Loading...
Serving Somerville, MA and surrounding areas. (617) 634-5990
A leaning or crumbling wall is more than an eyesore. We build concrete retaining walls with frost-depth footings, proper drainage, and permits handled from start to finish so your slope stays put through every New England winter.
Concrete retaining walls in Somerville are built by excavating below the frost line, setting a poured footing, constructing the wall with drainage backfill behind it, and compacting fill in layers — most residential jobs run two to four days of active construction plus a week of curing before landscaping can resume.
Most homeowners reach out after noticing a wall leaning outward, soil washing onto the driveway after rain, or a sloped lot that needs to be managed before a patio or addition can be built. The city's hillier neighborhoods, combined with Massachusetts's frost depth of nearly four feet, make proper footing depth the single biggest factor in how long a wall lasts. A wall that looks solid from the outside can begin leaning within a few winters if the footing was too shallow.
If your project also involves creating a level surface on the graded area the wall creates, our concrete floor installation service can be scheduled as part of the same project to give you a finished, usable space.
If your wall no longer stands straight and curves or bulges toward you, the soil pressure behind it has exceeded what the structure can handle. In Somerville's climate, frost pushes walls forward a little more each winter. A leaning wall will not correct itself and will eventually fall, often taking landscaping and fencing with it.
Dirt, mulch, or gravel migrating downhill onto your driveway or your neighbor's property after rain means your slope has no containment. This is especially common on Winter Hill, Prospect Hill, and Spring Hill, where grades are steep and lots are small. Unchecked erosion worsens each season and can eventually undermine your foundation.
Hairline cracks in concrete are normal and generally harmless. Cracks you can fit a finger into, or horizontal cracks running across the wall face, indicate the structure is under more stress than it was designed to handle. Walk your wall each spring after the ground thaws to catch new cracking before it progresses further.
Water seeping through the face of the wall or standing at its base after rain means the drainage behind the wall has failed. This is one of the most urgent signs to act on, because water pressure is what causes walls to fail suddenly rather than gradually. Every week of delay allows more saturated soil to push against the structure.
We build poured concrete and concrete masonry unit walls for residential properties throughout Somerville. Every wall includes a footing set below Massachusetts's frost depth, granular drainage backfill, and a perforated drain pipe — because drainage failure is what causes most walls to fail before their time. We pull permits for any wall requiring one through the City of Somerville, handling the application so you never need to visit a city office or figure out which forms apply.
For homeowners replacing original stone or brick walls that are 80 to 100 years old, we assess what is underneath before new concrete goes in. Older Somerville lots commonly hide buried rubble, collapsed drainage, or soil that has settled significantly over decades. Those conditions need to be addressed at the footing level rather than patched over. We also handle tiered wall systems on steeply graded lots where a single tall wall would exceed permit height limits.
Projects that require structural support for an adjacent structure benefit from our concrete footings service, which provides below-frost-line footings for garages, additions, and outbuildings going in on the graded area the wall creates.
Suits most residential lots where long-term durability and a clean finished appearance are the priority.
Suits projects where tight site access makes a direct pour difficult and block-by-block construction is more practical.
Suits older Somerville properties with original walls that have leaned, cracked, or lost their drainage over decades.
Suits steeply graded lots where a single wall would be too tall for permit requirements or soil conditions.
Massachusetts has a frost depth of 48 inches, meaning the ground can freeze nearly four feet down in a hard winter. Any retaining wall footing that does not reach below that depth will heave, shift, and crack as the ground moves each season. This is the single biggest reason walls built by contractors unfamiliar with New England conditions fail within a few years. We confirm footing depth in writing before any excavation begins, and we can answer that question specifically for your project during the estimate visit.
Somerville is also one of the most densely populated cities in the United States. Getting equipment into a typical backyard requires planning — sometimes removing a fence panel, sometimes using a pump truck to move concrete past an obstacle. The dense urban lots we work on most often include properties throughout Somerville as well as similarly built neighborhoods in Medford and Malden, where tight lots and older housing stock create the same access and soil challenges.
A large share of Somerville homes were built between 1870 and 1930, and when we replace their original walls we commonly find buried rubble, collapsed drainage, or shifted soil underneath. The City of Somerville Inspectional Services Department enforces permit requirements actively in this dense urban environment. We handle the entire application so your wall is on record and your investment is protected at resale.
Call or submit a form and we respond within 1 business day to schedule a free on-site assessment. No honest contractor can quote a retaining wall from a phone call alone — wall length, height, soil conditions, and site access all affect the price, and we need to see your property first.
We walk your property, measure the wall, assess the slope and soil, and evaluate access for equipment and concrete delivery. A written estimate follows within a few days. Ask specifically how deep the footing will go and how drainage will be handled — those answers tell you a lot about who you are hiring.
Once you have signed an agreement, we apply for the building permit through Somerville's Inspectional Services Department if one is required. This typically takes one to two weeks. We handle the entire process — you do not need to make a single call, fill out any forms, or follow up on status.
The crew excavates below the frost line, sets the footing, builds the wall, installs drainage gravel and perforated pipe, and backfills in compacted layers. Active construction for a typical residential wall runs two to three days. We walk the finished wall with you before we leave the job.
Free on-site estimate, full permit handling, and no hidden fees. We respond within 1 business day.
(617) 634-5990Massachusetts frost depth is nearly four feet, and every footing we set goes below it. This is the detail that separates walls lasting decades from ones that start leaning after a few winters. We confirm the planned depth with you in writing before we break ground.
We manage the entire City of Somerville permit process from application to final inspection. You do not visit any office or track any paperwork. The permit is in hand before any shovel goes into the ground, and your project is documented for resale.
Water pressure behind the wall — not concrete quality — is the most common cause of retaining wall failure. We install granular backfill and a perforated drain pipe on every wall we build so water moves away from the structure instead of building pressure against it.
Dense urban lots, fenced backyards, and narrow side alleys are routine for our crews. We assess access during the estimate visit and plan around it so there are no surprises on the day work starts. The American Concrete Institute guidance on wall construction is the standard we follow on every job.
Every one of these factors comes back to the same result: a wall that looks solid and holds its position for decades rather than a few winters. That is what homeowners in Somerville, Medford, and Malden are paying for, and it is what we deliver on every project.
Level, reinforced concrete floors for basements and garages built to handle Somerville's freeze-thaw seasons.
Learn moreBelow-frost-line footings that give every adjacent structure a solid, permanent base in New England soil.
Learn moreSpring slots fill fast in Somerville — lock in your date now before the post-winter rush and you are waiting weeks just for an estimate.