Retaining Walls in Fletcher, NC
Walls that hold, and drain.
Fletcher grew faster than almost anywhere in Henderson County, and most of it was built on cut-and-fill lots. Twenty years on, the banks and the builder walls that came with those lots are showing it. McKinley rebuilds them in block or boulders, with the drainage behind them that should have been there the first time.
- Free on-site estimates
- Owner-run by McKinley
- WNC & Upstate SC
Retaining walls in Fletcher
A subdivision town on rolling ground
Fletcher sits on the north edge of Henderson County, between the airport and Hendersonville along US-25, with I-26 crossing its west side. The town's own land use plan calls the ground gently rolling, from about 1,900 feet along Cane Creek up to 2,200 feet at the Asheville line. The steeper pockets are toward the Burney Mountain ridge.
The population went from under 3,000 in 1990 to over 7,000 by 2010, and nearly all of that was subdivisions. Rolling ground gets flattened lot by lot: cut on the high side, fill on the low side. The cut side became a bank, and that bank got a timber wall or nothing.
The builder wall that is giving up
The most common call in Fletcher is a landscape-timber or small block wall from the original build that has started to lean, bulge or spill dirt. It was built to the height of the cut and no more, usually with no drainage behind it, and the soil behind it has been wet for two decades.
McKinley takes the old wall out, cuts the bank back to sound ground and builds a new wall on the same line. Segmental block suits most subdivision lots because the runs are short and the access is tight. Behind it goes clean stone, perforated pipe at the base and an outlet, so water passes through instead of pushing.
Garage cuts and the bank behind the house
Plenty of Fletcher houses have a basement or garage cut into the slope, with the bank a few feet off the back wall. When that bank slumps, dirt ends up against the house and water goes with it. It shows up as a wet basement corner or a crawlspace that never dries.
A wall there needs more than block. The drainage behind it has to carry water past the house to somewhere lower, and the ground between wall and house has to fall away from the foundation. If the yard itself is holding water, yard drainage in Fletcher covers that part of the job.
Working on a small lot
A subdivision lot in Fletcher is often narrow, with the only route to the back yard between the house and the fence. The mini excavator fits through most of those gaps. Where it does not, the wall is built by hand from material carried in, which is slower but gets done.
The old wall, the spoil from cutting the bank back and anything else in the way goes out in the dump truck. If a shed, deck or old slab is sitting where the wall has to go, demolition in Fletcher takes it down in the same visit. The ground gets graded back so the yard is usable when he leaves.
Permits, engineering and locates
Fletcher is an incorporated town with its own planning and zoning staff and a stormwater ordinance. Henderson County's Site Development office runs erosion control inside the town as the delegated agency. A wall above a certain height needs an engineer's design and a permit, and McKinley tells you when yours is one. Anything near Cane Creek, Hooper's Creek or the French Broad may be in a mapped flood hazard area, which changes what can be built.
NC811 asks for three working days before digging so member utilities can mark their lines. Private lines are not marked, so point them out.
What a wall costs in Fletcher
The number depends on length and height, block versus boulder, and how much old wall and bank has to come out. How far the machine has to travel to reach the spot matters too. Drainage behind the wall and hauling are in the figure, not added later.
The estimate is free and on site, and it takes about half an hour. McKinley measures the bank, checks the access and looks at where the water behind it can go. The retaining wall cost guide explains what moves the price, and the main retaining wall page shows how M&S builds them.
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
Call or text McKinley with the wall's rough length and height and what it is doing. He comes out, looks at the bank and gives you a number.
Call nowWhat that covers
- Block walls. Segmental block for short runs on subdivision lots, drainage behind.
- Boulder walls. Stacked stone for taller cuts and banks along a drive.
- Builder walls replaced. Leaning timber and small block walls taken out and rebuilt on the same line.
- Banks behind houses. Walls at a garage or basement cut, with water carried past the foundation.
Fletcher, NC
Between Asheville and Hendersonville along US-25 and the airport, with flat French Broad bottomland and new neighborhoods on the hills either side.
Town pageAlso in FletcherDemolition in Fletcher, NC
See the pageAlso in FletcherYard Drainage & French Drains in Fletcher, NC
See the pageAlso in FletcherGravel Driveway Installation in Fletcher, 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 pageFletcher and the towns nearby
Fletcher runs into Arden at the county line, and the lots on either side are the same: cut, filled and twenty years old. McKinley builds walls in Arden and south in Hendersonville as well, and on the steeper ground around Asheville and up the valleys beyond it. The Fletcher and Arden service area page lists everything M&S does along US-25, from drives and pads to drainage and clearing, and the full service area page covers the rest of Western North Carolina and the Upstate.
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.
Do I need a permit for a retaining wall in Fletcher?
Fletcher is an incorporated town, so the town's planning and zoning office is the place to ask, with Henderson County's Site Development office handling erosion control. Walls above a certain height need an engineer and a permit, and McKinley tells you when yours is one.
My timber wall from the original build is leaning. Can it be fixed?
It is nearly always replaced rather than repaired. The old wall comes out, the bank is cut back, and a block or boulder wall goes in on the same line with stone and pipe behind it. That is the most common wall job in Fletcher.
Can you get a machine into a narrow subdivision back yard?
Usually. The mini excavator fits through most side-yard gaps. Where it cannot, the wall is built from material carried in by hand. The access gets checked on the free estimate.
Is my lot in a floodplain?
Lots near Cane Creek, Hooper's Creek, Kimsey Creek and the French Broad can be in a mapped flood hazard area, and the town has a flood hazard ordinance. If yours is, ask before any fill goes in. The county's flood maps show the lines.
What does a retaining wall cost in Fletcher?
Length, height, material, how much has to come out and how far the machine has to travel set the price. You get one figure, free, with the drainage and hauling included.
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 Fletcher.
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 Fletcher?
Call or text McKinley. He walks the ground before he gives you a price.