Footing size, rebar spacing and the drainage detail — all on the quote
Concrete Retaining Walls in Frisco, TX
A concrete retaining wall holds back soil, and in North Texas that soil holds water. What sits behind the face — free-draining backfill, a drain at the base, weep holes through it — decides whether the wall stands, far more than the concrete does.
- Poured footing under every wall, sized before anything is ordered
- Drainage quoted as its own line, never assumed into a total
- We say when your wall needs an engineer — before we price it
Send the rough length, the height you need and what sits above it. Someone attends, checks the levels and the drainage, and you get the number in writing.
Concrete retaining walls fail from water, not from weight
A retaining wall is designed against the soil it holds. What actually pushes it over is the water in that soil.
Saturated clay behind a wall exerts far more pressure than the same clay dry, and Frisco's Blackland Prairie soil holds water rather than shedding it. A wall built with no drain, no free-draining backfill and no weep holes is a dam, and it is loaded hardest in the wettest week of the year.
The drainage costs a fraction of the wall. It is also the first line a cheap quote leaves out, because nobody can see it once the backfill goes in — which is exactly why it appears as its own priced item on ours.
No fee, no obligation.
How we build a concrete retaining wall in Frisco
Four elements make up the whole quote, and only one of them is visible when the job is finished.
The footing under the wall
A retaining wall is only as good as the footing it stands on, and that footing sits below the zone of soil that moves with the seasons. We excavate to undisturbed ground, pour a reinforced strip footing sized to the wall height, and set vertical starter bars into it so the wall and the footing act as one structure. Every wall quote states the footing width and depth and the size and spacing of the steel in it.
The wall itself
We build poured concrete walls and concrete block walls on a poured footing, both reinforced vertically and horizontally rather than relying on the mass of the material. Poured walls run 3,000 to 4,000 PSI with #4 rebar tied to the footing starters; block walls are laid on the same footing and the cores are grouted with steel through them. Every wall is quoted with its construction named, because a grouted reinforced block wall and a dry-stacked one are not the same product.
Drainage behind the face
The drainage is the part that decides the life of the wall. We backfill with free-draining stone rather than the clay that came out, run a perforated pipe at the base of that stone to daylight, separate the stone from the soil with filter fabric so it does not silt up, and set weep holes through the face. Every retaining wall quote prices the drainage as its own line rather than folding it into a total.
Height, surcharge and when an engineer is needed
A wall becomes an engineered structure once it is tall enough, and sooner if something loads the ground above it — a driveway, a pool, a structure, a slope. In most jurisdictions that threshold is around 4 feet measured from the bottom of the footing. We confirm the current requirement with the City of Frisco for your specific wall and tell you at the estimate whether an engineer is needed, before any number is written down.
A wall that creates a level terrace usually pairs with a concrete patio or a concrete slab on the flat ground it makes, and the route up or down the level change is concrete steps. Getting a failed wall or old structure off the site first is concrete removal, and the rest of the trade is on the concrete services hub.
The spec goes on the quote before you decide anything.
What pushes a retaining wall over in North Texas
A wall here is holding back a soil that changes volume through the year and drains badly while it does it. These four are what the specification is answering.
Clay that holds water instead of shedding it
Frisco sits on Blackland Prairie clay, and the dominant Houston Black soil routinely tests at a plasticity index of 40 to 60, where the building code calls a soil expansive at 15.
A soil that plastic drains slowly, so water arriving behind a wall stays there and loads the face. Free-draining backfill and a drain that actually reaches daylight are what stop the wall being asked to hold back water as well as earth.
Soil that swells against the back of the wall
The same clay expands when it takes on water and shrinks when it dries, twice a year, every year.
A wall built directly against it takes that expansion as a horizontal push. Replacing the material immediately behind the face with stone removes the part of the soil that does the swelling.
Load arriving on the ground above
A driveway, a parking area, a pool or a structure above a wall is a surcharge, and it changes the wall from a landscape feature to an engineered one.
That is decided at the estimate, before pricing, because a wall designed for soil alone and then loaded from above is the failure that takes the whole run with it.
Weep holes that were never there
Weep holes let water that gets behind the face escape through it instead of building up.
They cost almost nothing during construction and cannot be added sensibly afterwards without cutting the wall. On a wall we are asked to inspect, their absence is the first thing we look for.
The site visit tells you which of these you actually have.
You will know when the wall can be loaded before you book
Concrete gains strength on a schedule and a wall is backfilled and loaded against that schedule, not against the weather forecast. The dates that apply to your pour go on the quote in writing.
Cold weather extends every one of them. If that applies to your pour, you hear it before the truck is ordered rather than afterwards.
Curing guidance: NRMCA CIP 11, Curing In-Place Concrete.
Our wall quote against the typical wall quote
Same length, same height. The difference is whether the footing and the drainage appear anywhere on the page.
| On the page | DFW Concrete Co. | The typical quote |
|---|---|---|
| Price | One number for the job as scoped | A per-foot range that moves on the day |
| Slab thickness | Stated in inches | Not mentioned |
| Reinforcement | Rebar or mesh, size and spacing | "Reinforced" — the entire line |
| Joint spacing | Planned and written | Cut wherever, if at all |
| Haul-off and clean-up | In the price | Added at the end |
Take our quote to any other contractor and compare it line by line. That is what it is for.
Free. No obligation. Most quotes back the same day.
How much does a concrete retaining wall cost in Frisco, TX?
Retaining walls are priced per square foot of wall FACE — length times height — not by the ground they hold back. These are 2026 market ranges with the specification each number assumes; the fixed number goes on the written quote after the site visit.
| Work | What the number assumes | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| A new wall | ||
| Poured concrete wall | reinforced strip footing, #4 rebar, 3,000–4,000 PSI, drainage behind the face | $30–$50 / sq ft of face |
| Concrete block wall on a poured footing | same footing, cores grouted with steel through them | $20–$40 / sq ft of face |
| The ground around it | ||
| Demolition and haul-off | existing wall or slab broken out, hauled and disposed of | $3–$6 / sq ft |
| Slab or patio on the terrace it creates | 4in slab, mesh or #3 rebar, over 4in of compacted base | $7–$12 / sq ft |
| Steps through the level change | formed and reinforced, equal risers, over compacted base | $200–$500 / step |
What moves a number inside its range: the height, whether an engineer's design is required, how much excavation the footing needs, how far the drain has to run to reach daylight, and whether machinery can reach the line of the wall at all. A wall behind a house with no side access is a different job from the same wall on an open lot.
Free. No obligation. Most quotes back the same day.
How a retaining wall job actually runs
Four steps, and the first one decides whether an engineer joins the second.
The site visit
We measure the area, check the grade and the drainage, assess the soil, and confirm whether a truck can reach the pour.
The written quote
One fixed price, with the thickness, the reinforcement and the joint spacing stated — the same three items the City of Frisco asks for on the survey with a concrete and driveway permit application. Yours to keep and to compare.
Prep and pour
Footing excavated to undisturbed ground and poured with starter bars set, the wall formed or laid and reinforced, then the drainage stone, the pipe, the fabric and the weep holes before any backfill goes in.
The cure
Forms pulled and the site cleared, then the slab is left undisturbed to gain strength on the schedule above.
Walk 24–48h · car 7 days · heavy 28 days
Step one costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Concrete retaining wall questions people ask before they book
Who are the best concrete retaining wall contractors near me in Frisco, TX?
How much does a concrete retaining wall cost in Frisco?
How tall can a retaining wall be before it needs an engineer?
What goes behind a concrete retaining wall?
Do you install block or stone retaining walls?
Do I need a permit for a retaining wall in Frisco?
Tell us what the job is. We'll price it in writing.
Tell us the rough size and what you want done. Someone comes out, measures, and you get one fixed number in writing — not a range that moves on the day. Nothing is owed if you don't go ahead.
On-site estimate is free · no obligation · most quotes back the same day.
- Free on-site estimate across the North DFW ring
- Fixed price in writing before we start
- Reinforcement and thickness stated on the quote
- Clean-up and haul-off included