Get matched with top retaining wall installation pros in Phelps, WI

Small retaining walls still require a foundation of some kind, typically a concrete footing. This helps to ensure the wall is structurally sound and prevents the ground from shifting over time, especially during those winter freeze/thaw cycles. The footing helps spread the weight of the wall and the load it carries over a larger area of the ground, thus assisting with stability. This is true of small retaining walls, larger rock garden walls, and the like. 

A retaining wall can only function as a fence if it’s high enough on all sides to prevent someone from accidentally falling into the pool. However, most retaining walls retain dirt, which means their purpose is not related to safety. There would need to be nothing on the other side of the wall for it to be considered a fence, but in that case, it wouldn’t retain anything and would cease to be a retaining wall.  

To maintain the integrity of your landscape, a retaining wall must be installed if the slope of the angle exceeds 35 degrees. The lean of the wall must be 1 inch per 12 inches in height to disperse the weight of the soil uniformly and guarantee the correct drainage of the soil.

Depending on who you hire to build a retaining wall, the average cost, including demolition and reconstruction, for a 50-foot wall that's 4 feet in height is between $7,000 and $24,000.