Retaining Wall Installation in Valley Park
This retaining wall and paver installation in Valley Park started with a small concrete pad off the back of the house and a row of large boulders holding the hill beside it. We cut into the hillside, built a curved segmental retaining wall with caps and steps, and laid pavers off the existing concrete out to the new wall.
A Small Patio Boxed In by Loose Boulders
The patio behind this Valley Park home was a small concrete pad by the deck stairs, with the grill taking up a good part of it. The yard rises into a grassy hillside right beside it. With the slope that close, there was no way to make the patio bigger without moving into the hill.
The homeowners wanted a larger patio they could actually use, with room for the grill and space to sit. That meant two jobs: holding the hillside back with a real retaining wall, and laying pavers into the space the wall opened up.
Loose Boulders Acting as an Old Retaining Wall
The only thing holding the bottom of this Valley Park hillside was a row of large boulders. They were set loose along the slope, with gaps between them and soil and grass showing through. They weren’t a built wall, and they sat right on the ground the bigger patio needed. They had to come out.
Building a Segmental Retaining Wall With Caps and Steps
We removed the boulders that were acting as the old wall and cut back into the hillside to make room. In their place we built a curved retaining wall of segmental block, concrete units that stack and lock without mortar, on a compacted gravel base. Like all the segmental retaining walls we build, it has drainage behind it.
Caps finish the top of the wall. Where the wall climbs with the hill, we built block steps into it so the homeowners can walk up the slope instead of scrambling up the grass. Then we graded the hillside above the wall and spread fresh topsoil over it.
Laying Pavers Out to the New Wall
The original concrete patio stayed. We laid pavers right off the edge of the existing slab and out to the new wall, on a compacted gravel base, with polymeric sand in the joints. Keeping a sound slab and building onto it is one way paver patio contractors can give you a bigger patio without starting over.
Between the new patio and the curved wall, a border of river rock finishes the edge. We planted arborvitae along the patio edge, where they’ll grow into a green line between the patio and the yard.
The completed project included:
- Removal of the large boulders that were acting as the old wall
- Excavation into the hillside behind the new patio
- A curved segmental block retaining wall on a compacted gravel base, with drainage behind it and caps on top
- Block steps built into the wall for access up the hill
- Pavers laid off the existing concrete patio, on a compacted gravel base with polymeric sand joints
- A river rock border between the patio and the wall
- Grading and topsoil on the hillside above the wall, and arborvitae along the patio edge
A Bigger Patio Held by a Real Retaining Wall
The patio behind this Valley Park home now runs from the original concrete out to the new curved wall. The grill has its spot, and there’s room left over to set up chairs. The hill that used to crowd the patio is held back by capped segmental block instead of loose boulders, with steps to walk up it.
Also in Valley Park, another family’s concrete slab was too small to keep, so we broke it out and installed a Unilock paver patio. Here the slab was sound, so we kept it and built the wall and pavers around it.
Is the Hill Behind Your Patio Holding You Back?
If your patio feels too small and the slope behind it is the reason, a retaining wall that holds the hill back further is usually what makes room. Look at what’s holding your slope now: loose rock, old timbers or bare soil. For homes in Valley Park and the communities we serve across St. Louis County, we’ll walk it with you.