Retaining Wall Projects in Toronto

These are real Top Mark retaining wall projects in and around Toronto. Most began as a wall that was rotting, crumbling, leaning or patched together. We show the build photos on purpose: the base, drainage and reinforcement behind the face decide how long a wall lasts, and you only see them mid-job. Each project links to its full write-up.

Sandy Dix Garden WallNatural stone · Eramosa

Jancy King WallNatural stone · High Park

Sandie Dix WallPrecast · Built by hand

Perry WallPrecast · Pool surround

Pinkus WallPrecast · Driveway wall

Kaivan WallPrecast · Wall & walkway

Peter Palmer WallSmall block · Front yard

Harbord Handy Man WallSmall block · Front patio

Our gallery also includes the Zoltan Wall, Victor Retaining Wall, Axelle Backyard, Alice Wall, Aarts Patio & Wall and a Stairs & Wall project. They aren’t written up here yet; ask us about them.

Natural stone

Natural stone retaining walls

Dry-stacked Eramosa from the Owen Sound area, with armour stone and stone stairs where the design calls for them. More on choosing stone: natural stone retaining walls.

Natural stone · Tiered garden wall

Sandy Dix Garden Wall

Three tiers of 6×6 pressure-treated timber had held this garden up for decades. By the time we arrived it was rotten, full of insects and mould, and unsafe.

We replaced every tier with Eramosa natural stone, dry-stacked from a mix of 8″ and 4″ pieces. A large armour stone bookends each tier for visual appeal while saving material cost, and stone steps link the terraces.

Before: Rotten three-tier 6×6 timber wall
Built with: “Tiger Stripe” Eramosa, Owen Sound
Base: Dry-stacked on compacted ¾″ gravel
Finish: 12″ × 2″ Eramosa coping

Excavated trench with a string line and armour stone set at the corner of the new natural stone wall — Build

Natural stone steps rising toward the house, with stacked Eramosa and a level on site — Build

Terraced Eramosa walls and stone steps where the timber wall used to be — Done

Large natural stone steps leading up between new terraced planting beds — Done

Full Sandy Dix write-up →

Natural stone · High Park, Toronto

Jancy King Wall

This home in Toronto’s High Park district had an informal, tiered rockery-style retaining wall, and its solid concrete stairs had cracked and become unsafe. The owners wanted a more formal, tiered planter wall.

We dry-stacked 8″ Eramosa on a ¾″ gravel base, backfilled with ¾″ clear gravel, non-woven filter fabric between the sandy soil and the clean gravel, flexible 4″ socked weeping tile, and geo-grid every 24″ of height. Both sets of stairs use bush-hammered Eramosa treads, each set individually on a concrete base, and natural Eramosa coping tops the entire wall.

Before: Informal rockery-style wall, cracked concrete stairs
Built with: Dry-stacked 8″ Eramosa
Reinforcement: Geo-grid every 24″ of height
Stairs: Two sets, bush-hammered Eramosa

Tiered Eramosa planter walls stepping down beside a walkway — Done

Tiered natural stone walls with Eramosa steps and planting beds — Done

Bush-hammered Eramosa stairs set between two capped stone walls — Done

Stepped natural stone planter walls with Eramosa coping — Done

Stepped and capped natural stone wall following a walkway — Done

Capped Eramosa wall showing its layered stone courses — Done

Close view of the Eramosa coping along the top of the dry-stacked wall — Done

Top Mark lawn sign on the finished natural stone planter wall — Done

Full Jancy King write-up →

The layers behind a wall that lasts

The write-ups behind these walls describe the same layers again and again. Toronto’s freeze-thaw winters, and the clay under many neighbourhoods, punish any wall that traps water; the Kaivan wall below shows what a poor base and poor drainage do. Height, soil and load decide which ones a wall needs. From the ground up:

Compacted gravel baseUsually ¾″ gravel, mechanically compacted and levelled. Even flexible dry-stacked stone needs it.
Drainage pipePerforated, socked weeping tile carries ground water away before it builds pressure.
Filter fabricNon-woven fabric keeps soil out of the clean gravel so the drainage doesn’t clog.
Clear-gravel backfillBehind the wall and inside hollow blocks, for drainage and weight.
Geo-grid tie-backsMesh between courses ties the face back into the soil.
Finished copingEramosa, Parkwall or Piedmonte caps finish the top course.

Precast block

Precast block retaining walls

Hollow interlocking block, pinned or grooved and filled with clear gravel, with geo-grid where the height calls for it. When large block makes sense: precast block retaining walls.

Precast block · Built by hand

Sandie Dix Wall

Sixty feet of patchwork wall (natural stone, concrete and cement reinforced with old pipe and wood) ran between two yards, retaining 4 to 10 feet of grade. One neighbour wanted to save a forsythia hedge on the high side; the other didn’t want her garden trampled below.

With single shared driveways, no machine could get in, so the old wall left by wheelbarrow and every block and load of gravel came in the same way. The new Oaks Hewnstone wall steps up with the slope, pinned and gravel-filled, with geo-grid every 2 feet.

Before: 60 ft patchwork of stone, concrete and pipe
Built with: Oaks Precast Hewnstone hollow block
Grade change: 4 to 10 ft between two yards
Access: Demolished and built entirely by hand

The old boundary wall of loosely stacked stone and rubble behind a garden bed — Before

Moss-covered patchwork stone and concrete wall before demolition — Before

Broken-out wall stone piled on the ground and stacked on pallets during demolition — Build

Filter fabric and white drainage pipe laid along the curve of the new wall line — Build

First pinned Hewnstone block set beside the drainage pipe and filter fabric, with a plate compactor — Build

Hollow Hewnstone blocks with yellow fibreglass pins rising in front of filter fabric — Build

Tall Hewnstone wall going up course by course with filter fabric behind — Build

Finished grey block wall with shrubs and a hedge growing above it — Done

Finished Hewnstone wall with a hydrangea and shrubs planted in front — Done

Grey Hewnstone wall with a smooth decorative face beside a planted bed — Done

New block wall running through a leafy, shaded garden — Done

Full Sandie Dix write-up →

Precast block · Pool surround

Perry Wall

A railroad-tie wall held back the slope beside this pool. The patterned concrete deck and a confined yard ruled out machinery, so the ties came out by hand and the new wall, in rough split-face Oaks Precast block, went in by hand to minimize damage.

The hollow, pinned blocks are filled with gravel for both strength and drainage. The build photos show perforated weeping tile, filter fabric and geo-mesh, all recommended for a wall like this, going in behind the block. The rough split face gives the pool a decorative backdrop.

Before: Railroad-tie wall beside the pool
Built with: Rough split-face Oaks Precast block
Drainage: Weeping tile, fabric and geo-mesh
Access: Hand-built to protect the pool deck

Bank beside the pool cut back by hand after the old railroad-tie wall came out, with a wheelbarrow and shovel on the deck — Build

First courses of hollow, pinned block set along the edge of the patterned concrete pool deck — Build

Wall courses stepping up at the pool corner with drainage pipe and mesh behind — Build

Finished tiered precast walls around the pool, with a wooden privacy fence behind — Done

Full Perry write-up →

Precast block · Driveway wall

Pinkus Wall

Beside this driveway, a brick-faced wall backed by concrete block had long since outlived its structural life. We replaced it with Techo-Bloc Suprema: 100 lb split-face blocks that lock together with a groove and pin.

The wall sits on a gravel base with clear ¾″ aggregate behind it and in the block cores, where the extra weight keeps it from moving. Heavy filter fabric separates soil from drainage, geo-grid runs every 24″ (three courses), and a Piedmonte Onyx cap finishes the top.

Before: Brick facing over a concrete block wall
Built with: Techo-Bloc Suprema, 100 lb block
Reinforcement: Geo-grid every 24″ (three courses)
Finish: Piedmonte Onyx cap

Old brick-faced retaining wall with a railing, beside the interlock driveway — Before

Old wall removed and the bank excavated beside the house and driveway — Build

Filter fabric against the bank and a gravel base laid for the new wall — Build

First block courses with black filter fabric and a coil of drainage pipe behind — Build

Geo-grid laid across the block courses and back into the fill — Build

Split-face block wall nearing the top, with clear gravel in the open block cores and no cap yet — Build

Finished split-face block wall with dark caps stepping up beside the interlock driveway — Done

Full Pinkus write-up →

Precast block · Wall and walkway

Kaivan Wall

This wall was leaning and crumbling, and the path on top was shifting with it. Taking it apart showed why: an improperly installed base, poor drainage and a layer of old railroad tie buried inside.

We rebuilt it in Techo-Bloc Suprema with a proper base, backfill, filter fabric and socked drainage pipe, then laid a Unilock Artline path along the top with an inlaid Black Series 3000 border. The Piedmonte coping carries a safety railing.

Before: Leaning wall and a shifting path
Built with: Techo-Bloc Suprema block
Path: Artline, Black Series 3000 border
Finish: Piedmonte coping with a safety railing

Suprema blocks being stacked into the new wall, with socked drainage pipe and the old brown pavers behind — Build

Artline walkway with its dark border running the length of the wall, before the railing — Build

Finished wall with a black railing beside the house and a Japanese maple — Done

Paver walkway with an inlaid dark border and a black railing along the top of the wall — Done

Full Kaivan write-up →

Built by hand where machines can’t go

Large precast blocks are normally placed with heavy equipment, but many Toronto yards have no room for a machine: shared single driveways, narrow side yards, or a pool deck right where the wall must go. Hollow, pinned block, as on the Sandie Dix and Perry walls, can be set piece by piece by hand, then filled with clear gravel for weight and drainage. It’s slower, but nothing heavy rolls over a neighbour’s hedge or pool deck.

No room for a machine?

Tight access is no reason to settle for a poor wall. Book a free consultation.

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Small block

Small block retaining walls

Blocks under 100 lbs for light-duty walls under 6′, and one of the most cost-effective ways to build. More on choosing a block: small block retaining walls.

Small block · Front-yard garden

Peter Palmer Wall

A rotting railroad-tie wall along this front yard had lost its looks and its purpose. We replaced it with a 2 to 4 foot Bestway Stone Parkwall on a ¾″ gravel base, with non-woven filter fabric, clear-gravel backfill, perforated socked weeping tile and geo-grid every two courses, finished with Parkwall coping.

The bed above became a low-maintenance garden: armour stone nestled in river rock, planted with a Japanese maple and hostas.

Before: Rotting railroad-tie wall
Built with: Bestway Stone Parkwall, 2–4 ft high
Reinforcement: Geo-grid every 2 courses
Garden: Armour stone in river rock

Excavated wall line beside the driveway, with filter fabric and a coil of drainage pipe — Build

Parkwall blocks set on a gravel base with filter fabric against the soil — Build

Close view of grooved Parkwall blocks on clear gravel with filter fabric behind — Build

Front yard mid-build, with the new wall, river rock and a wheelbarrow — Build

Finished front-yard garden with a Japanese maple, river rock and a path to the door — Done

Fire hydrant framed by river rock, armour stone and the capped block wall — Done

Brick house front yard with river rock, armour stone and planting above the block wall — Done

Planted bed with a Japanese maple and hostas between the walkway and the driveway — Done

Full Peter Palmer write-up →

Small block · Front patio wall

Harbord Handy Man Wall

The old wall here was concrete reinforced with metal, and it was crumbling. For a low-cost replacement that still looked good, we used a solid precast block with its own locking grooves and clips and a matching coping.

The tan blocks edge the front patio and wrap the corners as raised planting beds. The structure is solid and visually appealing: a long-lasting, decorative choice for retaining walls and raised gardens alike.

Before: Crumbling metal-reinforced concrete
Built with: Solid precast block with locking grooves and clips
Finish: Matching precast coping
Goal: Low-cost but good-looking

Tan small-block corner wall with matching coping and shrubs — Done

Front patio bordered by a tan block wall, with steps up to the porch — Done

Tan block garden wall with capstones stepping around a planted bed — Done

Low tan block wall along a concrete patio, with trees beyond — Done

Full Harbord write-up →

Replacing tired timber and railroad-tie walls

Half of these projects involved old timber: 6×6 timber at Sandy Dix, railroad ties at Perry and Peter Palmer, and a layer of railroad tie hidden inside the Kaivan wall. Timber is quick and inexpensive to install, but wood in constant contact with wet soil eventually rots. Signs a timber wall is near the end:

Soft wood a screwdriver sinks into
Ties bowing, leaning or separating
Soil washing through gaps after rain
Insects, mould or fungus on the face
A path or patio on top starting to shift
Wood cracking, splitting or crumbling

When we replace one, the old wood must come out completely, not stay buried behind the new face. Stone, precast or small block can all work, depending on height, load and access; our retaining walls page compares them. We build all three across Toronto and the GTA, from Thornhill, Vaughan, Richmond Hill and Markham to Mississauga, Burlington, Hamilton and surrounding areas.

Need a wall over 3 feet? Call well in advance.

A grade change like the 4 to 10 feet on the Sandie Dix job takes planning before the first stone comes out. Taller walls beside public areas, and walls on ravine lots, can need an engineer’s design and municipal approvals, and that stage can take longer than the build. Our retaining walls page sets out when Ontario generally requires a permit; your municipality confirms the rest, and we help you through it while planning. Call 416.728.2159 for a free consultation.

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Our Retaining Wall Projects