Concrete retaining walls in Medford MA - a slope held back with drainage built in
A slope washing out or an old wall starting to lean? We pour a concrete wall that holds the dirt and lets water out.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
Is a poured concrete retaining wall right for your Medford yard?
A concrete retaining wall in Medford is one we form and pour on site to hold back a slope, with the footing under it and the steel inside it planned as one piece so the wall can stand up to the dirt behind it.
Most calls about walls start with a backyard slope that's sliding onto the driveway or an old wall that's begun to tip. At Formcraft Medford Concrete Construction, the price moves most with how tall and long the wall is, how hard it is to get forms and a concrete truck back there, and how much engineering the wall needs, because access and engineering can be the biggest part of the cost. The schedule turns on the permit check with the city, any wetland filing and a good stretch of weather for the pour, and the written estimate from my visit spells out what's included and what isn't.
How do you know your slope needs a retaining wall?
Old wall leaning out
A timber, block or stone wall that tips forward or bulges in the middle is usually losing to the dirt and water behind it. The longer it goes, the more of the slope comes with it when it finally gives, and the bigger the tear-out gets.
Mud on the driveway
Soil washing onto your driveway, patio or walk after every rain means nothing is holding the slope. Each storm takes a little more, and it can start eating at the edge of the slab below.
Water coming through cracks
Wet stains, seeping joints or a soggy strip along the bottom of a wall usually mean water is trapped behind it with no way out. That pressure keeps working on the wall every time the ground gets soaked.
How we build a concrete retaining wall
With a wall, the water behind it is the part people forget, so drainage is the first thing we talk about and the first thing in your estimate. After that we mark the layout, dig out for the footing, set the rebar, the steel that ties the footing and the wall together, build the forms and pour. Once the concrete has had its curing time, the wait it needs to harden before it takes the load, we strip the forms, backfill with drainage stone and the outlets the plan calls for, shape the top so rain runs away from the wall and clean up.
A wall often opens up level ground for more work. We can pour concrete pool decks on the space a wall creates, and inside the house we handle concrete floor installation for basements, additions and workshops.
Straight wall with a plain face
This suits most backyard and driveway walls where the job is holding dirt, not drawing the eye. Simple forms keep the cost down, so more of the budget goes to the footing and drainage.
Curved or stepped layout
Poured concrete is formed to fit the site, so a wall can follow a curve, step down a hill or wrap around a patio. It suits yards where a straight line would waste space or cut too close to a tree or the property line.
Replacing a failing wall
If an old timber, block or stone wall is giving out, we remove it before we build the new one in its place. Expect the tear-out and hauling to show up as their own lines on the estimate.
Get a written estimate for your retaining wall
Expect a reply within 1 business day to set up a visit. I come out, look at the slope and send a free written estimate. No pressure, no obligation.
(781) 628-7780- estimates@medfordconcreteconstruction.com
- Based in
- Medford, MA 02155
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–9 PM
What happens when you call about a retaining wall in Medford?
Here's how it goes from your first call to the day we clean up, so you know what's next at each step.
Call or send the form
We get back to you and set a time for me to come see the yard. A rough idea of the wall's length and height helps us plan that visit.
I walk the slope with you
I look at where the water runs, how a truck gets in and what you want the wall to do. You get a written estimate with drainage up top and what's included and what isn't spelled out, so you know what the number covers.
We line up permit and pour
If you go ahead, I set the paperwork, materials and pour date and tell you the order things happen in. When a wall needs a building permit, the building official has 30 days to act, though most reviews finish fairly quickly.
We form, pour and clean up
Our crew digs, forms, pours and backfills in the order I laid out, and I keep you posted the whole way. We're done when the wall is in, the yard is graded and the site is cleaned up.
Why Medford homeowners call Formcraft Medford Concrete Construction for walls
The owner writes your estimate
I'm the one who comes out to look at your slope and write the estimate, and a small crew I lead does the forming, pouring and finishing. The person who drew up your drainage plan is the one watching it go in.
Planned before anyone digs
I spent years running the schedule for a busy concrete company before starting this business in Medford in 2023. Most trouble I saw started with a rushed schedule or a step nobody owned, so I'd rather move a date than pour into a problem.
Licensed, insured and easy to check
We're licensed and insured. Massachusetts lets anyone look up a construction supervisor's license, and the City of Medford suggests hiring a contractor who holds one and carries workers' compensation insurance, so ask that of everyone you're comparing.
If a slope or an old wall is on your mind, call (781) 628-7780 or send us the form and I'll come take a look.
Retaining walls, slopes and permits in Medford
Whether your wall needs a building permit is up to Medford's building official, wall by wall. The state building code lets a wall holding back less than four feet of unbalanced fill, which is how much higher the ground sits on one side than the other, skip the permit if the official judges it safe, so we check with the Medford Building Department before we put your wall on the schedule. When it does need a permit, we file the application and tell you up front that we're the ones pulling it. A yard near a wetland or stream adds a step before that, covered in the questions below.
A lot of what we see around Medford is houses on hillsides, backyards cut into a slope and driveways squeezed between neighbors, so getting forms and a truck to the wall is part of every first visit. We meet the same tight lots on jobs in Somerville and Malden.
Questions about retaining walls in Medford
How much does a poured concrete retaining wall cost in the Boston area?
Poured concrete retaining walls in the Boston area usually cost about $30 to $95 per square foot. That's the going range across the area, not our price, and access and engineering push a wall toward one end or the other. Your own number comes in the written estimate after I see the site.
Why does drainage matter so much behind a concrete retaining wall?
Water that can't get out from behind a wall pushes on it along with the dirt, so the wall has to hold back both. Good surface drainage plus free-draining backfill with outlets like weep holes, small openings low in the wall, or pipe drains keep that water from building up, and a filter may be needed so fine soil doesn't clog them. Ask every contractor you're comparing how their bid handles it.
How deep does a retaining wall footing need to be in Massachusetts?
One Massachusetts guide advises setting a poured wall's spread footing, the wide concrete base it stands on, deep enough below ground that frost can't lift it and crack it. Ask each bid, ours included, how deep the footing goes and how it stays below frost.
What is the best way to plan a retaining wall if my Medford yard is near a wetland or stream?
If the work would fill or alter a wetland, its buffer zone, a stream, a river or a riverfront area, you have to file with the Medford Conservation Commission first. Once it issues its approval, called an Order of Conditions, a ten-day appeal period runs, and with no appeal the order is recorded at the county registry of deeds before a building permit can be applied for. Tell us about the wetland or stream early, since it adds steps before any digging.
How do I decide between a poured concrete wall and a block wall?
Go with poured concrete when the wall's shape and finish matter most, because it's formed to fit your site and can take an architectural finish. It needs forms and professional placement, so it's a job for a hired crew. Changing or repairing it later is disruptive, which is why we settle the layout before the pour.
Can I build my own retaining wall in Medford?
Only an owner who lives in a single- or two-family home can get a homeowner's permit in Medford to do the work themselves. If you hire it out, the city suggests getting several quotes and, for an owner-occupied home of one to four units, a contractor registered as a home improvement contractor.
Other concrete work that pairs with a wall
Concrete pool decks
Building a pool on the level ground a wall creates? The deck around it needs a packed base and a surface pitched to send splash water away.
Concrete floor installation
Finishing a basement, an addition or a workshop? We pour interior concrete floors on a packed base, set to the height and finish the room needs.
Areas we serve around Medford
Formcraft Medford Concrete Construction is based in Medford, MA and builds retaining walls across the cities around it, including Arlington and Winchester. This site has pages for 12 cities, and we work in others nearby too.
Medford, MA
Send us your slope and wall size
Call (781) 628-7780 or use the form with the wall's rough length and height, a few yard photos and whether a wetland or stream is nearby, so the first visit covers the right things.