Retaining Wall Rebuild with Serious Drainage in Grand Rapids

Most retaining walls don't fail because of the blocks. They fail because of what's happening behind and beneath them - water builds up, pressure increases, and eventually the wall gives out. That's exactly what we were dealing with here. The old wall wasn't draining properly, and it showed.

When we tore into it, we went all the way down and rebuilt the foundation the right way. That meant installing 4 feet of clean crushed stone for drainage, running proper drainage pipe to carry water away, and then building the new block wall on top of a base that's actually built to hold. You can see the crushed stone channel running along the side - that's not decorative. That's doing real work every time it rains.

The wall itself curves in a clean arc, which is a nice design detail but also adds structural strength. Behind and above it, the homeowners now have a defined, level garden area with actual usable space - a proper sun garden where there wasn't much to work with before. That's a big win. More usable yard, better drainage, and a wall that's not going anywhere.

Every retaining wall we build at Hansen Lawn and Snow Works is backed by a 5-year warranty. That's not something we say just to sound good - it's because we build them the right way from the ground up, and we stand behind that work completely.