Retaining wall construction in La Mesa CA - a wall that holds your slope and drains

Yes, La Mesa requires a construction permit for all new construction. A taller wall also needs a special permit approved by the Planning Commission, and that review can take a few to several months, so plan early. When a permit's needed, we handle the paperwork, and the city's Building Division answers questions about your project.

Retaining walls in the San Diego area usually cost about $20 to $50 per square foot of wall face, which is the wall's height times its length. Material moves that figure, and some local quotes leave out removing an old wall, terracing, extra height, curves and landscaping, so ask what each quote covers. Mine lists it in writing.

You do, because the city holds the owner responsible for each inspection, even when the contractor calls it in. It inspects at the footing, after block and steel go in but before grouting, after backfill, and when the work is done. We line up each inspection call with you, so you know what's coming.

A repair that restores or roughly restores a failed slope, retaining walls included, can skip the special permit for taller walls, as the city's community development director decides. Grading and building permits are still required before work starts, and the city's Engineering Counter reviews the grading plan for water flow, water quality and soils.

For most yards, I'd build in block. The block makers' trade group says in its design manual that segmental block resists cracking and doesn't splinter or decay the way treated timber or railroad ties do. That's their own claim, but it matches what we see when old timber walls come out.

We steer water away and build drainage into the wall, because water adds load, can wash soil out and makes the ground around the wall less stable. That's national industry guidance for block walls, and it's why you should ask any contractor how their design handles water.