Licensed Professional Engineers · All 50 States · Fixed-Fee Quotes
Retaining Wall Engineering and PE Stamped Design
Most jurisdictions require engineered, sealed drawings for any retaining wall over three or four feet, and many require them for tiered or surcharged walls of any height. We design segmental, cantilever, gravity and timber walls remotely for contractors, landscapers and property owners nationwide — with soil pressure calculations, global stability checks and drainage details, sealed by a licensed professional engineer.
- Licensed U.S. Structural PEs
- All 50 States
- 48–72 Hr Turnaround
- Calculations Included
Retaining Walls We Engineer
From a low garden wall to a tiered slope with a driveway above it, the design is driven by the soil, the surcharge and the water behind the wall.
Segmental Block Walls
Allan Block, Versa-Lok, Keystone and similar proprietary systems — block selection, geogrid layout, embedment depth and reinforcement spacing.
Cantilever & Concrete Walls
Reinforced concrete stem, heel and toe design with rebar schedules, footing sizing and construction joint detailing.
Gravity & Boulder Walls
Mass gravity, rock and boulder walls checked for sliding, overturning and bearing under the actual soil conditions on your site.
Timber & Crib Walls
Treated timber and crib wall design including tieback layout, drainage and service-life detailing.
Tiered & Surcharged Walls
Multiple tiers, sloping backfill, or a driveway, pool or structure above the wall — analysed for the combined loading, not treated as a simple wall.
Drainage & Backfill Details
Drainage is what kills retaining walls. Every package includes filter fabric, aggregate zone and outlet detailing.
Included in Every Retaining Wall Package
Sealed Wall Drawings
Plan, elevation and section views with dimensions, materials and reinforcement clearly called out for the contractor.
Stability Calculations
Sliding, overturning, bearing pressure and global stability checked against the soil parameters for your site.
Reinforcement Schedule
Geogrid lengths and spacing, or rebar size and placement, laid out so it can be built straight from the sheet.
PE Seal for Your State
Wet or digital seal from an engineer licensed in the state where the wall is being built.
What We Need From You
Send what you have. If you are missing something on this list we will tell you whether it matters for your wall or whether we can proceed without it.
- Wall length and maximum exposed height
- Site photos showing the slope and existing grade
- What sits above and behind the wall
- Geotechnical report, if one exists
- Preferred wall type or block system
- Property address, city and state
No Soils Report? Read This
Many residential walls are designed without a geotechnical report by using conservative presumptive soil values from the code. That is accepted by most jurisdictions for walls of modest height on ordinary ground.
Where a report is genuinely needed — tall walls, poor soils, walls carrying structures — we will tell you before you commit rather than after. If your county requires one, no engineer can design around that.
Fixed Price, Quoted Up Front
Standard residential retaining walls are typically returned in 48–72 hours. Tiered, surcharged or commercial walls usually take up to a week.
Every project is quoted as a fixed price before work starts. Send your dimensions and site photos and you will have a written quote within 24 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most jurisdictions set the threshold at four feet measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, though some use three feet. Any wall with a surcharge above it — a driveway, pool, slope or structure — often requires engineering at any height. Tell us your height and location and we will confirm what your county requires.
Not usually for standard residential walls. We can design using conservative presumptive soil values from the building code, which most jurisdictions accept. Tall walls, walls in poor soils, or walls supporting structures may genuinely require one, and we will tell you that before you pay rather than after.
No. We design from your photographs, dimensions and site information. Retaining wall design is driven by geometry, soil parameters and loading — all of which you can send us. There is never a travel charge.
Yes. If you have already chosen Allan Block, Versa-Lok, Keystone or another proprietary system, we design to that manufacturer’s published values. If you have not chosen yet, we can recommend an approach that suits your height and budget.
We respond to them and reissue the sealed set at no additional charge. Getting the permit approved is part of the job, not an extra.
Get Your Retaining Wall Engineered
Send your wall dimensions and site photos. Free quote within 24 hours, sealed drawings in 48–72 hours.