Retaining Walls - St. Louis County
Chesterfield has two kinds of ground. Down in Chesterfield Valley it's Missouri River bottomland, mostly commercial and behind a levee since the 1993 flood. Most of the residential walls are up in the hills south of the valley, in subdivisions built from the 1980s onward. Many of those developments used tall segmental block walls along common ground and back lot lines, and some of them are now 25 to 35 years old and showing their age.
Chesterfield has two very different kinds of ground. Chesterfield Valley is Missouri River bottomland. It went under in the 1993 flood and is now mostly commercial behind a levee, on a high water table where walls are rarely very tall. South of the valley the land climbs into the hills where most Chesterfield homes are, in subdivisions built from the 1980s through the 2000s on ridges and hillsides.
Those developments used a lot of tall segmental block: along back lot lines, holding up common ground, and at subdivision entrances. Many of those walls are now 25 to 35 years old, and some are starting to lean.
When a subdivision wall this age leans or bulges, the block is usually fine. The problem is behind it: a drain that silted shut decades ago, geogrid short for the height, or backfill of native silt instead of clean stone. We dig in behind the cap to find out before recommending a reset or a full rebuild.
Who owns the wall matters here. Common-ground walls usually belong to the HOA and walls inside a lot to the owner. We can write the scope for either, and pull in an engineer where a wall's height calls for one.
New back-yard terraces use block and proper drainage. Tall walls beside driveways may need concrete. Larger wooded lots suit boulders, and front entries sometimes get limestone. Every new wall starts with a plan for access and spoil.
Also working nearby, across the City of St. Louis and St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson counties:
Free, No Obligation
Tell us what the wall is doing and where it is. A side-on photo helps us figure out the problem before we arrive.