Hillside Retaining Wall Project in Cedar Falls, IA

The backyard sat on a cut hillside that kept washing after spring thaws. Mulch, soil, and anything planted on the slope ended up at the bottom of the lot. There was no flat ground for a patio, and mowing the bank was unsafe.

Water from the hill also had no controlled path. It sheeted toward the house side of the yard instead of into a drained outlet. The homeowner needed usable space and a wall that would hold Iowa clay through freeze-thaw, not a decorative stack.

Residential lot in Cedar Falls with a steep excavated bank, limited side-yard access for equipment, and typical Black Hawk County clay. The grade change was too large for planting or a timber border to hold.

We excavated to a stable bearing, built a compacted aggregate base, and installed a segmental block retaining wall sized to the height of the cut. Gravel backfill and perforated drain pipe went in behind the wall so water would leave instead of loading the face.

The grade above the wall was finished as a patio-ready landing. That gave the owner a level pad without pretending the original hillside was a lawn.

Access was tight, so material staging and machine work had to stay off the neighbor line. Height and clay meant the drainage package was not optional. A wall this tall without drain tile is a leaning wall in two winters.

The slope is now a finished wall with a usable landing above it. Soil stays put after rain, and the yard can take a patio or plantings on flat ground instead of a washout. This is the kind of structural wall we build across Cedar Falls when the lot itself is the problem.