Retaining Walls and Slope Repair in Arden, NC
Hold the yard where it was.
Arden is flatter than most of Buncombe County, which is why it filled up with subdivisions, but the lots along the ridges off Sweeten Creek and toward Avery Creek are anything but flat. Walk-out basements, drives cut into the hill, back yards that end in a bank. McKinley builds the walls that hold those cuts, with drainage behind them.
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Retaining Walls in Arden
Flat in the middle, steep at the edges
Arden sits in the French Broad valley between Skyland and Fletcher. The flat ground along Hendersonville Road is where the 1950s and 60s ranches of Royal Pines and Oak Forest went. The subdivisions built since 2000, which are more than a third of the houses here, went up the sides of the valley. That is where the walls are.
A walk-out basement cut into the hill. A drive that climbs to the garage with a bank on one side. A back yard graded flat for twenty feet that then drops to the lot below. Those banks were left raw, or held with a wall that had no drain, and after a wet winter they are moving.
The back yard that ends in a bank
In Arden's newer subdivisions the common wall is at the back of the lot, where the builder's grading stops and the slope to the next street begins. The yard is slumping over the edge, the fence posts are leaning, and the neighbor below is getting the mud.
A block wall at the toe of that slope holds the lot where it was drawn. Stone and pipe go behind it, and the yard is regraded to drain toward a swale rather than over the edge. McKinley builds it so the water that used to run over the bank now runs along the top of the wall and out to a real outlet.
Walk-outs and drive cuts
A walk-out basement means a cut on three sides of the house. The builder's wall at the side of that cut is often the first thing on the lot to fail. The same goes for the uphill side of a drive that climbs to the garage.
These are walls close to the house and close to the property line, which is where engineering and setbacks come into it. A wall holding up a drive or a parking area carries the weight of the cars above it. The North Carolina Residential Code can call for an engineered design on that even at modest height. He says when a wall is there and builds to the drawings.
Drainage is most of it
Arden's red clay holds water, and the valley lots get the runoff from the ridges above. A wall without a drain is a dam. Every wall he builds has a compacted base below grade, drainage stone and fabric behind the courses, and a perforated pipe at the bottom running to daylight.
On the lots where the basement is wet as well as the bank, the wall drain ties into a French drain around the house. Both problems get fixed with one trench. The sloped lot guide explains why the water matters more than the stone.
Permits in unincorporated Buncombe
Arden is not a town, so most lots are under Buncombe County Permits and Inspections on Woodfin Street in Asheville. Some addresses near the city line fall under Asheville's zoning instead. The county's retaining wall ordinance applies to wall systems with more than ten feet of cumulative height. Those need a certificate of compliance from county planning, a building permit and an engineer's sign-off.
Below that height the residential code still governs, and a wall on a property line or under a drive can need engineering regardless. Most Arden subdivisions also have an HOA that wants to approve the wall and its materials. NC811 marks the utilities three working days after the request, and subdivision lots have plenty of them.
Pricing the wall, and what goes with it
McKinley comes out and looks at the bank from above and below, and gives one figure with stone, drainage and finish grading in it. Height and length matter most. Access through a side yard between two houses matters nearly as much, and the mini excavator is often the machine for Arden.
Where an old patio or a slab sits on top of the failing bank, taking it out first is usually cheaper than building around it. The main retaining walls page shows how a wall goes up, and the cost guide covers what moves the number.
Retaining Walls
Block, boulder and riprap walls that hold a cut bank up, with drainage behind them so they stay.
See the serviceTalk to McKinley(828) 540-6856
A photo of the bank from the lot below and one from the yard. McKinley sizes the machine to the side yard and gives one number.
Call nowWhat that covers
- Back-lot walls. The drop at the end of a graded yard held, and the yard drained.
- Walk-out basement cuts. Side walls beside a basement cut rebuilt with a drain behind.
- Drive-side banks. The uphill cut of a climbing drive held with block or boulder.
- Failed builder walls. Leaning no-drain walls taken down and rebuilt on a base.
Arden, NC
South Asheville along Hendersonville Road and Sweeten Creek, dense with subdivisions from the 1970s on and newer ones on every side road toward the airport.
Town pageAlso in ArdenDemolition in Arden, NC
See the pageAlso in ArdenConcrete Removal in Arden, NC
See the pageAlso in ArdenYard Drainage & French Drains in Arden, NC
See the pageThe serviceRetaining Walls
Block, boulder and riprap walls that hold a cut bank up, with drainage behind them so they stay.
Main service pageArden and the towns nearby
Arden runs into Skyland on the north and Fletcher on the south, and McKinley builds walls in all three. He does the same work in Asheville up Hendersonville Road and in Hendersonville down I-26, with Fletcher and Mills River in between. Biltmore Park, Avery Creek and the streets off Long Shoals Road are all close. The Fletcher and Arden page covers the rest of what he does along the corridor.
You get McKinley. Not a crew he sent.
You call
You call or text. McKinley comes out and looks at the job with you, on the ground, rather than pricing it off a photograph.
A number first
You get one figure before anything starts, with the hauling and the finish grading in it.
He runs the machine
Then he shows up and runs the machine himself.
Ground left usable
Voids get filled, water is given a way out, and the ground is left so you can build, pour or seed.
Photos of his work.
These are photographs from actual jobs. See more recent work. Or read about the full retaining walls service.
Questions people ask
Not seeing yours? Call (828) 540-6856 and ask McKinley, or read the guides.
Who handles retaining wall permits in Arden?
Arden is unincorporated, so for most lots it is Buncombe County Permits and Inspections on Woodfin Street in Asheville. A few addresses near the city line fall under Asheville's zoning, so check which covers yours. The county's own wall ordinance starts at more than ten feet of cumulative height.
The back of my yard is slumping onto the neighbor's lot. What is the fix?
A wall at the toe of the slope with drainage behind it, and the yard above regraded so water runs to a swale instead of over the edge. The slump is usually water, not weight, so the drain matters as much as the block. McKinley looks at where the water is coming from before he sizes the wall.
Does my HOA need to approve the wall?
In most Arden subdivisions, yes. Check the covenants before the design is settled. McKinley can tell you the wall's height, length and material so you have what the architectural committee usually asks for, and he builds it to match what they approve.
Can you get a machine into a subdivision back yard?
Usually. The mini excavator fits through most side yards, and a fence panel can come out for the job. Block and stone are carried in rather than dumped across the lawn. Where there is truly no access, the wall is built by hand from the back, and the price reflects the extra time.
Does the wall beside my driveway need an engineer?
It might, even if it is not tall. A wall holding up a drive carries the weight of the cars on it, and the residential code can call for an engineered design on that. He tells you on the first visit whether your wall is there, and if so the design comes first and the permit follows it.
Other work he takes on
Most jobs end up being two or three of these at once, and they get quoted together.
Retaining Walls in other towns
Gravel Driveways
A new drive cut into the hill, based in lifts and crowned to shed water.
Learn moreDriveway Repair & Grading
Washouts, ruts and potholes fixed at the cause, not just regraded.
Learn moreDrainage & Erosion Control
French drains, catch basins, culverts and riprap so the property sheds water.
Learn moreRetaining Walls
Block, boulder and riprap walls that hold a cut bank up.
Learn moreLand Clearing
Lots, building sites and overgrown acreage cleared, stumps and root mat out.
Learn moreHouse Pads & Site Prep
Pads cut, filled and compacted on ground that started at anything but level.
Learn moreFree estimate in Arden.
Where it is, how long the drive is, how steep it gets and what it is doing now. We come out, walk it, and give you a real number.
- Free on-site estimates across WNC and the Upstate
- One crew from clearing through to the last load of stone
- Drainage designed in, not sold to you afterwards
Need retaining wall work in Arden?
Call or text McKinley. He walks the ground before he gives you a price.