Retaining Wall Replacement in Eagan
This homeowner had two failing retaining walls along the side of a home in Eagan, overgrown shrubs, scattered rock, and a bed that had basically lost its structure. The old walls were crumbling and the whole area looked neglected. Not a great situation, especially on a sloped yard where water management matters.
We pulled everything out and started fresh. Both walls were rebuilt using Belgard Diamond Straight block in grey, each running 15 feet long with a total build height of 3 feet. The wall you see curving near the corner was finished with Belgard Diamond Universal Coping. That flat cap gives it a clean, finished look and protects the top course from shifting over time. A retaining wall is only as good as what's underneath it, so we didn't cut corners there either. We dug down 10 inches and packed in clear crushed limestone over reinforcement fabric before a single block went in.
Drainage is where a lot of retaining walls fail - water pressure builds up behind the wall and eventually pushes it out. We ran a drain tile at the base and used clear limestone as the drainage layer behind the wall. We also installed geogrid reinforcement, which ties the wall back into the hillside and keeps it from leaning forward as the ground shifts through Minnesota freeze-thaw cycles.
Once the walls were set, we cleared out all the old vegetation and ground cover from roughly 800 square feet of landscape bed space along the side of the house and behind the garage. New vinyl edging went in around the perimeter, separation fabric was laid down under the rock, and we placed St. Cloud Granite throughout the beds. The granite rock fills the space cleanly and pairs well with the grey block.
The difference between the before and after is hard to miss. What was a messy, eroding slope with failing walls is now a structured, low-maintenance side yard. Clean beds. Solid walls. Proper drainage. For homeowners in Eagan dealing with similar slope issues along their foundation or garage, this kind of work pays off - both in curb appeal and in protecting the structure of your yard long-term.