Retaining Wall Remediation: A failing hillside wall rebuilt right
West Kelowna, BC
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West Kelowna, BC
Retaining Walls
Sloped hillside residential lot
Full rebuild with geogrid reinforcement and perforated drain tile replacing the original failed wall
The Brief
West Kelowna’s bench-cut hillsides are full of homes built on grade changes, and many of those properties lean on an older retaining wall to hold the upper yard in place. On a project like this one, the existing wall was showing the classic warning signs of a structure at the end of its life: forward lean, bulging courses, and cracking mortar joints near the base. Rather than a patch job, the homeowner needed the wall rebuilt from the footing up.
The Approach
In the Okanagan, the single most common cause of retaining wall failure isn’t the wall material itself — it’s water. Hillside lots shed snowmelt and spring runoff downslope, and if that water has nowhere to go, hydrostatic pressure builds up behind the wall face and pushes it forward, course by course, until it fails. Any honest remediation has to start with diagnosing where the drainage broke down, not just re-stacking block on top of the same problem. Our approach on hillside rebuilds is to excavate back far enough to inspect the base and backfill, confirm the soil conditions, and design a wall system sized for the actual slope and surcharge load above it — not just the footprint of the failed one.
What We Built
A proper rebuild replaces guesswork with engineering fundamentals: a compacted granular base course to carry the load evenly, segmental retaining wall block set with consistent setback for stability, geogrid reinforcement tied into the backfill at the intervals the wall height calls for, and a perforated drain tile running the length of the wall base wrapped in free-draining gravel so groundwater has a clear path out instead of building pressure behind the face. Clean, well-compacted backfill and proper compaction lifts finish the job so the new wall performs the way the original one should have from day one. The result is a hillside that holds — and a yard that’s usable again above and below the wall.
See the Finished Space
Trusted By Okanagan Homeowners
“They built two beautiful retaining walls at the back of our house, a pathway and natural stone steps leading from the street to the house. His team is polite and professional. Taylor is a man of his word — he fixes any minor deficiencies, keeps work within your budget, his estimate and time frame. Very efficient and organized. Communication is excellent.”
Dealing with a leaning, bulging, or cracking retaining wall on your own property? Learn more about our Retaining Walls service, browse other projects we’ve completed around West Kelowna, or visit Our Work to see more finished spaces across the Okanagan.
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