Retaining wall construction in Lansing MI - a wall that drains and holds your slope
Slope washing out or an old timber wall leaning? We build walls planned around drainage so the soil stays where you put it.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Does your yard need a retaining wall, and what goes into one?
Retaining wall construction in Lansing is building a wall that holds back the push of the soil behind it, so a slope stops creeping onto your lawn, driveway or patio. At Craftsman Lansing Concrete and Masonry, we plan each wall around the slope it's holding and where the water on that slope wants to go.
Most people call us when an old wall has started to lean, a bank keeps washing onto the walk, or they want level ground for a garden or patio. The price mostly turns on the size of the wall face, which is its length times its height, plus the material you pick and how much work the site needs before we build. The schedule turns on the wall's size, the wait for utility marking and any city paperwork, and the estimate gives you the figure for your own wall.
How we handle retaining wall construction
I start by walking the slope and watching where the water runs, because drainage is the first thing I plan on a retaining wall and water stuck behind it is trouble. Before anyone starts digging, we get the utility lines marked. Then our crew digs out the footprint, packs a firm base so the first course sits level, sets the wall course by course with clean stone behind it to carry the water, backfills and cleans up the yard.
If older brickwork around the house is crumbling, our masonry restoration work can be planned alongside the wall so you're not scheduling twice. We also do fireplace installation, and one visit is enough to look at both.
Dry stacked block wall
Manufactured concrete units stack without mortar and hold the slope mainly by their own weight, which suits most garden terraces, driveway banks and backyard slopes. It's also the easiest wall to match to pavers or a walkway nearby.
Natural stone or boulder wall
Big stones set in place suit a yard where you want the wall to look like it grew there. Each piece takes more handling and fitting, so it's the pick when looks matter as much as holding the ground.
Retaining wall construction and permits in Lansing
Whether a retaining wall on your lot needs a permit isn't something I'll guess at. The city's Building Safety Office takes homeowner permit applications, which you can print and send in, or you can stop by the front office at 316 N Capitol Avenue for help or call 517-483-4355. Before work starts I check with the office that covers your address, and if your wall needs a permit, we work out the paperwork with you before anyone picks up a trowel. A draft change to the city's zoning code would define a fence as any wall except a retaining wall, so in that draft text a retaining wall isn't treated as a fence.
Around Lansing we see a lot of sloped backyards and aging timber or railroad tie walls that have started to lean, and we meet the same yards on jobs in Okemos and Grand Ledge. We're based in Lansing and work across the cities around it, so if yours isn't on our list, call and ask.
Why Lansing homeowners call Craftsman Lansing Concrete and Masonry for retaining walls
The owner plans and builds it
I come out to look at your slope and give the estimate myself, then I work on site alongside our crew while the wall goes up. The person who planned the drainage is there watching it get built.
Licensed and fully insured, every job
We're licensed and fully insured. Michigan licenses contractors for this kind of work by trade, and each license lists the trades its holder may practice, with concrete, excavation and masonry among them.
Straight talk about what can wait
I'd rather tell you a job can wait than sell you a wall you don't need yet. I learned on other crews and on weekend jobs for neighbors, and I've run this full time in Lansing since 2023.
What happens behind the blocks decides how a wall does, so tell us about your slope and I'll come take a look.
Request a quoteGet a free on-site estimate for your retaining wall
We reply within one business day to set up a visit, and I come out to look at the slope myself. The estimate is free and done on site, and there's no obligation to go ahead.
What happens after you call about a retaining wall in Lansing?
Call or send a few photos
Call (517) 237-5922 or use the form, and a few photos of the slope help me see what's going on. Then I set a time to come out and look at it myself.
Walk the slope together
I tell you what I see, what I'd fix first and what can wait, then put it in an estimate you can think over. You'll know what's driving the price before you decide anything.
Paperwork, build and final walkthrough
Once you say go, we sort out any paperwork with the city's Building Safety Office, which is open Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm. Then we build, clean up and look the wall over with you before we call it finished.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a retaining wall cost in Lansing, MI?
A retaining wall in Lansing usually costs about $20 to $50 per square foot of wall face, which is the wall's length times its height. Poured concrete, interlocking block and boulder walls can run higher, and so can sites with rocks or trees to clear, steep slopes, ground that needs extra work or tight access. Your estimate gives you the figure for your own wall.
How do I keep water from building up behind a retaining wall?
You give the water a way out from behind the wall so pressure can't build up. National block industry guidance says dry stacked block walls let water drain through the wall face, which helps stop that pressure, and one block maker's specification calls for a drain pipe at the lowest possible point in the rock fill behind every wall it covers. Whoever you talk to, ask how water will drain from behind their wall.
What happens before anyone digs for a retaining wall?
The underground utility lines get marked first through Call Before You Dig, the 8-1-1 service every state has, which marks lines a few days before digging. Plan for that wait in your schedule, and once the marks are down our crew digs with care around them.
Is a block retaining wall better than timber or railroad ties?
For most yards, yes, block holds up better. The concrete block industry's design manual says block units resist cracking and hold up without the splintering or decay of treated timbers or railroad ties. The block itself is made of strong, low absorption concrete that resists freeze and thaw.
How long does it take to build a retaining wall?
The block laying itself usually moves quickly, since national block industry guidance says an experienced crew of three or four typically builds 300 to 500 square feet of wall face a day. Add the few days' wait for utility marking and any time the city paperwork takes. Your wall's face area is a good way to ask a contractor how many days of block laying to expect.
What is a reinforced block retaining wall?
It's a block wall paired with horizontal layers of soil reinforcement that reach back into the fill behind it. Those layers widen the wall's working mass and add to its weight. Whether your slope calls for it is something I'd look at on site.
Other work people pair with a new wall
Masonry restoration
Crumbling brick steps, old garden walls or a tired chimney near the house can be restored while we're already planning work in the yard, so it all gets looked at together.
Fireplace installation
A fireplace gives you a warm place to gather through a Michigan winter, and we build the firebox and surround in brick or stone so it looks like it belongs.
Lansing, MI
Get your retaining wall estimate started
Have the wall's rough length and height ready when you call (517) 237-5922 or send the form, since that face area is what a wall is priced on.