Carlsbad Concrete Group acts as the North County coast's leading specialist in engineered concrete retaining walls, specializing in poured cantilever walls, footings sized from a soils report, and drain rock with perforated pipe behind the stem. We offer terraced garden walls and walls that carry a driveway above them.
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Our team provides excavation, rebar and cast-in-place concrete, delivering level garden space for homes and long-lasting site walls for both residential and commercial projects. Backed by 11 years in business and a 1-year written workmanship warranty, we've completed over 1,460 projects, from a low terrace wall beside a patio to a 54 linear ft, 5 ft tall hillside wall.
From weep outlets and filter fabric behind the stem to the permit, the inspections and the final backfill, our team handles every detail. Serving Carlsbad and neighboring Encinitas, Elfin Forest, Del Mar and Poway, we build each wall to the engineer's drawings and leave the steel open until the inspector signs off.
Call today for a free estimate, and we will walk the slope, measure the height change and tell you whether your wall needs an engineer.
What you can hold us to
Rachel, Olivenhain, Encinitas
A sloped back yard losing soil onto the patio after every winter rain
Investment and duration figures are estimates. Your written quote sets the final price and schedule.
Rachel in Olivenhain, Encinitas now has a flat, usable yard above and a dry patio below. Her lot was a sloped back yard losing soil onto the patio after every winter rain, and a planter wall of stacked stone had already rolled forward. We built an engineered cantilevered wall with a drain line and gravel behind it, to the plan the permit needed, as a poured concrete cantilevered wall with a smooth sacked finish. The wall runs 54 linear ft, 5 ft tall, and it was an estimated $17,500 to $23,500 project over an estimated 7 to 10 days on site.
Most retaining walls that lean, crack or bulge in North County were beaten by water trapped behind them, the same water that left Rachel's Olivenhain patio under soil after every winter rain. Saturated backfill pushes harder than the dry soil an engineer designs for, and that added water pressure is what rotates a wall outward or shoves its footing downhill. Clay soils in Poway, Bonsall and the Elfin Forest foothills swell when wet and shrink when dry, so a wall there needs its drain working every winter.
A retaining wall in Carlsbad, Encinitas or Del Mar needs a building permit when it measures more than 4 ft from footing bottom to wall top, or at any height when it holds up a surcharge such as a driveway, a pool or a building. That line comes from California Residential Code section R105.2, San Diego County's own exemption covers only walls retaining 3 ft or less of soil, and section R404.4 sends any wall retaining more than 48 in. of unbalanced fill to an engineer. A DIY block wall is where homeowners get caught, because it goes up without a permit or a drain and a buyer's inspector flags it later.
A poured cantilevered concrete wall is the strongest and slimmest choice for an engineered height, while a board-formed face adds the architectural look and a stacked block wall suits low garden terraces.
| Wall type | Est. price or best use | Engineering | Face finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poured cantilevered concrete | Est. $8,000 to $24,000 per 50 linear ft | Engineered footing and steel | Sacked, smooth or stucco-ready |
| Board-formed concrete | Est. $30 to $100 per sq ft of wall face | Engineered when it retains soil | Rough-sawn wood grain |
| Two terraced poured walls | Deep slopes in Rancho Santa Fe and Fairbanks Ranch | Each wall designed for its share | Planting strip between tiers |
| Stacked block (comparison) | Low garden beds under 3 ft | Usually none | Split-face block |
A poured cantilevered wall with footing, steel and drainage behind it, about 50 linear ft
Demolition, haul-off, compacted base, rebar and a broom or exposed finish for a 2-car drive
Integral color, a stamp pattern and release, sealed after cure, about 400 sq ft
Tear-out around the coping, new base and steel, a cool broom, salt or exposed finish
Rough-sawn board forms leave the wood grain in the face, about 200 sq ft of wall
Footings, vapor barrier, rebar and a slab-on-grade, about 600 to 1,000 sq ft
Investment and duration figures are estimates. Your written quote sets the final price and schedule.
An engineered retaining wall in Carlsbad is estimated at roughly $8,000 to $24,000 for about 50 linear ft, and the wall's height, its length and the load above it move the price most.
| Job type | Est. investment | Est. duration on site |
|---|---|---|
| Engineered retaining wall (about 50 linear ft) | Est. $8,000 to $24,000 per project | Est. 5 to 10 days |
| Olivenhain wall, 54 linear ft, 5 ft tall | Est. $17,500 to $23,500 per project | Est. 7 to 10 days |
| Board-formed architectural wall (about 200 sq ft of face) | Est. $6,000 to $20,000 per project | Est. 1 to 2 weeks |
| Sport court slab on the new flat pad | Est. $4,500 to $9,000 per project | Est. 3 to 5 days |
A board-formed face typically runs $30 to $100 per sq ft of wall face, which is why most owners keep wood grain for the wall people see from the house. Hillside lots in La Costa and Aviara often need a pump or hand work because no truck reaches the back of the lot, and soil that has to be hauled away adds to the excavation line.
Every wall price here is only an estimate that is subject to change, and your written quote after the site walk and the engineer's drawings sets the final price and the build schedule, based on the height, the length and what the wall holds up.
Every wall we build runs through four stages, with the inspections fixed on the schedule.
Most walls take an estimated 5 to 10 days on site once the permit is issued, and two terraced walls usually take longer than one.
A plain sacked face suits most back yards, but owners who want a feature choose a board-formed architectural wall, typically an estimated $6,000 to $20,000 for about 200 sq ft of face, from our board-formed architectural concrete crew, and a terraced slope often needs poured concrete steps built into the wall so you can walk between levels.
In 11 years, our owner has walked every retaining wall layout before it was quoted and checked the steel before a truck was called. The same crew digs, forms, pours and backfills, and the 1-year written workmanship warranty from the day the concrete is placed covers the wall and its drain. We take a deposit of no more than 10% or $1,000, whichever is less, then progress payments as each inspection passes.
We build retaining walls across a 35-mile radius of Carlsbad, with many in Encinitas and Olivenhain, the Elfin Forest foothills, Harmony Grove Village lots and Poway horse properties, plus Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe and Bonsall on our service areas page.
A wall is often one part of a hillside fix, so owners pair it with a trench drain or drainage channel where hillside runoff crossing the driveway and pooling at the garage door in every storm is the problem, a backyard sport court slab on the new flat pad, or a pool deck replacement above the wall.
An engineered retaining wall is estimated at roughly $8,000 to $24,000 for about 50 linear ft, and your written quote sets the final price.
Yes, when it stands more than 4 ft measured from the base of its footing, or carries a surcharge, and we pull that permit for you.
A wall retaining more than 48 in. of soil, or any wall under a driveway or pool, is designed by an engineer, and we coordinate the drawings.
Most walls take an estimated 5 to 10 days on site, typically 1 to 3 weeks after you sign the quote plus the permit review.
Yes, two shorter walls can hold a deep slope with less pressure on each, if the engineer's numbers and the property line allow it.
Yes, both are inside our 35-mile radius, and foothill lots there are a large share of our wall work.
Request a free estimate, and we will measure the slope, explain the permit and engineering your wall needs, and hand you an itemized quote.
Start to finish
We measure the area, shoot the grades and check drainage before anything is quoted.
The quote names the tear-out, base, reinforcement, finish and control joint layout.
The subgrade is compacted and the forms and rebar are checked before the truck is booked.
The crew places, finishes and cuts the joints, then walks the cured work with you.
Where we work
Call us or send the form, and we will book a site walk and measure the job.
Calls only, we do not receive text messages.
