Concrete retaining walls in Rio Rancho NM - a wall that holds your yard in place
Slope washing onto your patio or too steep to use? We pour concrete walls that hold the ground back and give you level yard space.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- We reply within 1 business day.
What goes into building a concrete retaining wall in Rio Rancho?
A concrete retaining wall is a poured wall that holds back soil, so you can turn a sloped yard in Rio Rancho into level ground or keep a hillside from washing onto your patio. Elite Rio Rancho Concrete Construction builds them start to finish, and since the city requires a permit for a retaining wall, we take care of the application and the inspections.
Most people call us because part of the yard is going to waste, or because dirt and water keep coming down onto a slab they paid good money for. The price moves with the wall's length and height, how much dirt has to be dug out and hauled, how close a truck can get, what the drainage needs and the finish you pick for the face. The schedule mostly turns on getting the design and the city's permit, then the dig, the pour and the wait while the concrete cures, which is the time it needs to harden before dirt goes back against it. When I come out for the estimate, I walk the slope with you and go over what your wall needs, so you see where the money goes before you decide.
How do you know your yard needs a retaining wall?
Dirt washing onto your slab
After a hard rain you find sand and mud across your patio, walk or driveway, and the bank above looks a little lower each time. That usually means nothing is holding the slope, and every storm takes more of it and leaves water sitting against your concrete.
A slope you can't use
Part of your yard is too steep to plant, mow or set a table on. A wall can cut that slope into flat ground, and the longer it stays loose, the more soil you lose to wind and runoff.
An old wall leaning out
A timber, rock or block wall that bows forward, cracks or opens a gap at the top is losing to the weight behind it. When a wall like that gives way it can drop a lot of dirt at once, so it's worth having someone look before the next big storm.
How we build concrete retaining walls
A retaining wall holds back a lot of weight, so we build to an engineer's stamped design and don't guess at it. Early on I also ask about any lawn, garden or trees you water behind the wall, because heavy watering can build pressure back there and may call for extra drainage in the design. Once the plans and permit are in hand, our crew digs out for the footing, the wide concrete base the wall stands on, packs the ground under it and sets the rebar, the steel inside that keeps the wall from pulling apart under load. Then we build the forms, pour early in the day when we can to stay ahead of the heat, and let the wall cure before the drainage and dirt go back in behind it the way the plans show.
Once a wall turns a slope into level ground, people usually want to use it. That flat space is often where a pool goes, and we pour concrete pool decks around it, or where a shop or storage building sits on a slab from our concrete floor installation work. Planning those together with the wall lets us set the grade once instead of twice.
Plain form finish
The face comes out the way the forms leave it, smooth and gray. It suits walls that sit behind plants or out of sight, and it keeps your money in the footing and the steel, which is where I'd rather see it go.
Textured form liner
Form liners are molds set inside the forms that press a pattern into the face as it hardens. They can be an economical way to dress up a wall you look at every day.
Colored concrete
Color mixed into the concrete gives the wall a tone that goes with the house, but it can be expensive. Ordinary finishing can also leave the color varying across the wall, so it suits owners who are fine with some variation.
Get a free on-site estimate for your retaining wall
We reply within one business day. I come out to measure the slope and talk through the wall, and the estimate is free, with no pressure and no obligation.
(505) 271-3053- Based in
- Rio Rancho, NM 87124
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM
What happens after you call about a retaining wall?
Here's how a wall goes from your first call to a finished job, and who handles each part along the way.
Call or send the form
Tell us where the slope is and what's going wrong, and we'll set a time for me to come see it. You'll talk with the person who'll be running the job.
I walk and measure the site
I look at the slope, the soil and where the water runs, then go over what the wall needs, including the engineering and the permit. You get a clear picture of what drives the price before you decide anything.
We line up plans and permit
Once you say go, we take care of the permit work for your address. The build waits on the engineer's stamped plans and the city's approval, so nobody digs early.
We build it and walk it
Our crew preps the ground, forms and pours, and the inspections happen along the way. When it's done, I walk the finished wall with you before we pack up.
Why homeowners call Elite Rio Rancho Concrete Construction for retaining walls
The owner writes your estimate
I come out myself to look at the slope and write the estimate, and our own crew does the work while I run the job and am usually on site. The person who heard what you wanted is the one watching the pour.
In business since 2017
I started pouring small pads and walks for neighbors on weekends and turned that into this business in 2017, nine years ago. Those years taught me that what's under and behind the concrete matters more than what's on top.
Licensed, insured and easy to check
We're fully licensed and insured. You can check any New Mexico builder's license through the state's construction licensing office before you sign anything.
On a retaining wall, the weight behind it and the ground under it decide whether it stands, so that's where we spend our time. Send us the details and I'll come take a look.
Retaining walls, permits and sloped lots in Rio Rancho
Inside Rio Rancho city limits, the city's permit office issues the permit for a retaining wall, and the application needs plans that carry an engineer's stamp. If the wall changes the grade, the level or slope of your ground, the city has to approve that too, and once the permit is issued, inspections are required during the build to check the work. Before we start, we check with the permit office that covers your address, so if you're outside the city we find out what applies there, and we take care of the application and the inspections.
A lot of the yards we see here sit on a slope, with sandy dirt that moves when a storm comes through and gardens that get watered most of the year. We run into the same thing on jobs in Corrales and North Valley, and we plan each wall around where that water ends up. If your city isn't one we list, ask us.
Questions about retaining walls in Rio Rancho
(505) 271-3053Yes, the city requires a permit for a retaining wall, and the plans have to carry an engineer's stamp. If you want to ask before you plan anything, the city's permit office is at 505-891-5005, and we check with the office for your address before we start.
Poured concrete retaining walls in the Albuquerque area usually cost about $27 to $40 per square foot of wall face, and that's the market's range, not a quote from us. Taller walls, more digging, tight access and a decorative face push a job toward the top of it. Your own number comes from the on-site estimate.
Inside Rio Rancho city limits, the contractor has to hold a State of New Mexico license and an active City of Rio Rancho business license. You can look up any builder's state license online before you hire them, and on a wall carrying this much weight it's worth the few minutes.
Water reaching collapsible soil, dirt that can sink when it gets wet, is one cause, and most of New Mexico has a low but significant chance of it. A building site should be checked for it before construction, so ask whether a soil study is part of your wall's design.
Most of the wait is usually in the engineer's design and the city's permit, not the pour. After that our crew digs, forms and pours, the concrete cures and the inspections happen along the way, so I can give you a realistic schedule once the plans are in.
Yes, the city allows a fence on top of a retaining wall, and its height is measured from the highest point of soil behind the wall. That means the wall and fence should be planned together, so mention a fence when I come out.
Related services for a level, usable yard
Concrete pool decks
A pool usually needs room around it, and a deck poured over a packed base keeps that space flat for bare feet and chairs.
Concrete floor installation
If the new flat ground is headed for a shop, shed or storage building, a properly prepped concrete floor gives it a level, solid base.
Service areas for concrete retaining walls
Elite Rio Rancho Concrete Construction is based in Rio Rancho, NM, and builds retaining walls there and in the cities around it, including Bernalillo and Los Ranchos de Albuquerque. These are the 5 cities with their own page, and if you don't see yours, ask us.
Rio Rancho, NM
Plan your retaining wall before you dig
Call (505) 271-3053 or send the form with the wall's rough length and height and a few photos of the slope, and we can start sorting out what the design needs.