Need a wall to hold back a slope or close in your yard? We build block walls on a solid footing with steel inside.
A concrete block wall in Santa Barbara is a masonry wall that either holds back soil as a retaining wall or stands on its own to close in a yard, and we build both from the footing up.
Most calls start with a slope creeping into the yard, a property line that needs a solid edge, or a spot for a raised bed. A wall that holds back soil needs a wider footing and steel inside it, so the first thing I sort out is which kind you need. The same block often forms the base of outdoor kitchen masonry, and a wall under a house is our foundation block wall installation work.
The price moves mostly with the wall's length and height and whether it holds back soil. The schedule turns on whether the city wants a permit, so we find out which office covers your address before anything starts. At the estimate you get a price for your wall and a plain account of what it needs underground.
Tell us roughly how long and tall the wall should be and whether it holds back soil. We'll set a time for me to come see the spot.
I look at the slope, the grade and any driveway nearby, and walk you through the footing and steel your wall needs. You get a price for your own wall, so you know the cost before you decide anything.
If the city wants a permit, we handle the application, meet the inspector and tell you up front how the review time fits the schedule. Then our crew digs and pours the footing, sets the steel and lays the block, and I'm on the job with them.
Before we pack up, we walk the wall with you and go over anything you want a second look at. We leave the yard cleaned up behind us.
A block wall is mostly about the parts you can't see once it's done. On a retaining wall, the concrete footing keeps the wall from tipping over or sliding as the soil pushes on it, and steel set upright in the block cores takes that push. Grout poured into some or all of the cores adds strength on top of that. Get those right and the face of the wall is the easy part.
Where the wall sits on your lot matters as much as how it's built. The city's fence and wall guidelines keep anything taller than three and a half feet out of the corner on each side of a driveway that you look past when backing out, so a wall there may need a lower section. If a wall goes on top of a retaining wall, the part of the retaining wall above finished grade counts toward the total height.
What our block wall work covers:
If an older wall has a few cracked blocks or tired mortar, a repair usually does the job and costs far less than starting over. If a retaining wall is leaning or has slid, the trouble is usually down in the footing or the steel, and patching the face won't reach it. Then rebuilding is usually the honest answer, because a new footing and new steel are what get the wall holding the soil again.
The biggest cost is often below ground. A retaining wall needs a wider, deeper footing and more steel and grout than a freestanding garden wall of the same size, and a taller wall needs more of all three. Then come the site things. A steep yard means more digging and hauling, tight access slows the crew, a wall that steps down beside a driveway adds work, and a permit adds the application and an inspection. A surface coating or sealer adds to it too.
I grew up on a farm where you fixed a fence so it stayed fixed, and I learned masonry beside older masons before starting C&D in Santa Barbara in 2017. I still build that way, for the wall in front of me rather than the fastest way through it.
I'll explain what your wall needs and why, and if something can wait, I'll tell you so instead of selling you work you don't need. We keep your yard tidy, work around your plants and driveway, and I'm on the job with the crew. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
Call (805) 456-2871 with the wall's length, planned height and the slope of your yard, and we can talk the job through on that first call.
Tell us the wall's length, planned height, whether it holds back soil and any driveway nearby. Expect a reply within one business day, then I come out for a free estimate, no obligation.
A residential block wall over four feet needs a permit from the city's Building & Safety Counter, and that four feet runs from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, so a wall that looks about three feet tall can already be over. The city's exemption for shorter walls also ends if the wall carries extra weight from above, like a driveway near its top, holds back flammable liquids, or sits on a slope of 20% or steeper, which can decide it on a sloped Santa Barbara yard. We're licensed and fully insured, and we handle the permit side when one's needed.
Across the US, installing a concrete block wall usually costs about $16 to $19 per square foot. That's a national figure, not our price, and a retaining wall, a steep yard or a permit can push a Santa Barbara job away from it. I'll give you the price for your own wall when I come out to look at it.
General masonry guidance recommends a water repellent on a block wall that's one block thick and sits out in the weather, and surface repellents need reapplying after some years. A wall that's dry-stacked and coated on both faces with a surface bonding material also keeps rain out very well. When your wall is done, I'll talk with you about a sealer and when to redo it.
No, that white powder is efflorescence, and it can look bad but doesn't affect how the wall holds up. It usually shows up during or soon after the build, and in rainy spells or heavy fog it should be expected on a wall without a protective coating.
Either can make a good wall, because the footing and steel matter more than how the blocks are joined. General masonry guidance says dry-stacking block without mortar and then coating both faces with a surface bonding material goes up faster, relies less on the mason's skill and resists rain very well. On the estimate I'll tell you which one I'd use for your wall and why.
Yes, we're based in Santa Barbara and build block walls in the cities around it, from Goleta and Isla Vista along the coast to Montecito, Carpinteria and Ventura, and in other nearby cities too. The height and permit rules on this page are the City of Santa Barbara's, so before work starts we find out which office covers your address and what it asks for.
We're based in Santa Barbara and build block walls in Goleta, Montecito and the other cities below. Pick yours, or call if you don't see it listed.
