Retaining Wall Contractor in Santa Cruz County
Freedom Earthworks builds retaining walls for driveways, hillsides, roads and building pads throughout Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito and Santa Clara counties. A wall is only as good as what’s behind and below it, so we handle the excavation, footings, backfill, compaction and wall drainage ourselves. Your wall holds up through Central Coast winters. Licensed A General Engineering and C-12 contractor, CSLB #1105929.
Retaining Wall Services
Retaining walls for driveways and roads
Hillside and slope retaining walls
Building pad and site retaining walls
Excavation and wall footings
Wall drainage, backfill and compaction
Repair and replacement of failing walls
Grading and erosion control around walls
Get a Free Retaining Wall Estimate
When you need a retaining wall
- A driveway or parking area needs to be widened into a slope
- A cut bank is sloughing onto a driveway or road
- You want usable flat yard on a hillside lot
- A building pad or addition needs grade separation
- An existing wall is leaning, cracked or bulging
What we build
- Cast-in-place concrete retaining walls
- Soldier pile walls
- Pressure-treated (PT) lumber walls
- Footings, wall drainage, filter fabric and drain rock
- Excavation, compacted backfill and finish grading around the wall
- Removal and replacement of failed walls
If your wall requires engineering, we build to the engineer’s plans.
Why walls fail, and how we prevent it
Most wall failures come from water pressure behind the wall, an undersized footing, or loose backfill. We provide a drainage path behind every wall, with drain rock and a perforated pipe that discharges somewhere useful, and compact the backfill in lifts.
Permits and engineering
Under the California building code, a wall generally needs a permit when it is more than 4 feet tall measured from the bottom of the footing, or when it supports a surcharge such as a driveway, building or slope above it. Santa Cruz County and the cities set their own requirements, so we confirm what applies before work starts. See permit and county resources.
What affects cost and schedule
- Wall height, length and type
- Excavation depth and soil or rock conditions
- Access for equipment on a slope
- Engineering, permits and inspections
- Drainage and backfill requirements
Frequently asked questions
Can you replace a leaning wall?
Usually the wall is removed and rebuilt with a proper footing and drainage. Propping up a wall that failed from water pressure rarely lasts.
Do I need an engineer?
For taller walls or walls supporting a driveway or structure, often yes. We will tell you when engineering is likely required.
Which type of wall is right for my site?
It depends on height, soil, access and what the wall supports. Cast-in-place concrete, soldier pile and pressure-treated lumber walls each fit different situations, and we will explain the options after seeing the site.
Recent work
- Hillside Driveway Rebuild, Aptos – a cast-in-place concrete retaining wall and full-length curbs built to stop hillside soil from sliding onto a rebuilt driveway.
Related: Excavation · Grading · Drainage · Concrete · Santa Cruz County
Request a retaining wall estimate or call (831) 440-6042. Our team at Freedom Earthworks will personally review your request and contact you to discuss your project.