- 1-262-327-9847
- info@landexcompany.com
- Mon - Fri 7:00-5:00
- Wisconsin: Lake Geneva, William’s Bay
- 1-262-327-9847
- Mon - Fri 7:00-5:00
A retaining wall in Milwaukee only lasts if the drainage and footings behind it are done right the first time.
Water that gets trapped behind a wall expands when it freezes, and that repeated cycle pushes the wall out of alignment. In southeastern Wisconsin, one or two winters is often enough to move a poorly built wall visibly out of line. Keeping water from collecting behind the block in the first place is the only real defense against it.
A wall without gravel backfill and a drain line is holding back water pressure as well as soil. That hydrostatic pressure is what cracks block, opens joints and pushes footings forward over time. It is invisible from the front of the wall, which is why drainage is the first thing we plan and the last thing we would ever cut from a build.
A wall over about three feet needs an engineered footing sized to the soil and the slope it is holding, not a footing sized to save on materials. When the base is too shallow or too narrow for the load above it, the wall settles unevenly and the courses above begin to separate. The wall is only ever as good as what it stands on.
Tell us the wet corner or the rough drive — estimates are free.
We build every wall to hold the grade for decades, not to pass a look-over and fail in five years. That means the work you cannot see gets the same attention as the face of the wall you look at every day. On every Milwaukee-area project, three elements are specified to the site rather than copied from the last job we did.
Footing depth and width are sized to the wall height and the soil conditions on your site, not a standard number applied to every job regardless of slope. We look at what the wall is actually holding back and build the base to match. That decision is made before a single block is set, because it cannot be corrected later.
Gravel backfill and a perforated drain line go in behind every wall we build, so water pressure never has a chance to build up against the block. Water moves through the stone and out through the drain instead of freezing, expanding and working against your wall each winter. It is the single biggest factor in how long a wall stands straight.
The finished grade is tied into the wall so water moves away from the structure and away from your foundation, not toward it. A wall built without thinking about where the runoff goes can solve a slope problem and create a basement problem. We look at the whole drainage path across the property before we set the final grade.
Tell us about your slope, your soil and what you need the wall to hold back, and we will walk you through the footing and drainage plan before any work begins. Reach out today to schedule a site visit.
The biggest factors are the height and length of the wall, the material, how much soil has to be excavated and hauled, and how easily equipment can reach the slope. Tight city lots, steep yards and walls that replace an old failing one all add work. A wall tall enough to need a larger footing and more drainage stone will cost more than a low garden wall of the same length. We price from a site visit so the quote matches what your wall actually has to hold back.
We build segmental block walls, natural boulder walls and timber walls. Segmental block gives a clean, structural face and plenty of color options. Boulders suit hillsides and landscape walls that should look natural. Timber works for shorter grade changes and garden terraces. The right choice depends on the height, the look you want and what the wall is supporting.
It depends on the wall height, its location on the lot and the rules in Milwaukee or your suburb. Requirements differ between municipalities, so check with your city or village before work starts. We can help you find out what applies to your property.
Preparing a new lot? See our land clearing in Waukesha.
