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Is Poured Concrete Retaining Wall Cheaper Than Blocks?

Homeowners around Asheville ask this question every week, often while standing on a steep backyard slope in Kenilworth, eyeing a driveway swale in West Asheville, or planning a terrace in North Asheville. Price matters. But so does performance, appearance, and how the wall will behave through our wet winters and freeze-thaw cycles. The short answer: poured concrete can be cheaper for certain heights and site conditions, and concrete block (CMU) can be cheaper in others. The long answer is where smart decisions get made — and where you avoid paying twice.

As a local contractor who builds and repairs walls across Buncombe County and the surrounding mountains, I’ll break down real cost drivers, the Asheville-specific factors that push the numbers up or down, and how to pick the wall that fits your property, budget, and risk tolerance. If you’re searching for concrete retaining wall contractors near me because you want a clear bid and a wall that stays put, you’re in the right place.

What “poured concrete” and “block” actually mean

Poured concrete retaining walls are monolithic. We build forms, tie reinforcing steel, set drainage, and pour a continuous concrete mass. Once cured, it behaves as a single structure. That monolith resists movement well, especially in taller walls or where space is tight.

Concrete block walls usually refer to CMU (concrete masonry unit) walls, which we lay on a footing and reinforce with vertical rebar and grout in certain cells. They’re built course by course, then capped, and often finished with stucco or stone veneer. Some homeowners also mean “segmental retaining wall blocks” — the big interlocking landscaping blocks. This article focuses on poured concrete versus CMU block, since they’re the apples-to-apples structural options most comparable for load-bearing walls.

Base costs in Asheville, NC

For a straight, mid-height wall with standard access, you’ll see typical starting ranges in our market:

• Poured concrete: about $90 to $140 per square foot of face for 3 to 6 feet tall, including rebar, standard formwork, footing, drainage, and backfill.
• CMU block: about $80 to $130 per square foot of face for 3 to 6 feet tall, including reinforced cells, footing, drainage, and backfill.

Those are common ranges, not promised prices. A tight site off Beaverdam Road will not price like a flat, open yard in Arden. Small walls under 30 feet long often price higher per square foot because mobilization, formwork setup, and finish time don’t scale down.

For very short walls under 3 feet, CMU or segmental blocks often win on price. For taller walls above 6 to 8 feet, poured concrete usually becomes more economical because the formwork and pour replace the labor of laying hundreds of blocks and extra grout, and the engineering often needs fewer complex details.

Why poured concrete sometimes costs less

Formwork replaces labor. Once forms are set, we pour the wall in one go, and the crew’s linear feet per day is high. On a clean, accessible site — for example, a Broad River Road property with easy truck access — poured concrete can be the clear budget winner for walls over 4 to 5 feet.

Engineering can be simpler. A monolithic wall with uniform rebar and a continuous footing often requires fewer block-specific details. That can cut design time and reduce potential weak points.

Finish can be built-in. Smooth or board-formed finishes come from the forms. You might skip veneer entirely, which avoids the extra $15 to $40 per square foot that stone or brick can add to a CMU wall.

Fewer joints, fewer failure points. Expansion joints are planned and detailed, not repeated every 16 inches like block joints. That keeps future maintenance costs down if drainage is correct.

Why block sometimes costs less

Material flexibility. CMU blocks and bagged grout move through tight sites easier than formwork and a pump truck. On a Montford backyard with a narrow alley and no equipment access, block can avoid crane or pump costs.

Short walls favor simplicity. Under 3 to 4 feet, block walls can be built fast with minimal rebar and grout, especially if the wall length is short. Labor per square foot stays productive without heavy setup.

Repairs and modifications. If you plan to run utilities through the wall later, it can be simpler to core a CMU cell than to cut a solid concrete mass.

Straightforward aesthetic upgrades. A stucco or thin-stone veneer looks great on CMU and hides joints. For homeowners set on a specific finish style, CMU provides a predictable substrate.

The impact of Asheville’s soil and water

Western North Carolina soils vary within one street. We encounter decomposed granite, clayey fill, and wet pockets that hold water. Water drives both cost and risk. A wall that stops soil but not water fails. French drains, weep holes, and a clean gravel backfill with a fabric separator are not optional — they’re the heart of the system.

Poured concrete tolerates water pressure well when correctly drained, but trapped water behind any wall multiplies load. In freeze-thaw, that pressure cycles. CMU walls with well-grouted cores and proper tie-in perform reliably too, but they are less forgiving if drainage shortcuts are taken. In low-lying areas near the French Broad River or in lots with upslope runoff, plan for more robust drainage and possibly a drain tie-in to daylight or a sump. That adds cost regardless of wall type, but it preserves the wall and your yard.

Footings and frost depth

We build below frost depth and on competent soil. Around Asheville, frost depth is typically 12 to 18 inches, but we often dig deeper based on soil quality. Expect excavation of 18 to 30 inches for the footing trench, then a formed or trench-pour footing with rebar. On sloped sites like Town Mountain, we step the footing to follow grade.

Footing costs swing the budget more than homeowners expect. Poor soil, buried debris from past construction, or large rock ledges can add days to the excavation. In old neighborhoods like Grove Park, we’ve uncovered dry-stacked stone from prior retaining attempts, which forces redesign. Both poured concrete and CMU depend on a sound footing, so this part of the budget is shared.

Height and surcharge: where poured concrete pulls ahead

Surcharge means extra load near the top of the wall — a driveway, a garage slab, a parked vehicle, or a slope that leans into the wall. With surcharge, the wall must resist higher lateral loads, and the design needs more steel, a thicker stem, or both. Once walls rise above 6 feet or pick up significant surcharge from a driveway in Biltmore Forest, poured concrete tends to be more efficient. You pay for formwork and steel, but you save on block labor and complicated cell grouting patterns. For 8 to 10-foot walls, we often recommend poured concrete first.

By contrast, a 3 to 4-foot garden terrace with no surcharge in East Asheville can be a sensible CMU project with a clean stucco face. Your yard gets the look you want, and you avoid the mobilization cost of formwork and a pump.

Finish and appearance: budget, texture, and fit with the house

Many Asheville homeowners want a wall that looks like it belongs. Poured concrete can take board-form texture that mimics wood grain, a smooth trowel finish, or a light sandblast. CMU takes stucco, thin stone, or brick. True stone veneer remains beautiful but adds significant cost and weight.

If your house is modern with clean lines — common in new West Asheville infill builds — poured concrete can match the style without any veneer. If your house is a 1920s brick in North Asheville, a brick or stone-faced CMU wall may be worth the upcharge. Both options can be colored and sealed. Sealer helps manage moisture staining, which is common in our rainy months.

Permits, engineering, and codes in Buncombe County

Walls over about 4 feet measured https://www.functionalfoundationga.com/retaining-wall-contractors-asheville-nc from the bottom of the footing typically require an engineered design and a permit. If the wall supports a driveway, road, or structure, it needs engineering regardless of height. The county and City of Asheville both take surcharge seriously, and inspectors will look for drainage details, footing size, rebar spacing, and weep holes.

Engineering fees often run $800 to $2,500 for residential walls, depending on height, complexity, soils, and whether a site visit and stamped drawings are required. This cost applies to both poured concrete and CMU, though engineers sometimes spend fewer hours on a straightforward poured design for taller work. Plan for it. A permit and drawings protect you and future buyers.

Long-term maintenance and repair math

A well-built poured wall has fewer joints to crack and fewer waterproofing failures. Hairline shrinkage cracks can appear, but if drainage is correct, they seldom affect performance. A CMU wall has more joints and relies on grout in certain cells for stiffness. That is fine when done right, but poor grouting or skipped cells reduce strength. Over 10 to 20 years, water usually tells the truth. Proper drainage keeps both systems healthy.

Repairs differ. Epoxy injection in a poured wall can be cost-effective for isolated cracks. Bowing from water pressure is harder to fix in any wall; prevention is cheaper than cure. Repointing or re-stuccoing CMU joints and surfaces is straightforward if the core is sound. In either case, keep surface water off the wall with good grading and gutters.

Cost red flags that aren’t obvious on a bid

Two walls with the same face square footage can price hundreds or thousands apart. Here is where we see surprises during construction that change the math:

• Access. Tight yards in Montford or West Asheville can require conveyor belts for gravel backfill or extra labor to hand-carry block. A poured wall may need a line pump. That equipment adds to the invoice.
• Backfill quality. If the existing soil is wet clay or construction debris, we export it and bring in clean gravel. That can add several truckloads you didn’t plan for, but it saves the wall.
• Curve and steps. Curved walls look great along Merrimon Ave properties. Poured forms for curves cost more than straight runs, and block requires more cuts and time. Either way, your per-foot price will rise.
• Utilities. Old sewer lines, water lines, or power conduits at strange depths can force footing redesign or relocation.
• Weather windows. Winter pours require heat blankets and accelerators at times. Summer heat demands more crew to place and finish quickly, and it can affect schedule.

Poured vs block: where each wins in Asheville

If you need a 7-foot wall behind a driveway in Arden, poured concrete is often cheaper by the time you add all the needed reinforcement and consider labor time. It also gives you a single, rigid structure that handles surcharge well.

If you need a 3.5-foot garden wall in a quiet corner of Haw Creek, CMU can be the budget choice, particularly if you want a stucco or thin stone look. Labor stays reasonable, the permit process is lighter, and you may avoid concrete pump fees.

If your site is cramped and downhill from the street, block may win because material handling is simpler. If your site is open and truck-friendly, poured often wins, especially for straight, taller runs.

What about segmental block systems?

The big interlocking blocks you see at commercial sites can be a smart solution for certain residential slopes. They need careful base prep and drainage, but they avoid footings and rebar. For 2 to 4 feet of height with no surcharge, they’re competitive and quick. For 6 feet and higher or where a driveway sits behind the wall, we usually steer back to poured or CMU with engineering.

Real numbers from recent Asheville projects

On a Beaucatcher Heights hillside, we built a 72-foot-long wall averaging 6.5 feet tall with a heavy driveway surcharge. Poured concrete, board-formed, with integrated weep holes and French drain, came in around $118 per square foot all-in. A CMU alternate priced by another contractor was similar on materials but higher on labor, and veneer would have added roughly $22 per square foot. Poured was the better value.

In West Asheville, a 40-foot-long, 3-foot-tall garden wall with a simple curve priced more attractively in CMU at about $92 per square foot finished with stucco. A poured alternate would have required custom curved forms and a pump, pushing it above $110 per square foot.

In Fairview, a tight access backyard meant hand-carrying materials down a slope. We chose CMU to avoid pump setup. Even with extra labor, the total stayed under what a pumped pour would have cost.

Engineering details that change bids

Rebar spacing and bar size drive cost. For poured walls, a common spec might be #4 bars at 12 inches on center each way, with heavier bars at the base and along the footing key. For CMU, vertical bars in every other cell, then every cell near corners and steps, with horizontal bond beams every second course. These patterns vary by height, soil, and surcharge.

Footing size matters. A 16-inch by 8-inch footing is common on short, lightly loaded walls. Taller or surcharged walls often jump to 24-inch by 12-inch or larger. That is more excavation, more concrete, more rebar.

Drainage specifics matter. A 4-inch perforated drainpipe wrapped in fabric, sloped to daylight, against 12 inches of clean washed stone with a filter fabric between stone and soil is the standard. If we add a second upper drain, cleanouts, or a tie-in to a sump, cost rises but failure risk drops.

How to choose without second-guessing yourself

Start by deciding what is non-negotiable: height, location, and whether the wall must support a driveway, patio, or slope. Then weigh access and finish. If you want a smooth, modern look and the wall is 5 feet or higher, poured concrete often wins. If you want a classic stucco or stone face under 4 feet, CMU will likely be kinder to your budget.

Bring a contractor onsite early. Photos help, but soil and drainage tell the real story. A site walk in Kenilworth after a rain shows where water moves and pools. We can also check access, trees, root protection zones, and underground utilities. That prevents change orders and lets you compare poured versus block with real numbers, not guesses.

What a good bid includes

A detailed bid spells out footing dimensions, rebar size and spacing, drainage method, backfill type, finish, and access plan. It identifies permitting and engineering fees, whether pump trucks or cranes are included, and how yard restoration will be handled. It notes exclusions clearly, such as unexpected rock excavation or utility relocations. If a bid just lists “retaining wall” and a number, ask for specifics. You deserve to know exactly what you’re buying.

Budget ranges by scenario

• Short garden terrace in North Asheville: 30 to 50 linear feet at 3 feet tall. Expect $7,500 to $15,000 in CMU with stucco. Poured concrete with a smooth finish might run $9,000 to $18,000.
• Mid-height wall in West Asheville: 45 linear feet at 5 feet tall with straightforward access. Poured concrete often lands around $24,000 to $32,000. CMU with stucco may fall in a similar band but can exceed it if veneer is added.
• Tall, surcharged wall in Arden: 60 linear feet at 7 feet tall behind a driveway. Poured concrete with engineering frequently pencils at $50,000 to $70,000. CMU often exceeds that if you include labor, grout, and any veneer.

These are real-world planning ranges, not quotes. Your site can move the needle in either direction.

Avoiding the top three failure causes

Poor drainage is the number one culprit. Water builds pressure and topples walls. We always include a perforated drain to daylight, weep holes, and free-draining backfill. We add fabric to prevent fines from clogging.

Undersized footing is the second. The footing spreads load to the soil and resists sliding. Cutting corners here invites settlement.

Missing reinforcement is third. In CMU, skipping cell grout kills stiffness. In poured walls, weak rebar layouts crack stems under load. These mistakes may not show in year one, but they will show by year five or after a heavy rain.

The bottom line on cost

For Asheville homeowners, poured concrete is often cheaper for taller or heavily loaded walls with good site access. CMU block is often cheaper for shorter decorative or garden walls, tight-access yards, or when you want a stucco or stone look on a modest budget. Labor, access, finish, and drainage details swing the price far more than the sticker price of concrete versus block.

If you want a straight answer for your property, bring in a local builder who knows our slopes and soils. Search concrete retaining wall contractors near me and look for teams with engineered examples in neighborhoods like yours, not just pretty photos. Ask for references from recent jobs in Asheville’s hills, where water and freeze-thaw test every detail.

Ready for a site visit?

Functional Foundations designs, builds, and repairs retaining walls across Asheville, Arden, Weaverville, Black Mountain, and Hendersonville. We work on steep lots, narrow alleys, creek-adjacent yards, and everything in between. If you’re weighing poured versus block, we’ll price both, walk through trade-offs, and give you a fixed plan that fits your slope, soil, and budget.

Tell us your address, wall height, any driveway or patio near the top, and a few photos after a rain if you have them. We’ll schedule a visit, flag utilities, and deliver a clear proposal with line items you can understand. If you’ve been comparing bids and need a second set of eyes, we’ll review them with you and point out what may be missing.

Your yard deserves a wall that works the first time — and keeps working long after the grass grows back. Reach out today, and let’s build the right solution for your Asheville home.

Functional Foundations provides foundation repair and structural restoration in Hendersonville, NC and nearby communities. Our team handles foundation wall rebuilds, crawl space repair, subfloor replacement, floor leveling, and steel-framed deck repair. We focus on strong construction methods that extend the life of your home and improve safety. Homeowners in Hendersonville rely on us for clear communication, dependable work, and long-lasting repair results. If your home needs foundation service, we are ready to help.

Functional Foundations

Hendersonville, NC, USA

Website: https://www.functionalfoundationga.com

Phone: (252) 648-6476

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