Retaining walls · Williamsport, PA

Retaining walls in Williamsport.

We build segmental block retaining walls in Williamsport and the hillside neighborhoods around it, from 2-foot garden walls to terraced walls that turn a steep bank into usable yard. Our Garden Wall package sets the block on a buried base course with drainage stone, fabric and perforated pipe behind it.

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Clean 2B stone leveling pad
Drainage stone and fabric behind block
Geogrid on walls that need it
Price in writing before we dig

Excavator and crew building a block retaining wall

Hillsides on both sides of the river.

Williamsport’s north-side hills and the streets that climb toward Bald Eagle Mountain in South Williamsport leave a lot of yards with a bank to hold back. A block wall turns that bank into a level bed, a flat patio area or a safer path to the door.

The Garden Wall for Williamsport covers single walls from 30 feet long and 2 feet tall up to 50 feet long and 4 feet tall. For a steep bank, the Terraced Wall Garden splits the slope between two stepped-back walls, each with caps, and links the tiers with paver steps.

The Walk and Garden Wall combines a paver walkway along the house with a low, capped block wall that holds the planting bed. You can see a finished wall on our Montoursville retaining wall project page.

Block retaining wall with stone steps set into it — Block retaining wall with stone steps

What holds a wall up.

A segmental wall stands on what’s under it and drains through what’s behind it. Our Garden Wall package starts with a clean 2B stone leveling pad and a buried base course, then a drainage zone behind the block: drainage stone, fabric and a perforated pipe to carry water out.

Geogrid goes in where the height calls for it, and every package wall gets caps. Above 4 feet, a wall generally needs an engineer’s design, as our guide to walls over 4 feet explains.

The Lock Haven retaining wall page has more on how we build walls, and our retaining wall cost guide helps with budgeting.

Geogrid layer laid behind a block retaining wall — Geogrid behind a block retaining wall

Slopes, soil and wall rules around Williamsport.

What’s under the yard decides how hard the dig is and what the wall needs. The soil notes come from the USDA soil survey; the rules come from each town.

North-side hills

On Williamsport’s north-side hills the soil survey maps Berks and Hartleton channery silt loams with bedrock about 3 to 4 feet down, and on steep slopes Weikert and Klinesville soils with bedrock as shallow as about 15 inches. Shale can turn up in wall excavations.

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Older city blocks

Much of central Williamsport is mapped as Urban land, meaning the original soil was cut, filled or paved over. Expect mixed fill under yards in the older parts of the city.

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South Williamsport slopes

In South Williamsport, up the slope toward Bald Eagle Mountain, the soil map turns to very stony loams and sandy loams, some on 25 to 80 percent slopes. Hillside lots there mean rock, boulders and steep grades.

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Wall permits in Montoursville

Any masonry or retaining wall 4 feet or taller needs a UCC building permit in Montoursville, which the homeowner obtains and pays for.

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Creek banks in Montoursville

CKCOG, Montoursville’s code office, says that where no detailed flood study exists, the floodway is the stream channel plus 50 feet landward from the top of each bank. Fill that would divert flood water onto neighbors is prohibited.

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Rules change. Check with the township or borough before you plan around them; we go over what we know at the site walk.

Walls going in.

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First course of block on a gravel base, set to a string line

Two of our crew stacking wall block on a hillside

Retaining wall guides.

Questions.

When does a retaining wall need a permit around Williamsport?

That depends on the municipality and the wall’s height. Montoursville requires a UCC building permit for any masonry or retaining wall 4 feet or taller; inside the city, start with the Bureau of Codes. Any permit that applies is yours to obtain and pay for, and we go over what we know about it on the site walk.

How tall can a block wall be without an engineer?

The cutoff is 4 feet. A taller wall generally needs an engineer’s design, and our Garden Wall package covers walls 2 to 4 feet tall, with geogrid where the height calls for it.

Will a wall dig on Williamsport’s north side hit shale?

It can. The soil survey maps bedrock about 3 to 4 feet down on the north-side hills, and as shallow as about 15 inches on steep slopes. We dig with our own Wacker Neuson EZ36 mini excavator and rent a larger machine if the rock calls for one.

Why put a perforated pipe behind the block?

It drains the water that soaks into the soil behind the wall. Trapped water pushes on the block and freezes in winter, so our Garden Wall and Terraced Wall Garden packages put a perforated pipe in drainage stone and fabric behind the block to carry it out.

Can I build a wall near a creek or the river?

Check the floodplain rules first. In Montoursville, CKCOG treats the stream channel plus 50 feet back from the top of each bank as floodway when no detailed study exists, and fill that would push flood water onto neighbors is prohibited. Your municipal office can tell you whether your lot is mapped.