Cicarelli Contractors is a Richmond-based retaining wall contractor for Bay Area homes on slopes, building block and stone walls that hold soil back and create level, usable yard. Every wall starts with a compacted footing and drainage behind it, and we check your city's height limits and file the permit when one is required, under CSLB license #1109419.
Retaining walls
A retaining wall holds soil at two different heights, so a slope becomes a level patio, a flat lawn or a terrace for planting. The visible face is the smallest part of the job: below grade sits a compacted base, and behind the wall a column of drainage gravel and a perforated pipe carry water away before it can push on the blocks.
Water is what brings retaining walls down. Rain soaks into the soil behind the wall, adds weight and pressure, and a wall without drainage starts to lean, bulge or crack. That is why retaining wall installation on Bay Area hillsides is as much about drainage and compaction as it is about the blocks or stone you see.
Height and what sits above the wall decide the paperwork. Many Bay Area cities exempt walls up to 4 feet with nothing sloping or pushing on them from above, and require a permit and engineering beyond that. From our base in Richmond to San Francisco and San Jose, retaining walls are part of our outdoor living work and often go in with the grading that shapes the yard around them.
Six Google reviews quoted word for word. None is about a retaining wall yet; they describe a hillside job with tight access and our paver and backyard work. Swipe or use the arrows.
I recently hired Cicarelli Contractors for demolition of my swimming pool. From our initial discussion to our final completion Athalyson and his crew were true professionals. Our pool is on a hill with limited access. His crew was able to get their equipment in place for the demolition and wheelbarrow fill dirt up hill. Some of those days had 90+ temps.
I was consistently impressed with the quality and professionalism of his crew. His crews seemed to always have a smile. The project was completed in a timely manner. His crew were consistently courteous and respectful of my property and maintained a clean work environment, restoring the site to its original condition.
I highly recommend Cicarelli Contractors for any construction needs. Their commitment to quality, efficiency, and customer satisfaction is commendable.
I wouldn’t hesitate to hire Cicarelli again!
Just this past week, I hired Cicarelli Contractors to install a carport. Initially I wanted concrete but after speaking with Athalyson and being educated on pavers instead of regular concrete we decided to go with his recommendation. And to our surprise the pavers turned out to be the correct choice versus a concrete slab. The color that we chose really compliments the paint that’s on the house. Cicarelli did an incredible job. They followed the timeline to completion to a tee and each day they worked at my home they always cleaned up before they left for the day. We are so excited how everything turned out, our neighbors constantly come over to say how beautiful the pavers look. To my surprise they completed the work in one week. Not only did they have to prep the work they also had to remove 3 large trees and the existing fence and replace it with a new one. Still hard to believe they did all that work in a short period of time and at the end everything looks very professional.
We are extremely happy with the job performed in my backyard. And my front yard It was done very fast and the quality of the job is excellent. Highly recommended because you have a great service at a reasonable price.
We had a good experience with the company, the team was professional and made us feel confident about it. The job was done on time. Definetely would recomend their services!
Athalyson did great work at my house and backyard. Very happy with the result. Highly recommend.
I love it
Walls on video
The first clip is one of our own retaining wall jobs in Walnut Creek. The others show the excavation work our crews do on sloped and tight Bay Area lots, in Vacaville, San Ramon and Fremont.
Watch On YouTubeHow a wall is built
Yes. Even a short wall holds back wet soil every winter. These are the parts that keep a retaining wall standing, and the mistakes that make walls fail.
Water behind an existing wall? Our French drain and drainage page covers drains behind retaining walls. Walls and patios are usually planned together; see our outdoor living overview.
Retaining wall step by step
The order follows the soil: what holds the wall up goes in before anything you can see.
Start With A Free EstimateWe measure the slope and the height to retain, and note what sits above it.
Height, surcharge and setbacks are checked against your city's rules.
The trench is dug, the subgrade compacted and the base placed and leveled.
The bottom row is set below grade, level and true, since every row sits on it.
Rows go up stepped back, with gravel, pipe and fabric placed as they rise.
Caps go on, the soil above is graded to drain and planting or lights follow.
Walls we have built
Block and stone walls from finished Cicarelli jobs, each built to hold its slope and to look like part of the yard.
Several shorter walls instead of one tall one turn a steep slope into level planting beds.
Segmental blocks follow a curve, softening the edge between lawn and slope.
A low capped wall holds the bed beside a paver walk and doubles as an edge.
Built-in lights and planting make the wall part of the evening view.
Pricing
Retaining walls are priced by their size and by what it takes to make them stand. These are the items we measure before quoting.
Face area drives the block count, and taller walls need more base, drainage and often engineering.
Segmental block, natural stone and caps vary in material and labor per square foot.
Digging into the slope, hauling soil and bringing in drainage gravel add up.
Hillsides and narrow side yards mean smaller machines and more hand work.
Walls over the city's height limit or with a surcharge need plans and a permit.
Running the pipe to a legal outlet can mean extra trenching.
Planning a wall with a patio or turf? Our backyard patio ideas guide shows how they work together, or send photos for a written quote. Get a written quote
Permits and rules
Most Bay Area cities exempt a retaining wall from a building permit only up to a set height, usually 4 feet from the bottom of the footing, and only when nothing above it adds load. A slope, driveway or building above is a surcharge. Contra Costa County sets 3 feet.
Walnut Creek also exempts walls up to 4 feet without a surcharge, per its work not requiring a permit page. Before digging the footing, USA North 811 needs two working days' notice.
Retaining wall answers
Retaining wall questions homeowners put to retaining wall builders usually come down to height, drainage, type and cost. These answers come from how we build walls and from the permit rules Bay Area cities and counties publish.
It depends on the city. Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley and Walnut Creek exempt walls up to 4 feet from the bottom of the footing with no surcharge; Contra Costa County stops at 3 feet; San Jose requires permits above 2 feet. A slope, driveway or building above the wall usually means a permit at any height.
We read the rule for your address before quoting, and file the permit and any engineering the wall needs.
Residential walls are mostly gravity walls, which hold soil by their own weight and a slight lean into the slope: segmental concrete block, natural stone and timber. Taller walls use reinforced designs, such as a poured concrete retaining wall or block tied into the soil with geogrid, engineered for the load.
Most of the walls we build for Bay Area yards are segmental block or natural stone.
For a short wall, segmental block usually balances cost and life best, since it dry-stacks without mortar or forms. Timber costs less up front but lasts less, and a poured concrete retaining wall needs forms and steel. Whatever the material, skipping the base or the drainage costs the most in the end.
We can price two materials side by side so you can compare the real difference for your wall.
It is a rule of thumb, not a building code, and builders use different versions of it, usually about how much of the wall to bury or how wide the base should be. What decides a real wall is your city's height limit, any surcharge above it and, past that limit, an engineer's design.
On walls under the local limit, we follow the block maker's installation guide; above it, the engineer's drawings set the dimensions.
It depends on the height and length of the face, the material, how much soil has to be dug and replaced with drainage gravel, access to the site, and whether the wall needs engineering and a permit. A 20-foot wall can cost very different amounts at 2 feet and at 5 feet tall.
Our written estimate lists excavation, base, drainage, blocks and caps as separate lines.
Often. Retaining wall repair on a short block wall that leans from poor drainage usually means taking it down and rebuilding it on a proper base with drainage, reusing sound blocks. A tall or failing structural wall may need an engineer first. We look at the cause before recommending a fix.
Leaning, bulging or water seeping through the face are the signs to have a wall checked.
| Rule | Official source |
|---|---|
| Walls up to 3 ft, no surcharge | Exempt in unincorporated Contra Costa County (county handout) |
| Walls up to 4 ft, no surcharge | Exempt in Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley and Walnut Creek (Oakland) |
| Walls over 2 ft above grade | Building and Planning permits in San Jose (city page) |
| Walls over 30 inches | Structural drawings and calculations in Pinole (city page) |
| Walls in a required setback | Zoning permit in Berkeley (city page) |
| Walls holding a hillside cut | No exemption in San Ramon (city list) |
Summarized from the official city and county pages linked above; your city may set its own limits.
Updated · By Athalyson Bernardo, Owner of Cicarelli Contractors · CSLB #1109419
FAQ
Send photos of the slope, a rough height and length, and what sits above it, and we will reply with a written estimate. Our phones are open Monday to Saturday, 9 am to 5 pm, and the site FAQ answers more.
Call (650) 404-7049In many Bay Area cities, up to 4 feet measured from the bottom of the footing, as long as nothing above the wall adds load. Unincorporated Contra Costa County stops at 3 feet, and San Jose requires permits above 2 feet. We confirm the limit for your address before designing the wall.
A surcharge is any extra load above the wall besides level soil: a slope rising behind it, a driveway, a parked car, a building or a fence. It pushes harder on the wall, so most city exemptions do not apply when a surcharge is present and the wall needs a permit and engineering.
On many slopes, terraced short walls work better. Each wall holds less soil, the drainage is simpler, and walls under the local height limit may avoid engineering, as long as the terraces are spaced so one does not load the next. The right answer depends on the slope and the city rules.
A block wall built on a compacted base with working drainage can last for decades, because the blocks themselves rarely fail. Walls usually fail early from water pressure or a weak base, not from the material, which is why drainage and the first course get the most attention on our jobs.
Yes, and on a slope that is often the best plan. The wall creates the level space, and the patio, steps or turf go on top of it. Planning them together means one excavation, one drainage system and grades that work for all of it.
Call or text (650) 404-7049, Monday to Saturday, 9 am to 5 pm, or send photos of the slope, a rough height and length and what sits above it through the free estimate form. You get a written, itemized wall estimate within 24 hours of the photos or the site visit.
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