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Legendary Masonry Spokane designs and builds brick retaining walls in Spokane, WA that manage slopes and define outdoor spaces. From garden terraces to yard boundaries, our walls are engineered for drainage and stability while giving your landscape a polished, timeless look.
Legendary Masonry Spokane provides professional brick retaining walls throughout Spokane, WA, Washington and the surrounding area. Our licensed, insured crew delivers safe, clean, on-time work with a free estimate before anything begins. Call 509-250-8836 or request your free quote.
Brick Retaining Walls Built for Spokane Hillsides and Yards
In Spokane, brick retaining walls do a lot more than hold back soil. They tame sloped yards on the South Hill, create level patios in Nine Mile, and keep driveways from crumbling on the North Side. At Legendary Masonry Spokane, we design and build brick retaining walls that are sized and engineered for our clay-heavy soils, freeze-thaw cycles, and irrigation habits.
When we first visit your property, we start by looking at elevation changes, where the water goes during rain or snowmelt, and what is already built nearby. A short garden wall next to a sidewalk is a very different project from a 5-foot wall holding up a driveway or parking pad. We take rough measurements, check how firm the existing soil is, and note any drainage issues like soggy spots or signs of past erosion.
From there, we talk about how you want to use the space. Do you want more flat yard for kids, a clean edge along the driveway, or a terraced garden with steps between levels? This use drives the wall height, thickness, and layout. We also discuss whether you want an exposed brick face, a brick veneer over a concrete core, or a mixed look with brick and stone. Our goal is to pair a structure that will not move with a look that fits your home and neighborhood.
How We Actually Build a Brick Retaining Wall That Lasts
A long lasting brick retaining wall in Spokane always starts with the base. We excavate to a depth that gets us below the seasonal frost line for structural walls, usually 12 to 18 inches of base below grade depending on height and load. The bottom of the trench is compacted in layers and filled with a crushed rock base. This base lets water move and keeps the wall from settling inconsistently over time.
For true load-bearing retaining walls, we usually pour a reinforced concrete footing. We set rebar on chairs, tie it, and pour concrete to a specific width and thickness that fits your wall height and the pressure behind it. For shorter landscape walls that are more decorative than structural, we may use a compacted gravel footing instead, but we still pay close attention to leveling and drainage.
On top of the footing, we build the wall using either solid masonry units with face brick or a structural concrete block core with brick veneer. Mortar joints are buttered and struck properly so water sheds instead of soaking into the joints. Every few courses we add vertical rebar dowels and grout cells when needed, especially on higher walls or those near driveways and parking areas. We also tilt the wall very slightly into the slope (batter) or step it back as it rises, which helps counter soil pressure over many winters.
The final step is backfilling correctly. We place a perforated drain pipe at the base behind the wall, wrap it in fabric to keep soil out, and run it to daylight or a dry well where water can exit. Then we backfill with free draining gravel near the wall and only bring native soil back in further away. This detail is one of the biggest differences between a wall that lasts 30 years and one that cracks after a few winters.
Design Options and Brick Choices for Spokane Homes
Brick retaining walls do not have to all look the same. At Legendary Masonry Spokane, we help you match the wall to your home style and the surrounding hardscape. For many Spokane neighborhoods with older homes, a classic red or brown brick with a running bond pattern fits well. We can also do basketweave, stack bond, or soldier courses at the top to add character without inflating the budget.
You can choose from modular brick, larger structural units with a brick face, or real clay brick as a veneer over a concrete block core. For walls that are mostly decorative and under about 3 feet tall, solid brick construction can be a great fit. For taller or heavily loaded walls, we often recommend a block core with brick facing, which gives you the strength of engineered concrete plus the look of brick.
We also talk through cap options. A cast concrete cap, bullnose brick cap, or natural stone cap each changes the look and function. A slightly overhanging cap with a drip edge keeps water from running down the face of the wall, which helps reduce staining and efflorescence. If your wall will double as seating around a fire pit or patio, we tailor the cap height and width so it is comfortable to sit on.
Lighting and railings are other details Spokane homeowners sometimes overlook. On taller walls or where there is a drop-off next to a walkway, we can embed railing posts into the wall design or create solid brick columns to support metal or wood railings. Low-voltage lighting can be tucked into the cap or face to gently light steps, paths, and patios.
What Affects the Cost of a Brick Retaining Wall in Spokane
Homeowners often ask why one retaining wall costs far more than another of similar length. The main drivers are height, soil conditions, access, and what the wall is holding back. A 2-foot garden border in a flat backyard with easy machine access is simple. A 5-foot wall holding up a driveway on a steep South Hill lot with limited access requires more engineering, a larger footing, more drainage work, and careful staging.
Soil type matters a lot. Many parts of Spokane have dense clay that holds water. That creates more pressure on the back of the wall, so we often use more robust drainage and reinforcement, which adds cost but prevents failure. If we find loose fill or old construction debris where the wall needs to go, we may need to over-excavate and rebuild the base with compacted structural fill.
Access is another big factor. If we can bring in a mini excavator and skid steer right to the wall line, excavation and backfilling go fast. If the only way to the backyard is through a narrow side gate, we may have to hand-carry materials and use smaller equipment, which increases labor time. We are always upfront about these realities so there are no surprises.
Material choices affect both price and appearance. Standard clay brick in common patterns is usually more budget friendly. Custom or reclaimed brick, intricate patterns, and premium stone caps cost more in material and in labor. During your estimate, Legendary Masonry Spokane breaks out these options so you can see what each choice does to the total and decide what matters most to you.
Common Problems With Retaining Walls Here and How We Prevent Them
In Spokane, we see a lot of older retaining walls that were built without proper drainage or footing. Typical symptoms are bulging in the middle of the wall, stair-step cracks along mortar joints, or sections that lean out at the top. These problems usually show up after several winters of freeze-thaw when trapped water expands behind the wall. Part of our job is not just to build new walls, but to make sure you do not end up dealing with these same headaches in 5 or 10 years.
When we inspect a failing wall, we usually find one or more missing components: no perforated drain pipe, no gravel backfill, a footing that is too small or not below frost depth, or a wall that is simply too thin for the height. If your existing wall is in rough shape, we will explain whether it can be tied back, partially rebuilt, or if it is safer and more cost-effective to remove and start fresh.
To prevent these issues on new brick retaining walls, we pay special attention to water management. Snowmelt and irrigation overspray in Spokane can put steady moisture behind the wall for months. That is why we install drains, use fabric to keep soil out of the gravel, and slope the finished grade so water moves away from the wall whenever possible. On tall or critical walls, we may integrate geogrid reinforcement into the backfill, which ties the soil mass to the wall structure for extra stability.
Before you hire anyone, ask how they handle drainage, what kind of footing they plan to use, and whether they will compact the base and backfill in layers. Also ask if they are familiar with local conditions and permit or engineering requirements for taller walls in Spokane. Legendary Masonry Spokane is happy to walk you through those details in plain language so you feel confident that your new brick retaining wall will look good and stay put for the long haul.
