A poured concrete retaining wall is the strongest option for holding back a Portland yard slope, retaining a driveway cut, or building the upslope side of a walkout. Portland Concrete engineers, forms, reinforces and pours retaining walls to plan, with drainage behind the wall and a footing below the frost line so the wall does not lean, crack or tip. Every project starts with a free written estimate.
Most residential retaining walls fail from one of three causes, no engineering so the wall is the wrong size for the load, no drainage so water pressure pushes it over, or a shallow footing so frost heaves it. A poured concrete wall built correctly has the design, the drainage, and the footing right by definition.
Poured walls are the right choice for higher walls, longer walls, walls under structural load (a driveway above a wall), and walls where appearance matters and a single continuous face reads cleaner than block coursing. For shorter, simpler residential grade changes, a block retaining wall can be the better-value option; we will say which is right for your project.
Pair this with adjacent walkout basement work where the wall retains the cut, or with staircase projects where the stair cuts through a slope that needs retaining on both sides.
Recent work
How it works
How We Build a Poured Retaining Wall in Portland
Engineer the wall to load
An engineer designs the wall to the slope height, soil type, surcharge load (anything sitting above it), and freeze-thaw cycle, sizing the footing, wall thickness and reinforcement to the project.
Dig footing below frost
The wall footing is excavated below the frost line, formed and poured first with the engineered dimensions and reinforcement, so the wall sits on a base that will not lift in winter.
Form, reinforce, pour wall
The wall is formed straight and true, reinforcement tied through the full height with proper laps and the keyway to the footing, and the wall is poured and consolidated in one continuous lift where possible.
Drain behind, backfill
Drainage stone is placed against the back of the wall, a drainage pipe collects water at the footing and routes it to daylight or the property drainage, then the cut is backfilled to grade with confirmed drainage path intact.
Why drainage matters most
Drainage Is What Keeps a Wall Standing
Most failed retaining walls would still be standing if drainage behind them had been done right. Water pressure trapped behind a wall multiplies the soil load by a huge factor; over time even a heavily reinforced wall can be pushed past its design load. Drainage prevents the pressure from building, which is why every retaining wall we pour has drainage as its first conversation.
Every poured wall we build has drainage stone against the back face and a drainage pipe at the footing tied to daylight or the property storm system. Skipping it is the most expensive shortcut in residential walls; doing it adds a small percentage to the cost and gives the wall its full lifespan, same standard we apply across residential concrete work.
Engineering, drainage, footings below frost and when poured beats block for residential walls.
For most residential poured walls over a couple of feet tall, yes. Engineering sizes the footing, wall thickness, reinforcement and drainage to the load and soil. The cost of design is small compared to the cost of a wall that fails. We work from engineered drawings on every project.
Poured is best for taller walls, longer continuous walls, structural loads above the wall, and a single clean face. Block is best for shorter walls, less structural load and a more economical install. We will recommend based on your project.
Critical. Most failed retaining walls failed from trapped water pressure, not from undersized concrete. Drainage stone against the back and a drainage pipe at the footing routed to daylight are what keep the wall standing for the long run.
Below the frost line, which is typically several feet in Portland. The engineer confirms the exact depth based on the soil and load; the wall footing will go deeper than your eye says it needs to, and that depth is what stops winter heave.
A few weeks for a typical residential wall, including engineering, excavation, footing pour with cure, wall pour with cure, drainage install and backfill. The full schedule is in the written quote so you can plan around it.
Homeowner reviews
What Portland Homeowners Say About Their Poured Retaining Walls
Engineered, drained, footing below frost. Wall is plumb to within a fraction, drainage is dry behind it. Worth doing once and properly; the yard finally makes sense.
Q. F.
Portland
★★★★★
Holding back the cut for our walkout basement and the driveway above it. Single continuous face, no joint pattern to weather. Looks like part of the architecture.
X. W.
Vancouver
★★★★★
Drainage was their first conversation, not the concrete. Got the why right; the wall is dry behind, stable in front, and stayed that way through spring melt.
Z. W.
Hillsboro
★★★★★
Engineer worked directly with the crew. Calcs to drawings to pour, nothing got fudged. The wall is bombproof and the budget held to the dollar.
Y. W.
Gresham
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