Retaining Walls in Ballwin, MO

Forty-Year-Old Timber Walls

Most of Ballwin went up in the 1960s, 70s and 80s: split-levels and two-stories on subdivision streets running along ridges between Fishpot Creek and Grand Glaize Creek. Back yards fell away toward the creek valleys, and builders and homeowners terraced them with what was cheap then: pressure-treated landscape timbers and old railroad ties.

Those walls are now forty-plus years old. The ties are soft, the anchors running back into the slope have rotted, and the loess behind them is coming through the gaps. Many Ballwin calls start with a timber wall bowing out in the middle or a step on the terrace that's sinking.

From Timber to Block

Patching a rotten timber wall usually just buys time. What works is taking it out and building a block wall in its place on a compacted stone base, with clean stone behind it and a drain to daylight. A lot of these yards never had real drainage at all. Where a back yard drops steeply, two shorter terraces often beat one tall wall, and they usually stay under the height where permits and engineering get involved.

Fences and neighbors' yards box most of these lots in, so access gets planned at the estimate.

Other Work Here

Newer block walls that are already leaning get a diagnosis and reset. Wooded creek-side slopes suit boulders, front walks sometimes get stone, and a walk-out or driveway wall close to the house may call for poured concrete as part of a new build.

Ballwin Retaining Wall FAQs