Retaining walls in Missoula & the Bitterroot Valley

Water, in nearly every case. Soil that cannot drain becomes saturated and dramatically heavier, and here it also freezes and expands behind the wall. A wall built without drain rock, a drain pipe, and a proper base is carrying loads it was never designed for. Walls that lean, bulge in the middle, or separate at the joints are almost always telling you about drainage rather than about the blocks.

It depends on height, location, and what is above the wall — requirements vary by jurisdiction and by site, and taller walls or walls carrying a surcharge such as a driveway commonly need engineered design. Check current requirements with your local building department before work starts. We will tell you plainly when a project is in territory that calls for an engineer rather than proceeding as if it were not.

Segmental block gives the most predictable engineering and a clean, uniform look, and it handles height well with geogrid. Natural boulder walls suit rural and Bitterroot properties and look at home against native ground, but they need space and a competent base. Timber is the least expensive up front and the shortest-lived, since wood in contact with wet soil eventually gives out. The slope and the load usually narrow the choice more than taste does.

Sometimes, but a wall is not a drainage system by itself. If water is currently moving across your property in a way that causes problems, that has to be addressed in the grading and drainage plan — the wall is one element within it. Building a wall across a drainage path without redirecting the water usually just relocates the problem and puts the new wall in its way.

Small garden-scale walls can be a day or two. Larger structural walls with geogrid, significant excavation, and boulder placement run considerably longer and depend on access for equipment, weather, and how much material has to move. We give you a realistic schedule with the estimate rather than a best-case one.