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Retaining Wall Installation

Retaining walls in Chandler, AZ

Level ground where the yard slopes.

Slopes, washouts and uneven yards need real support. We build retaining walls in Chandler, AZ that last. Call (480) 219-0038 and our crew digs a proper footing, stacks block or stone on it and gives water a way out from behind the wall. We are family owned, licensed, bonded and insured, and your free estimate comes with a written quote.

★★★★★
38
Google reviews
Licensed
Bonded and insured
4,500+
Customers served

Get a free estimate

Tell us where the yard is and we will come measure it.

No obligation. We do not sell your details.
Every wall includes
Dug footing
Drainage behind it
Finished cap
Holds the grade
Keeps soil off patios and paths.
Drains behind
Water relieved so pressure does not build.
Block or stone
Concrete block, natural stone or wall units.
East Valley
Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Ahwatukee and nearby.
Why build one

Slopes wash out. Walls hold them.

Even a gentle grade change in an East Valley yard can send soil and rock across the patio every monsoon season. A retaining wall squares that off, gives you flat ground above and below it, and keeps runoff going where you want it.

The caliche and clay under most Chandler lots hold water instead of draining it. Behind a wall, that trapped water pushes hard, so gravel backfill and a drain path are built into every retaining wall we put up.

Ready when you areDealing with a slope, a washout or a yard that will not level? CGL Landscaping builds retaining walls in Chandler, Gilbert, Ahwatukee and across the East Valley, on a real footing with drainage behind the block. Book a free on-site estimate or call (480) 219-0038.

What goes into every wall
Wall types

Where retaining walls help.

These are six common reasons Chandler homeowners call us about walls. Leveling a sloped backyard and holding back a side yard grade come up the most.

Some walls are purely structural and some do double duty as seating or planters. The build underneath is similar, but the height, the cap and the finish change with the job.

01

Leveling the backyard

Grade cut and filled so the yard sits flat for turf, pavers or planting.

02

Side yard walls

Block walls run down a narrow side yard to hold soil back and keep a clear path.

03

Raised planters

Walls that lift beds off the ground and hold soil for trees and plants.

04

Low walls around a patio or fire pit that double as seating.

05

Tiered slopes

Two or more shorter walls stepping down a bigger grade change.

06

Freestanding block walls to screen a view or split up the yard.

Is your slope a wall job?

Some grades need a wall and some just need regrading. We will tell you which on the site visit.

Sizing a wall

Height and length decide the wall.

We measure the run of the wall, the height of soil it has to hold and what sits above it, like a patio, a fence or a neighbor’s yard. Then we put the wall quote in writing, with the drainage included.

We also look at where the water comes from. A wall at the bottom of a slope that takes roof runoff and the neighbor’s sprinkler overspray needs more drainage than one holding a dry planter bed.

The build

How we build a wall that stays straight.

Walls fail from the bottom and from behind. A level footing and room for water to escape matter more than anything on the face.

Retaining wall installation in Chandler often means cutting a footing through hard caliche, sometimes with a mini skid steer, sometimes by hand in a tight side yard. Either way, the first course goes down dead level before anything is stacked on it.

01

Measure and plan

Run, height and drainage checked, quoted.

02

Dig the footing

Trench cut and compacted along the line.

03

Base course

First row set level on the footing.

04

Stack and backfill

Courses stacked, gravel and drain behind.

05

Cap and grade

Cap set, soil graded, site cleaned.

Newly installed paver patio behind a Chandler AZ home with decorative rock border
Above and below

A wall makes room for something.

The flat ground a wall creates is usually for a patio, a lawn or planting. We build those too, so the wall and what sits next to it come from one plan.

Once the grade is held, the next step is usually easy to see. A paver patio on the level ground, a fence along the top or desert plants in a raised bed are all common.

Wall pricing

What sets the price of a wall.

Retaining walls are quoted per job, after we see the slope in person. Four variables do most of the work on the number.

A knee high planter wall and a tall wall holding back a slope are very different builds. The written quote breaks out the footing, the block and the drainage so you can see how the number comes together.

Height

Taller walls need more block, a deeper footing and more backfill.

Length

The total run of wall sets how much material and labor goes in.

Material

Concrete block, stone and wall units all price differently.

Soil and access

Hard caliche or a tight side yard slows the digging and the hauling.

The full wall, drainage included, is on your quote.
What neighbors say

Hear from homeowners near you.

These Google reviews were written by homeowners in Chandler and across the East Valley who have worked with CGL Landscaping.

CGL Landscaping is a family business in Chandler, AZ that builds walls, patios and full yards. When you want someone to look at a slope or a sagging bed in your yard, send us a note.

Questions

Retaining wall questions.

Have a slope we did not cover here? Ask about it on your free site visit, where we can look at the actual grade.

Chandler homeowners usually want to know why walls fail, whether they need a permit and which material to use. Here are the short answers.

Usually water. When soil behind a wall gets soaked and has nowhere to drain, it pushes on the wall, and gravel backfill with a drain path is there to relieve that pressure.

It depends on the height and what the wall is holding. Taller walls, and walls that support a structure or a neighbor’s grade, can need a city permit or engineering, and we will flag it on the site visit if yours might.

A retaining wall holds back soil on one side. A garden or privacy wall stands free with the same grade on both sides, so it is built differently.

Yes. A low wall at seat height around a patio or fire pit holds the grade and gives you somewhere to sit, and a flat cap makes it easy to use.

Concrete block, natural stone and interlocking wall units are the main options. We pick based on the height, the look and what the wall has to hold.

Across Chandler and the East Valley, including Gilbert, Mesa, Tempe, Ahwatukee, Queen Creek and San Tan Valley. Ask if you are nearby but not on that list.

Where we work

Retaining walls across Chandler and the East Valley.

Our crews are Chandler based. We build walls across Gilbert, Mesa, Tempe, Queen Creek, Ahwatukee and San Tan Valley.

Walls near a property line or in an HOA community may have extra rules. We will point those out early so the wall gets planned around them, not rebuilt later.

Materials

Four ways to build the wall.

Material comes down to height, look and budget. We will match it to the grade and the rest of the yard.

Concrete block is a solid choice for straight runs and taller walls in Chandler. Natural stone fits a Sonoran Desert landscape, and interlocking wall units stack cleanly for low garden and planter walls.

/01

Concrete block

Strong and straight, a solid choice for longer runs and taller walls.

/02

Natural stone

Stacked or set stone for a rustic, desert look.

/03

Interlocking wall units

Segmental block that stacks without mortar for low to mid height walls.

/04

Tiered walls

Two shorter walls instead of one tall one on a steep grade.

WALLS
By the numbers

Owned in Chandler. Built by our crew.

A Chandler family owns and runs CGL. Our own crew digs the footing and stacks every course, and we set the drainage before the backfill goes in.

A wall is only as good as what is behind it and under it, and nobody sees those parts once the job is done. That is why we keep that work in house instead of handing it off.

CGL Landscaping crew building a block wall and paver border during a full backyard hardscape build
4,500+
Customers served
38
Google reviews
Next step

Ready to level out that slope?

Get a free site visit. We will measure the grade, look at the drainage and put the retaining wall price in writing.

Call CGL Landscaping or use the form to tell us about the slope, the wall or the washout you are dealing with. We serve Chandler and the surrounding East Valley.

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Chandler, AZ