Retaining Wall Replacement in Fairfax, VA

A retaining wall in Fairfax is holding back clay, and clay that stays wet pushes much harder than soil that drains. That is why so many walls here lean, bulge, or crack within a few decades. We tear out failed walls in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax and rebuild them with a compacted footing, perforated drain pipe in fabric-wrapped stone, and segmental block, stone veneer, or natural stone.

Fairfax County's wall permit rules

Fairfax County Land Development Services issues retaining wall permits. Its residential wall permit covers walls retaining more than three feet of earth, up to four feet, that are single, non-segmental walls with level ground behind and nothing extra above. Taller, tiered, or segmental walls, or walls under a driveway or slope, need a fuller design submission. Inside the City of Fairfax, the City handles permits. We confirm which office and which path apply before we quote.

Clay, slopes, and stream buffers

The county maps marine clay and other shrink-swell soils, and its marine clay guide notes that slope stability can be a concern where these clays sit on steep ground. A wall on that kind of soil needs drainage that actually leads somewhere.

Walls near a stream may sit in a Resource Protection Area under the county's Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance, where land disturbance needs approval first. We look up your lot on the county maps and tell you what that means for the design.

Rebuilding the wall, not just the face

The old wall comes out along with saturated soil behind it. We dig and compact a footing below grade, set the base course level, and backfill with clean stone in compacted lifts around a perforated pipe that carries water to daylight or a planned outlet. Then the wall goes up and is capped level. Our own crew builds it, Joseph checks the work on site, and it is covered by our 5-year workmanship warranty.