[ADD: town where this project was completed, MN]
Tiered Retaining Wall & Slope Stabilization
A tiered block retaining wall built to hold a sloped yard, with drainage stone and drain tile behind the full wall height and usable terraces created above it.
Scope of work
- Excavation and compacted leveling pad below grade
- Block wall built in tiers up the slope
- Clean drainage stone and perforated drain tile behind the wall
- Backfill, finish grading, and terrace restoration
Materials used
- Engineered retaining wall block
- Wall caps
- Washed drainage stone
- Perforated drain tile
- Geotextile fabric
The challenge
Sloped yards in Minnesota hold water in the soil behind a wall. When that saturated soil freezes it expands, and that pressure is what makes walls lean and bulge within a few seasons.
What we did
The wall was built on a compacted leveling pad with clean washed stone behind the full height, wrapped in geotextile so silt can't clog it, and drain tile run to a low discharge point. Tiering the wall instead of building one tall face reduced the retained height at any single point.
The result
A stable slope with flat, usable terraces above it and a drainage path that moves spring melt off the hill instead of trapping it behind the block.
Project photos
Services used on this project
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