Why do retaining walls fail?

Exscape Group builds the drainage before the first course goes down, because walls fail from water pressure building up behind them rather than from the wall material. Ohio clay holds water against a wall through the winter, and freeze and thaw multiplies that pressure. A wall without drainage stone, pipe, and a working outlet will eventually lean or bulge regardless of how well the face was laid.

How tall can a retaining wall be before it needs engineering?

Exscape Group confirms the engineered design threshold for your address during the design stage, since height limits vary by municipality. Taller walls generally require a stamped design and a permit before construction. A large grade change is also often better solved as two terraces than as one high wall, which can be both less expensive and more usable.

What materials are used for retaining walls?

Exscape Group specifies wall material based on the grade change, the load above it, and how the wall will be seen, rather than defaulting to one product. Segmental concrete block carries height efficiently and comes with manufacturer specifications for reinforcement. Natural stone and boulder walls suit lower walls and yards where the wall should read as landscape rather than as structure.

Can a failing retaining wall be repaired rather than replaced?

Exscape Group assesses the drainage and the base before recommending a repair or a rebuild, because what caused the movement decides which is possible. A wall that moved because water had nowhere to go will move again unless that is corrected, which usually means rebuilding rather than resetting. The assessment and the honest answer come before any quote.

Empowering Growth Through Partnership

Shared Services That Unlock Scale

From HR and IT to payroll and marketing, we provide a back-office engine so owners can stay in their zone of excellence.

→

People-First Mergers & Acquisitions

We partner with founder-led businesses to continue legacies while unlocking new opportunities for teams.

Value Creation & Collaboration

Leverage purchasing power, tech platforms, and leadership expertise to boost margins and performance across the board.

Retaining Walls Make the Slope Part of the Yard

Plenty of yards around here come with a hill. The useful part is flat and small, the rest runs away from the house, and every spring the water takes a little more of it down toward the patio. A wall is how that becomes usable ground. Done as design rather than as damage control.

The work draws on two decades of design-build projects in Northeast Ohio and established Central Ohio hardscape experience.

The Ground Works For You Now

The point of a wall is the flat stretch at the top where the table goes, the curve of stone at seat height around a fire pit, the bed of hydrangeas that finally has somewhere level to sit. What you see of the wall is the face. What keeps all of it there is everything behind.

Durable retaining wall holding a planted bed

You get a level room out of a slope.

A single tall wall and a set of terraces solve the same hill differently, and only one of them leaves you somewhere to put a table. Base depth and reinforcement are sized to what sits above, because a wall holding a driveway is a different build from a wall holding a planting bed.
The seating is built into the stone.

Courses run at seat height where people gather, so the ring around a fire pit is part of the wall rather than six chairs somebody drags out. That gets sized during design, against how many people usually show up.
Sloped ground becomes level beds you can plant.

Planting behind and on top of a wall needs soil depth and drainage that suit roots, and that is decided alongside the structure rather than filled in afterward.
Spring rain stops carrying the soil downhill.

Drainage stone, pipe, and an outlet that leads somewhere. Ohio clay holds water against a wall all winter, and that pressure is what pushes a wall out of line and what takes the slope with it.

How Retaining Wall Projects Work

We walk the slope and find the water.

Where it comes from, where it goes now, and what it has already moved. That reading decides the drainage before anything else is designed.

You see the design and the number together.

Height, materials, terracing, drainage, and reinforcement priced as one scope, with the planting and steps included.

We build the drainage, then the wall.

Base, pipe, backfill, and reinforcement get the time they need, because every wall that fails in this climate fails for the same reason.

01.

One person who knows your property.

You get a single point of contact who stays with your account year-round. Not a rotating queue, not a different name on every email.

02.

The crew serving you is based in your market.

Our branches cover Greater Cleveland and Columbus, so the team on your property is local to it. Local presence is how the company was built, not a byproduct of getting bigger.

03.

Every visit gets written down.

After a service visit you hear what the crew saw, whether it was expected or not. Property history lives in one shared system across every branch, not in one person's truck.

04.

We are still here after the install.

When the first fall arrives and you are wondering what to cut back and what to leave, someone answers. The team that builds your space is the team that cares for it.

05.

We will tell you if we are not the right fit.

If your project is smaller, we will tell you plainly rather than take three weeks to not call you back.

Design-build portfolio spanning Northeast and Central Ohio

More than 300 landscape professionals across Ohio

Founding owners still leading their markets

Certified Landscape Professional credentials on the team

Award-winning residential design-build work

No Customer Left Behind. Ever.

Exscape Group builds the drainage before the first course goes down, because walls fail from water pressure building up behind them rather than from the wall material. Ohio clay holds water against a wall through the winter, and freeze and thaw multiplies that pressure. A wall without drainage stone, pipe, and a working outlet will eventually lean or bulge regardless of how well the face was laid.
Exscape Group confirms the engineered design threshold for your address during the design stage, since height limits vary by municipality. Taller walls generally require a stamped design and a permit before construction. A large grade change is also often better solved as two terraces than as one high wall, which can be both less expensive and more usable.
Exscape Group specifies wall material based on the grade change, the load above it, and how the wall will be seen, rather than defaulting to one product. Segmental concrete block carries height efficiently and comes with manufacturer specifications for reinforcement. Natural stone and boulder walls suit lower walls and yards where the wall should read as landscape rather than as structure.
Exscape Group assesses the drainage and the base before recommending a repair or a rebuild, because what caused the movement decides which is possible. A wall that moved because water had nowhere to go will move again unless that is corrected, which usually means rebuilding rather than resetting. The assessment and the honest answer come before any quote.

Building a Family of Landscape Leaders

We're more than a platform, we're a growing family.

At Exscape Group, we bring together exceptional landscaping businesses that share a commitment to people, purpose, and long-term growth. From Exscape Designs to Green Impressions, our companies maintain their local identity while gaining the support of a like-minded team dedicated to shared success.

Residential & Commercial Landscape Services • Novelty, OH • Serving Greater Cleveland and Columbus

The Premier Landscape Services Platform in the Midwest