Concrete retaining walls in Franklin TN - a wall that holds your slope and drains it
Bank washing onto the patio or an old wall leaning out? We build poured concrete walls with drainage behind them, so the slope stays put.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Do you need a concrete retaining wall for your slope?
A concrete retaining wall is a poured wall that holds back a bank of soil. At Superior Franklin Concrete we build them in Franklin and the cities around it, from Brentwood and Nolensville down to Spring Hill and Columbia, with drainage behind every one, because that's what keeps the wall standing.
Most people call us when a slope is creeping toward the patio or driveway, or when they want flat yard where there's a hill. The price moves with how tall and long the wall is, how much ground we dig out, how far the drain has to run and whether a driveway or anything else sits above it. The schedule depends on whether the city needs to review plans and on how long the concrete cures before soil goes back behind it. I'll give you a written estimate that spells out what's included and what isn't, so you have your own number.
How do you know your slope or old wall needs attention?
Soil washing off the bank
After a hard rain you find mud on the patio or driveway, and the bank behind the house looks a little lower each season. That usually means nothing is holding the slope, and the longer it goes, the more ground there is to dig out and replace before a wall goes in.
An old wall leaning out
The top of the wall sits farther out than the bottom, or the whole thing has tipped forward. Movement like that can mean water pressure is building up behind it, and a wall that has started to rotate won't straighten itself, so it usually gets rebuilt rather than patched.
New cracks or open seams
A crack that wasn't there last year, or a joint pulling apart, can be the same water pressure at work. Another wet season gives it time to push further, so it's worth having someone look before it moves more.
How we build concrete retaining walls
I start by looking at where the water comes from and where it can go, because water knocks over more walls than dirt does. Then we dig out and pour the footing, the wide base the wall stands on, set the forms with rebar, the steel bars that hold the concrete together, and pour the wall. Behind it goes a perforated drain pipe, drainage gravel and filter fabric that keeps dirt out of the gravel, and one masonry guide counts all three as required parts, not extras. We lay the drains out so they can be cleaned later and show you how, then give the wall time to cure before any soil leans on it. If your budget forces a choice, I'd rather spend on the footing and the drains than on the face of the wall, because nobody sees them on day one but they decide whether the wall stays put.
A wall often makes room for something else. Cutting a slope back can give you a level spot for a pool and the concrete pool deck around it, or for a shop or storage building that needs concrete floor installation, and we plan the wall and the flat work together so the water from both has somewhere to go.
Tall walls or walls under a driveway
A properly engineered poured wall is stronger foot for foot than a block wall, so it's the one I'd pick when the wall is tall or carries a driveway or building above it. The design on a wall like that can be an engineer's call, and if yours needs one, I'll tell you who that is.
Walls near the house or a property line
A poured wall takes up less room front to back, which helps on a steep bank close to the foundation. Block walls need a reinforcing mesh called geogrid running back into the soil, so a poured wall fits where that mesh would end up in your neighbor's yard.
Low walls around a yard or patio
For a short wall that squares off a bed or levels part of the yard, poured concrete gives a clean, solid edge. The drain pipe, gravel and fabric still go behind it, because a low wall holding wet ground can lean too.
Get a written estimate for your retaining wall
We reply within one business day to set a time, and I come out to look at the slope and the drainage. The estimate is free, done on site, and there's no obligation.
Call (615) 716-3053- Based in
- Franklin, TN 37064
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–11 PM
What happens when you call about a retaining wall in Franklin?
From your first call to the final walk-through, here's how a wall job runs on your side and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call us or send the form
Tell us roughly how long and tall the wall needs to be and what sits above the slope. We'll set a time for me to come out.
I walk the slope with you
I look at the ground, the drainage and how the wall fits your property, then write the estimate. It spells out what's included and what isn't, so you know what you're paying for and why we picked it.
We sort out the permit side
We find out which local office covers your address and handle the permit paperwork that's ours to pull. If part of the wall needs an engineer or another trade, I tell you who that is.
We build it, then walk it
I lead the crew that digs, forms, pours and drains the wall, and soil goes back behind it only after the concrete has had time to cure. When it's done, I walk the finished wall with you.
Why Franklin homeowners call Superior Franklin Concrete for retaining walls
The owner prices and builds it
I come out to look at every job, write the estimate myself and lead the crew that does the work. The person who planned your drains is the one standing there when they go in.
Learned on crews, building since 2021
I learned concrete on other people's crews before starting this business in 2021, and a steep bank is the kind of puzzle I like best. You'll hear why we picked each part of the wall, not just what it costs.
Licensed and insured, hired directly
We're licensed and insured. Tennessee's guidance treats a concrete contractor who bids straight to the owner as the prime contractor, so when you hire us directly we're held to the state's rules for prime contractors, not a subcontractor's.
Call (615) 716-3053 or send us your wall details, and I'll come look at the slope and where the water goes.
Retaining walls, permits and steep lots in Franklin
The City of Franklin has construction plans for residential projects submitted electronically for plan review, so if your wall needs a permit, that's where it starts. Whether yours does is the city's call, not ours, so questions about your own wall go to the City of Franklin, and we check before we dig. Steep lots get a closer look too. In some recorded subdivisions the city names certain lots Critical Lots because they're hard to stabilize, with exposed subsoil, a steep slope or a lot of bare ground, and since cutting, filling or grading on them can lead to erosion, city staff review their plans. If your house sits on one, we plan the wall around that review from the start.
Around Franklin we see a lot of sloped backyards and driveways cut into hillsides, where a bank needs holding back and the water coming off it needs somewhere to go. We see the same kind of yards on jobs in Brentwood and Spring Hill, and every one starts with where the rain runs.
Questions about retaining walls in Franklin
Call (615) 716-3053Poured concrete retaining walls in the Nashville area usually cost about $30 to $40 per square foot of wall face, which means the wall's length times its height. That's the going rate around here, not our price, and the height, the digging, the drain run and anything sitting above the wall push it up or down. I'll give you your own number after I've seen the slope.
Poor drainage is by far the most common reason retaining walls don't hold up, according to research on these walls. Wet ground pushes on a wall until it leans, cracks or tips, so when you compare bids, ask each contractor to explain the drainage as carefully as the concrete.
The concrete in a new wall needs 7 to 28 days of cure time to reach full design strength. Build that wait into your plans, especially if a driveway or patio is going in above the wall.
A poured wall is rigid, so one masonry guide warns it can crack if the footing or the drainage isn't done right. A cracked poured wall is a bigger repair than a few loose blocks, which is why the guide suggests asking how deep each bid sets the footing. Ask us too, and I'll tell you why we set it where we do.
Yes on larger jobs, because Tennessee requires a contractor's license before a prime, or general, contractor bids or gives a price on a project of $25,000 and up, with materials and labor both counted. If your wall comes in at that amount or more, the contractor you hire directly should hold that license.
Ask for drains you can clean out, because university research found traditional weep holes, small openings through the wall face, are likely to clog over the life of a wall. The same research found drains built to be maintained a more reliable way to keep a wall drained, and that's why ours can be cleaned out.
Other concrete work that pairs with a wall
Concrete pool decks
If the wall levels part of a sloped yard for a pool, the deck around it needs the same care with slope and water running away from it.
Concrete floor installation
A new shop, storage building or room on ground the wall holds back needs a flat, solid concrete floor poured on a well-packed base.
Where we build concrete retaining walls
Superior Franklin Concrete is based in Franklin, Tennessee, and builds retaining walls across the 7 cities listed here, including Nolensville and Columbia. These are the cities with their own pages, and we work in plenty of places in between.
Franklin, TN
Have the owner look at your slope
Send the wall's rough length and height, a few photos of the slope and whether a driveway sits above it, and I'll come out already knowing what to check.