- New retaining walls. Brick, stone and masonry walls that hold back soil, level a sloped yard or create raised beds and terraces.
- Retaining wall repair. Brick repair, brick repointing and tuckpointing, replacing loose or broken brick and stone, and fixing cracked or bulging sections.
- Retaining wall rebuilding. Taking down and rebuilding walls, or sections of walls, that have leaned or failed, reusing the original brick or stone where it's sound.
- Front yard and sidewalk walls. The low brick walls that hold up raised front yards along many older Richmond streets.
- Garden walls and steps. Retaining walls built together with brick or stone steps, patios and walkways.
- Commercial retaining walls. Masonry walls for commercial properties.
Why Retaining Walls Fail
A retaining wall carries a constant load: the weight of the soil behind it. When that soil gets wet, it gets much heavier and pushes harder. Most retaining wall problems come down to water and what's under the wall.
- Poor drainage. If water can't get out from behind the wall, pressure builds up. This is the most common cause of walls bulging or leaning.
- Weak or missing footing. A wall without a solid base below it can settle, crack and tip forward over time.
- Freeze-thaw damage. Water in the mortar joints freezes, expands and pushes the brick or stone apart. Each winter makes the damage a little worse.
- Worn mortar. On older walls, the mortar slowly washes out, letting brick and stone loosen.
- Tree roots. Roots can push walls out of line and crack footings.
- Spalling brick. Brick that stays wet from the soil behind it can flake and break down, especially if it was laid in hard cement mortar.
Warning signs include leaning or bulging, cracks that are growing, loose or missing brick or stone, soil washing out through the joints, and water pooling at the base of the wall. A leaning wall rarely fixes itself, so it's worth getting it looked at early.
Retaining Walls Built the Old Way, in Brick, Stone and Lime
The old front walls and garden walls around the Fan, Church Hill and Bellevue have been holding back soil for a century or more, and most of them were laid in lime mortar. A retaining wall is wet more often than any wall on the house, with soil and rain against the back and frost in the joints. Lime handles that. It's softer and more breathable than the brick or stone, so the wall can dry out through its joints, and it takes up small movement without cracking the brick.
Hard cement does the opposite. It holds the water in, and the faces of soft old brick flake off in a few winters. That's why so many old walls patched in gray cement look worse than the ones nobody touched.
On historic walls we repoint and rebuild in a lime mortar matched to the wall, strong enough for a wet, exposed spot and still breathable. Natural stone gets the same care: wide joints packed full and matched to the original. A taller new wall that carries a driveway or a building needs an engineered design, and we'll tell you plainly when yours does.
How We Build and Repair Retaining Walls
- Site visit. We look at the wall or the slope, the soil, how water runs across the yard, and what's nearby, such as the house, a sidewalk or trees. Then we explain the options and give you a free written estimate.
- Planning. We agree on the size, the materials and the look of the wall, and how it will tie into the steps, patios or brick around it.
- Excavation and footing. We dig out to firm ground and prepare a solid footing or base for the wall to sit on.
- Drainage. We plan for water to get out from behind the wall, so it doesn't build up pressure.
- Building the wall. We lay brick or stone level and true, every joint well filled and tooled, the way walls were built when they were meant to last a lifetime. On older properties, we use a lime mix traditional mortar so new work suits the existing brick.
- Repairs and repointing. On existing walls, we cut out failed mortar with diamond-tip grinding blades, replace damaged brick or stone, and repoint with mortar matched to the original. Learn more on our Repointing & Tuckpointing page.
- Clean-up. We backfill, tidy the area and leave your property clean and tidy.
Larger or taller walls, and walls that hold up a driveway, a building or a public sidewalk, may need a permit or an engineered design. Check with your city or county early in the planning.
Why It Matters in the Fan and Richmond's Historic Neighborhoods
In the Fan, Museum District, Church Hill, Jackson Ward, Oregon Hill and Bellevue, many homes sit a few steps above the sidewalk behind a low brick wall. These walls are often as old as the houses. They were laid in soft lime mortar, and after decades of rain, freezing winters and tree roots, many are leaning or losing mortar.
Repairing them takes the same care as repairing the house. This is historic brick repair: new mortar and replacement bricks are color-matched to the originals, the joint style is matched too, and hard cement mortar is avoided, because it can crack old brick. Our Historic Brick Restoration page covers this work in more depth. Done right, in matched brick and lime, a repaired wall looks like it has always been there and keeps holding the yard for decades. Parts of Richmond are designated City Old and Historic Districts, where visible exterior work can need approval. If your home is in one, check with the City of Richmond before rebuilding a front wall.
On hillier lots in Windsor Farms, Westover Hills, Forest Hill, Ginter Park and Northside, retaining walls are often what makes a sloping yard usable at all.
Areas We Serve
We build and repair retaining walls throughout Richmond, VA, including the Fan, Museum District, Church Hill, Jackson Ward, Oregon Hill, Monument Ave, Windsor Farms, Bellevue, Ginter Park, Shockoe Bottom, Manchester, Scott's Addition, Carytown, Westover Hills, Forest Hill and Northside. We also serve Henrico, Chesterfield, Hanover, Goochland and Powhatan.
Why Heritage Masonry & Brick
- Winner of the 2026 Quality Business Award for The Best Masonry in Richmond, Virginia
- A family of traditional masons
- Over 25 years of experience
- Licensed and insured in Virginia
- 5-year guarantee on labor and materials
- Brick, stone and stucco
- Mortar and brick color matching on older walls
- We leave your property clean and tidy
- Open 7 days a week, 8am to 6pm
Frequently Asked Questions
My retaining wall is leaning. Can it be repaired, or does it need rebuilding?
It depends on how far it has moved and why. A wall that's sound but has worn mortar can often be repointed and repaired. A wall that's leaning or bulging badly usually needs the affected section taken down and rebuilt on a proper footing with drainage. We'll look at it and explain the options.
What is the best material for a retaining wall in Richmond?
Brick and natural stone both work well when they're built properly. On older homes, brick or stone that matches the house usually looks best. The right choice depends on the height of the wall, the look you want and what's around it.
Why is drainage so important?
Wet soil is much heavier than dry soil, and water trapped behind a wall pushes against it. Giving that water a way out is one of the most important parts of building a wall that lasts.
Can you match the brick on my old front wall?
Yes. We match the brick, mortar color and joint style as closely as possible. We use a lime mix traditional mortar on older walls, which suits the original brick.
Do I need a permit for a retaining wall?
Sometimes. It depends on the height of the wall, what it holds up, and your city or county rules. Historic district approval can also apply in parts of Richmond. Check with your locality before work begins.
Do you give free estimates?
Yes. Call (804) 324-6304 and we'll arrange a visit and give you a free written estimate.
A wall that holds back earth gets no second chances. Build the footing, the drainage and the joints right, and it holds. If you want the job done right the first time, look no further. We'd rather do it once, the old way, than come back in a few years to fix somebody's shortcut. The National Park Service's guidance on repointing historic masonry (Preservation Brief 2) says a well-done repointing job should last at least 30 years, and preferably 50 to 100. Historic England warns that hard, cement-rich mortar on old brick traps moisture and speeds up the decay of the brick around it. So we choose our lime mortar to suit the wall, fill the joints properly and let them cure slowly. Work built to last decades.
Call for a Free Retaining Wall Estimate
New wall or a leaning old one, call Thomas and the family at (804) 324-6304. We're open 7 days a week, 8am to 6pm, and every job comes with a 5-year guarantee on labor and materials.
Heritage Masonry & Brick
600 E Cary St, Richmond, VA 23219
(804) 324-6304
