fail?
That's the most important question to answer before anything gets rebuilt. Common answers on Morgantown properties:
- Clay soil packed straight against the wall, with no stone or drain
- Runoff from a street, driveway or downspouts dumping behind it
- A wall taller than its design, or block stacked without geogrid
- Parking, a shed or extra fill added on top years later
- Railroad ties or landscape timbers that simply rotted
- The slope itself moving, which no wall alone will stop
What does replacement involve?
- Shoring or cutting back the slope so it's safe to work
- Removing the old wall and the wet, loose backfill behind it
- Building a new base, drain and stone backfill
- Adding geogrid or steel where the height and load call for it
- Regrading and redirecting surface water above the new wall
When should an engineer be involved?
If the failed wall held up a driveway, a house or a public sidewalk, if the replacement will be tall, or if there are cracks in the ground well above the wall, ask for an engineer's design. A WVU GIS center landslide report notes that ground disturbed by mining, known as mining regolith, is the most slide-prone material in this part of the state, and that slides most often follow wet seasons in late winter and early spring. If your lot has a history of movement, a geotechnical look is worth it.
The contractor sets the price after seeing the slope, the soil, how equipment can reach the spot and what the wall has to hold back. We don't quote prices, and any figure you hear over the phone before someone has walked the site is a rough guess at best.
Where we connect you with help
Common questions
Do I need a permit to replace a retaining wall in Morgantown?
Probably, since the city requires a building permit when structures are built, altered or repaired. Ask your contractor to check with Code Enforcement for your address.
Should I replace a timber wall with timber?
Usually not. Block, stone or concrete lasts far longer. Timber is mainly for short garden borders.
Related services
More background: Morgantown retaining wall guide.
Wall bowing out, or the hillside behind it slipping?
Call now and a local retaining wall contractor will come look at it and quote the fix.