Land Grade Solutions
A retaining wall is only as good as what's behind it. We build walls that hold — with proper drainage, correct backfill, and footings designed for the soil and slope conditions of your specific site.
The Work
Most retaining wall failures aren't a material problem — they're a drainage problem. Water builds up behind the wall, pressure increases, and eventually the wall moves or topples. It happens to block walls, timber walls, and boulder walls alike when the drainage isn't right.
Every wall we build gets proper drainage gravel and pipe behind it to relieve hydrostatic pressure. The footing goes below frost line. The batter — the slight backward lean — is set correctly for the wall height. These aren't optional extras; they're what separates a wall that lasts twenty years from one that fails in three.
Segmental retaining block systems — durable, clean-looking, and engineered for height.
Natural boulders set with heavy equipment — ideal for large scale or natural aesthetics.
Treated timber systems for residential applications and terraced garden areas.
Multi-tier wall systems that convert steep slopes into usable, level yard space.
Local Knowledge
The clay soils that dominate both the mountain foothills and the piedmont — from Caldwell and Burke down through Catawba, Alexander, and Iredell — hold water and expand when wet. That expansion creates lateral pressure that poorly built walls simply can't handle. We've been building walls against this soil our whole careers. We know exactly what it takes.
Steep hillside lots frequently require walls to create usable yard space
Piedmont clay's water retention creates high lateral pressure on walls
Rocky terrain means solid footing but unpredictable wall base conditions
Mountain slopes and heavy rainfall demand engineered drainage behind walls
Freeze-thaw cycles put extreme stress on walls without proper drainage
Piedmont residential growth driving demand for terraced yard solutions
River bottom properties need walls to manage bank erosion and flooding
Piedmont granite shelf provides excellent footing for larger wall systems
Watauga and Ashe counties get the harshest freeze-thaw cycles in our service area. Up at elevation, a wall that isn't drained properly will heave every winter until it fails. We go deeper on footings and more generous on drainage gravel on every mountain job — because the ground up there demands it.
Iredell County, NC
A Recent Job
A homeowner in the Statesville area called us after a block retaining wall on their property — installed by another contractor three years prior — had begun bowing significantly toward the lower yard. The wall was about 40 feet long and four feet tall, holding back a raised patio area.
When we tore it out, the problem was immediately clear: no drainage gravel, no pipe, and the blocks were set on a thin layer of compacted clay with no real footing. The piedmont clay behind it had been holding water and pushing forward every wet season for three years.
We rebuilt it properly — footing below frost line, six inches of drainage gravel across the full height, perforated pipe at the base, and correct block batter. That wall isn't moving.
Why Land Grade
Every wall we build gets proper drainage gravel and pipe. No exceptions, no shortcuts.
Fully licensed contractor in North Carolina. Your property is protected.
Call or submit a request and you hear back within the hour. Every time.
Heavy equipment on hand for boulder and large block wall installation.
If a wall we build moves, we come back and make it right. We're not hard to find.