The part of the wall nobody photographs
Retaining wall drainage and footings are what people search after a wall fails. They're also what should have been in the first quote. A wall is a dam unless water can leave. A wall is a stack of pretty rock unless it sits on something that doesn't settle.
We build both on every new wall. We also retrofit them on walls that are already moving. That's often cheaper than a full rebuild, and it's the only repair that addresses why the wall moved.
What a real drain looks like
Perforated pipe at the base, sloped to an outlet. Clear crushed rock around it, not native clay. Filter fabric so fines don't clog the rock. Weep holes or a chimney drain on taller walls. Then the pipe has to go somewhere. Daylight at a lower point, or a legal tie-in. A drain that dead-ends in the hill is a decoration.
Langley clay makes this non-negotiable. The soil holds water. If you trap that water behind a tight face, the wall becomes a boat.
Footings in a frost climate
The base needs to sit on compacted granular fill, deep enough that frost and soft ground don't rack the first course. A wall built on leftover builder fill in Willoughby will settle even if the stone is beautiful. We excavate until we're on something that deserves a wall, then we build the pad.
Retrofit drainage on a wall that's still standing
If the face is mostly true and the problem is wet, we can excavate behind, install the drain, and backfill with rock. That's a common save. If the footing has already failed, drainage alone won't pull a lean back to plumb. Forge Langley Retaining Wall Contractors will say which job you have before we start digging up the garden.
What's included
- Excavation to proper depth
- Compacted granular footing below frost line
- Perforated weeping tile at the base of the wall
- Free-draining clear crush backfill
- Filter fabric to keep soil out of the drain
- Weep holes and daylight outlets
- Surface grading to shed water away from the wall
When you need drainage & footings
Building a new wall
Drainage and footing are part of every wall we build, never skipped.
A wall that's holding water
If your wall weeps, stains, or pushes after rain, the drainage failed or was never there.
Wet, clay-heavy ground
Langley's clay holds water. On these lots, drainage is everything.
Our process
- 1
Read the water
We figure out where water comes from and where it needs to go.
- 2
Dig and base
Excavate to depth and compact a proper granular footing.
- 3
Drain system
Weeping tile, clear crush, and filter fabric go in behind the wall.
- 4
Daylight it
We run the drain to a proper outlet so water actually leaves.
Why choose Forge Langley Retaining Wall Contractors for this
- The part most crews skimp on, done properly
- Built for Langley's wet, clay-heavy soil
- Retrofit drainage on failing walls
- The reason our walls outlast the cheap ones
Where we build
We build drainage & footings across Langley and the Fraser Valley.
See all areas we serve