Retaining wall construction in Manchester NH - a wall that drains and holds your slope
Is your slope washing out or your old wall leaning? We build retaining walls that drain properly and keep the ground where you want it.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Do you need a retaining wall, and what goes into building one?
Retaining wall construction in Manchester, NH means building a wall that holds back a slope so the soil stays put, and we plan each one around where the water will go.
Most people call us when a bank keeps sliding onto the lawn, the edge of a driveway is giving way, or an old timber or stone wall has started to tip. The price mostly comes down to the wall's height and length, the material, how much digging and drainage the slope needs, and how easy it is to get equipment to the spot. The schedule turns on whether the wall needs an engineer's design or a permit first, and on how much ground has to move. I'll walk the slope with you, explain what I see and put it in writing, so you get a figure for your wall instead of a guess.
How do you know your slope needs a retaining wall?
Soil sliding off the slope
After a hard rain you find soil, mulch or stones washed onto the lawn, the walk or the driveway. That usually means the slope is steeper than the ground can hold on its own, and every storm takes a little more of it.
An old wall leaning out
A timber, block or stone wall that tips forward, bulges in the middle or has stones popping loose is losing to the weight behind it. Once it lets go, you're paying to clear a collapse before anything new can go up.
Wet ground behind a wall
Soggy soil at the top of a wall, or water seeping out across the face, means the water behind it has nowhere to go. Left alone it keeps pushing, and that's usually what starts the lean.
How we handle retaining wall construction
Most walls that fail are fighting water, so drainage is the first thing I plan, both behind the wall and through it. Then we dig out, pack a firm base, build the wall course by course with drainage stone behind it, backfill and clean up. On a tall wall or a tricky slope, I'll tell you up front if it needs an engineer's design, because a wall like that has to be worked out on paper before anyone digs.
A new wall often sits beside other work in the yard. If you already have an old stone or brick wall that's sound underneath, masonry restoration may save it for less than building new. And once a wall turns a slope into level ground, some owners want a place to gather there, which is where our fireplace installation work comes in.
Segmental block wall
Interlocking concrete blocks stacked without mortar suit most yard walls of moderate height. They give an even, finished look and can follow a curve in the slope.
Poured concrete wall
This suits a wall that has to carry real load, like a tall cut or the edge of a driveway. It's the strongest choice, so I recommend it only when the site needs that strength.
Dry-laid stone wall
Stone stacked with open joints suits low garden walls and terraces. It looks natural and lets water pass through instead of trapping it.
Replacing a failed wall
If your old wall is leaning or collapsing, we take it out, work out why it failed and rebuild with drainage that answers that cause. Fixing only the face just sets up the same failure again.
Get a written plan and price for your retaining wall
We reply within one business day to set up a free on-site visit. I'll walk the slope with you, find what's driving the problem and put my plan and price in writing, with no obligation.
(603) 314-0526- Based in
- Manchester, NH 03104
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call about a retaining wall in Manchester?
Here's how a wall job runs from your first call to the final walk-around, and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call or send a message
Call (603) 314-0526 or use the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out. Tell us roughly where the wall would go and what the slope is doing.
I walk the slope with you
I look at the ground, where the water runs and what's pushing on any old wall, then write up what I'd build and why. You get the wall type, the drainage plan and the price on paper, and if a smaller fix will do, I'll say so.
We handle permits and build
Once you say go, we sort out the permit side with your city and get an engineer's design first if the wall needs one. Then our crew digs out and builds the drainage and the wall, and I'm working right alongside them.
Walk the finished wall together
When it's done, we walk the wall with you and show you where the water drains out. We clean up the site before we leave.
Why Manchester homeowners call Capstone for retaining walls
I estimate it and build it
The person who walks your Manchester yard, checks the city's rules and writes the plan is on the crew that builds the wall. Nothing gets lost between what we talked about at your house and what goes in the ground.
Years spent fixing failed walls
Before we started this business in 2023, I spent years on upkeep for a property management company, patching brick, chimneys and foundations on older buildings. That's where I learned to hunt for why a wall failed, and it's the same question that shapes how I build a new one.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured on every job, from a low garden wall to a tall one built to an engineer's design. That matters when a job means heavy digging and equipment in your yard.
Honest about the size
Every wall we build is backed by our satisfaction guarantee. If resetting a short section will do instead of a whole new wall, I'll tell you before I'd sell you more.
Get the water right and the rest of the wall has a fair chance. Send us the details or call (603) 314-0526, and I'll come out to take a look.
Retaining walls and the work around them in Manchester
Manchester's Building Division approves building permits and handles the field inspections, and many permits for outdoor projects need a site plan drawn to scale that shows everything on the lot and its setbacks. Whether your wall needs a building permit is something I check with the city before we start, and when it does, we take care of the paperwork. Bigger earthwork brings in the state too. The city code requires a state Alteration of Terrain permit when a project disturbs more than 100,000 square feet, or more than 50,000 if any part sits in the protected shoreland, and also when it disturbs ground sloped 25 percent or steeper within 50 feet of any surface water.
Around here we see plenty of yards where the lot was cut flat for the house and the bank behind it has been creeping ever since, plus old walls stacked with no drain at all. We're based in Manchester and build the same way in the cities around it, including Bedford and, just over the line, Methuen.
Questions about retaining walls in Manchester
What does a retaining wall cost in Manchester, NH?
A retaining wall in Manchester usually costs about $16 to $50 per square foot of wall face, which is the area's going rate, not our price. Where yours lands depends mostly on the material, from boulders, stone and wood to concrete, interlocking block and railroad ties, and with poured concrete the site, the design and the scope can move it a lot. My on-site estimate is free and gives you a written price for your wall.
Should I choose a poured concrete or a dry-laid retaining wall?
Choose poured concrete when the slope calls for a structural wall, and a dry-laid wall of stacked material with open joints when it doesn't, because dry-laid costs much less. There's no sense paying for strength your slope doesn't need, and I'll tell you which one yours does.
What causes retaining walls to fail?
Most retaining walls fail because water and soil moisture build up behind them, so every wall should let that water drain down and away. Ask any contractor how their wall will drain, and expect to hear about gravel backfill, drainage blankets, drain pipes and weep holes, small openings through the face of a structural wall. Ask where the pipe empties too, since one Iowa site-work standard sends it to a storm sewer or to ground lower than the pipe's lowest point.
How does a segmental block retaining wall hold back soil?
A segmental block wall holds soil back mainly by its own weight, using concrete units stacked without mortar. Layers of soil reinforcement can also reach back into the fill behind it, which makes that mass wider and heavier.
Do I need an engineer for a tall retaining wall in Manchester?
For a high or complex wall, you should expect an engineer's design before building starts, because the higher the slope, the more strength the wall needs. The engineer's design weighs the slope, the soil, the wall material, the room to work and the wall's height.
Does building near a lake or pond in Manchester change the rules?
Yes, the city code requires any construction within 250 feet of a protected water body, such as a lake or pond over 10 acres, to follow New Hampshire's state rules. That's on top of the state permit triggers for shoreland and steep ground near water. If your yard runs down to water, tell me when you call so I can check with the city before we plan the wall.
Related work that often goes with a new wall
When an old stone or brick wall is mostly sound, restoring it can keep its character and cost less than tearing it out and building new.
A retaining wall can turn a slope into level ground, and a fireplace built there gives you a spot to sit outside on cool New Hampshire evenings.
Cities where we build retaining walls
Capstone Manchester Concrete and Masonry is based in Manchester, NH, and builds retaining walls across the cities around it. The 12 cities below have their own pages, from Nashua to Concord, and we work in more places than these.
Manchester, NH
Get your retaining wall planned right
Send the wall's rough length and height with a few photos of the slope and any water nearby, and I'll come out already knowing what to look for.