Retaining Wall Construction

BUILT FOR STRENGTH. DESTINED TO LAST.

Engineered retaining wall solutions for residential, commercial, HOA, and hillside properties throughout Santa Cruz County and surrounding communities.

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Wooden raised garden bed with wire fencing beside a house on a gravel driveway, surrounded by trees.

Retaining walls do more than hold back soil—they protect your property, improve drainage, create usable space, and help stabilize slopes.

At Josh Sladwick Engineering, we build retaining walls designed to meet the unique needs of each project, whether it's supporting a driveway, replacing a failing wall, or creating additional usable land.

Every project begins with evaluating site conditions, soil stability, drainage, and loading requirements to ensure the wall is built on a solid foundation.

In the Santa Cruz Mountains, proper drainage is critical. Heavy winter rains can saturate hillside soils and create pressure behind retaining walls. That's why we incorporate drainage systems—including perforated drain pipe, drain rock, filter fabric, and proper grading—to help manage water, reduce hydrostatic pressure, and promote long-term wall performance.

Foggy backyard with evergreen trees, flowering shrubs, a partially excavated trench, retaining fence, shovel, and illuminated house eave
Perforated white drainage pipe installed in a sandy trench beside a wooden structure.
Side yard with a stone walkway, dark wood fence, tan house siding, sloped landscaped hillside, trees, and blue sky
Red-stained wooden privacy fence with wire mesh panels, a gate, and surrounding green shrubs and trees.
Mountain home behind a red wooden fence and landscaped yard, surrounded by evergreen trees under a clear blue sky
Outdoor patio with red-stained wood fencing, gate, stepping-stone path, and forested mountain views

Residential Timber Retaining Wall

This project involved replacing an aging retaining wall with a new pressure-treated timber retaining wall designed to provide long-term structural support while enhancing the property's appearance in Ben Lomond, California.

The existing site was excavated and prepared before installing new structural posts, pressure-treated timber lagging, drainage rock, filter fabric, and a perforated drain pipe behind the wall to help manage groundwater. The completed wall provides both structural stability and an attractive finish that ties into the existing wall and complements the surrounding landscape.

Every retaining wall is designed around the specific conditions of the property, including soil type, drainage, slope, and loading requirements, to help provide lasting performance.

Featured Retaining Wall Projects

See how proper planning, quality materials, and expert craftsmanship transform challenging sites into durable, long-lasting retaining wall systems.

Backyard with raised wooden garden beds, a covered patio, stairs, plants, and a pickup truck
Tracked mini excavator beside a newly constructed white house and dirt-covered construction area between buildings
Wooden backyard deck with wire railing, red pickup truck, and worker surrounded by trees
Wooden house with elevated decks and stairs, retaining walls, garden beds, and flowering vines in a redwood forest
A weathered wooden house with raised decks and stairs behind terraced garden retaining walls, plants, stacked soil bags, and yard tools.
Construction trench with gravel, drainage pipe, retaining wall, and exposed utility meters between houses
Compact excavator working between residential buildings on a muddy construction site beside a blue fence.
Red Yanmar mini excavator beside a house and a braced wooden trench amid dense backyard vegetation.
Backyard garden under construction with wooden retaining walls, exposed soil, shovel, tropical plants, and a house exterior