--- title: How High Can A Retaining Wall Be Built? description: Less than 4’ without a permit or engineering, and almost as high as needed with professional engineering and a city permit. image: https://back40landscaping.ca/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/20120911-expocrete-location-shots-0001-scaled-1-1.jpg --- 1 Min Read # How High Can A Retaining Wall Be Built? Feb. 24, 2022 If we haven’t met before allow us to introduce ourselves. We are Back 40 Landscaping and our expertise is in retaining walls and hardscaping. We also like to bring education to those looking for retaining wall solutions. ![allan-block-retaining-wall-with-flower-beds](https://back40landscaping.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/retaining-wall-holding-up-garden-with-shrubs-plants-and-trees-Nov-16-2024-08-12-05-6204-AM.webp?width=960&height=770&name=retaining-wall-holding-up-garden-with-shrubs-plants-and-trees-Nov-16-2024-08-12-05-6204-AM.webp) ## How High Can Retaining Walls Be Built?  The simple is you can build a retaining wall that is less than 4’ without a permit or engineering, and almost as high as needed with professional engineering and a city permit. There are some caveats though! To fully understand how high you can build a retaining wall, we need to understand  3 main factors. **The 3 main factors are city building requirements, the type of soil on site, and the retaining wall block manufacture specifications.** Most cities in the Fraser Valley allow walls under 3.9’ to be built without a permit or engineering. If the wall is over 3.9’  a building permit and engineering are required. Some cities also have a bylaw stating that you can’t build a large wall if it doesn’t fit with the neighbourhood. The 2nd factor is the onsite soil type. Soils that are heavy clay retain water, and are very heavy. This may mean that structural precautions and overbuilding may be a really good idea, even on a smaller wall under 4’ in height. **You may want to build a wall to an engineered standard even if it is not required.** The 3rd factor is closely related to the site soils. Manufactures like Allan block have a chart that says the wall height for common applications. These wall heights can be as low as 13” tall when they start to require additional structural components. To summarize, there are a lot of influences and factors that set the maximum wall height. Some retaining walls can be simple and built to a height of 4’, while others will need some structural support for walls that are only 13” tall. For every retaining wall you should at least consider what forces will be applied to this wall, as it will need to stand up to them for a lifetime. Tags: [Retaining Walls](https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/tag/retaining-walls) ![back 40 landscaping retaining cost guide in abbotsford, bc (1)](https://back40landscaping.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Foundation%20Images/back%2040%20landscaping%20retaining%20cost%20guide%20in%20abbotsford%2c%20bc%20(1).png?width=400&height=400&name=back%2040%20landscaping%20retaining%20cost%20guide%20in%20abbotsford%2c%20bc%20(1).png) ## Planning Your Project? Get the Cost Insights You Need - Accurate price ranges for popular landscaping services - Tips to help you budget effectively and avoid surprises - Features and materials for your project [Access Your Cost Guide double_arrow ](https://back40landscaping.ca/landscaping-retaining-wall-cost-guide) ## Related Articles [![](https://back40landscaping.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/1-20221017_171719-copy-scaled.jpg?width=352&name=1-20221017_171719-copy-scaled.jpg) ](https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/retaining-wall-engineering-and-permits) ### [Retaining Wall Engineering and Permits](https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/retaining-wall-engineering-and-permits) [Retaining Walls](https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/tag/retaining-walls) Understanding when retaining wall engineering and permits are required can be a little confusing. Keeping this in mind I’ll do my best to explain the differences, and the... [![](https://back40landscaping.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/EXPOCRETE_OCT-2020_AB-Metropolitan_Composite_002-1.jpeg?width=352&name=EXPOCRETE_OCT-2020_AB-Metropolitan_Composite_002-1.jpeg) ](https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/before-you-build-your-retaining-wall) ### [What To Consider Before Building A Retaining Wall?](https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/before-you-build-your-retaining-wall) [Retaining Walls](https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/tag/retaining-walls) Retaining walls can bring a ton of curb appeal to any space, and they do the important job of holding back soil, or giving homeowners more coveted yard space.  [![](https://back40landscaping.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Back-40-Landscaping-retaining-walls-1064x7501-24-2.jpg?width=352&name=Back-40-Landscaping-retaining-walls-1064x7501-24-2.jpg) ](https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/why-contractor-would-charge-to-do-site-visit) ### [Why Would A Contractor Charge To Do A Site Visit?](https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/why-contractor-would-charge-to-do-site-visit) [Retaining Walls](https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/tag/retaining-walls) Having a project done at your home can be overwhelming and stressful, especially if you have never done a renovation of any sort before. There is a lot of planning that goes... ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Natasha Maerz", "url" : "https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/author/natasha" }, "dateModified" : "2024-11-26T06:31:51.728Z", "datePublished" : "2022-02-24T21:00:18.000Z", "headline" : "How High Can A Retaining Wall Be Built?", "image" : [ "https://back40landscaping.ca/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/20120911-expocrete-location-shots-0001-scaled-1-1.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://back40landscaping.ca/education-center/retaining-wall-height", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://back40landscaping.ca/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/back-40-landscaping-logo-transparent-3.png" }, "name" : "Back 40 Landscaping" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://back40landscaping.ca/#back40landscaping", "@type" : "LocalBusiness", "address" : { "@type" : "PostalAddress", "addressCountry" : "CA", "addressLocality" : "Abbotsford", "addressRegion" : "BC", "postalCode" : "V4X 1Y5", "streetAddress" : "30353 Sunset Cres" }, "image" : "https://back40landscaping.ca/hubfs/Logo/test/back-40-landscaping-logo-white-transparent.webp", "logo" : "https://back40landscaping.ca/hubfs/Logo/test/back-40-landscaping-logo-white-transparent.webp", "name" : "Back 40 Landscaping", "openingHoursSpecification" : [ { "@type" : "OpeningHoursSpecification", "closes" : "16:30", "dayOfWeek" : [ "Monday" ], "opens" : "08:00" }, { "@type" : "OpeningHoursSpecification", "closes" : "16:30", "dayOfWeek" : [ "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday" ], "opens" : "08:00" }, { "@type" : "OpeningHoursSpecification", "closes" : "12:00", "dayOfWeek" : "Saturday", "opens" : "09:00" } ], "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/back40landscaping.ca/", "https://www.instagram.com/back40landscaping.ca/", "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPBamgRYCxNTbnbCN1ehbGA", "https://www.google.com/search?q=back+40+landscaping&oq=back+40+landsca&aqs=chrome.0.0i512j69i57j46i175i199i512j69i61l3.3447j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#lrd=0x5485cb6c3c1abc6f:0x7093e643eeb29c6c,1,,," ], "telephone" : "(778) 808-6961", "url" : "https://back40landscaping.ca/" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "areaServed" : [ { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Chilliwack" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Abbotsford" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Mission" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Langley" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Burnaby" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Maple Ridge" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Port Coquitlam" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Surrey" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "New West Minster" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Walnut Grove" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Crescent Beach" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Mt. Lehman Area (Abbotsford)" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Promontory (Chilliwack)" }, { "@type" : "Place", "name" : "Anmore (Port Moody)" } ] } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "Review", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Springman" }, "itemReviewed" : { "@id" : "https://back40landscaping.ca/#back40landscaping" }, "reviewBody" : "Sam and his Back 40 team were amazing to work with on our retaining wall project. Very professional and upfront from the moment he came by to look at our old failing wall, and worked around a few tricky spots and provided an amazing final product. We would use them again in a heartbeat and easily recommend them to anyone looking for quality and efficiency." } ```