Retaining Walls · Kanata, ON
Retaining walls in Kanata
Retaining wall installation across Kanata, from Beaverbrook and Glen Cairn to Bridlewood, Morgan’s Grant and Kanata Lakes: segmental block walls that turn a sloped yard into level ground, hold the grade beside a walkout and frame block steps between the patio and the lawn.
- Segmental wall block
- Drainage stone
- Drain pipe
- Compacted base
- Filter fabric
The local picture
Retaining Walls in Kanata
A wall needs firm, level ground under its first course, and in Kanata that ground can be rock at one end of the line and clay at the other. The line is dug and checked before the base goes in, so a change underfoot is dealt with before a single block is set.
Many Kanata back yards fall toward a rear fence, a ravine or the next lot, and the low end is where the water goes. The ground above the wall is shaped so runoff runs around its end to the swale, and the pipe behind the block gets an outlet where the lot allows one.
Retaining walls across Kanata
Beaverbrook, Glen Cairn, Bridlewood, Morgan’s Grant and Kanata Lakes
Korvex Construction builds and rebuilds segmental block retaining walls across Kanata: garden and terrace walls, walls along a grade change at the side or back of the lot, walls with block steps and interlock, and failed sections taken down and rebuilt with a proper base and drainage. The estimate is free and done in your yard, and a text with a few photos to 613-880-7679 is enough to book it; the written scope and price follow.
Close to the house, the City’s advisory adds triggers that a garden wall at the back of the lot would not meet. A structure serving the house access needs a building permit where it leaves a slope steeper than 1 in 2 between walking surfaces within 1.2 m of the building, or where it would push the grade or the backfill against the foundation past what the Code allows. Beside a walkout, the layout near the house is drawn with those limits in view.
Slopes along Kanata’s creeks and ravines
Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority rules
The Carp River, which runs through western Kanata, drains a watershed the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority looks after. Inside the MVCA’s regulated area, new or rebuilt structures and site grading, including placing or removing fill, need its permit.
The MVCA treats a slope judged potentially unstable because of its height and steepness as an erosion hazard, and new development and lot grading are generally not permitted within or close to it. A slope stability analysis at the owner’s expense is possible, but it has to show the work can proceed safely with the slope as it is, since the slope itself cannot be engineered. A wall at the top of a ravine bank is a question for the MVCA before it is a design question.
At the site visit
What we check on a lot in Kanata
- 01
Rock or clay along the line of the wall
- 02
Height of the grade change from one end to the other
- 03
Where the pipe behind the wall can discharge
- 04
The swale and the neighbour’s side of the slope
- 05
Distance from the back of the lot to a creek or ravine bank
- 06
How the wall meets a walkout, deck or patio
What we plan around
Local conditions in Kanata
Each point links to the public source it was checked against. At the site visit we check how it applies to your lot.
- Clay next to rock
At one site near Terry Fox Drive, silty clay ran from about 1 m to 19 m deep, with rock at the surface nearby. Post and footing depth is decided yard by yard.
How we build it
What holds a retaining wall up
A wall moves when its base settles or water builds up behind it. Both risks are dealt with before the first block is placed.
- First course
The bottom row sets the line for the whole wall and gets the most time with a level.
- Drainage behind
Stone and fabric behind the block keep water from building up.
- Grade above and below
Ground at the top is shaped so runoff is carried around the wall.
- Tie-ins
Levels and drainage are planned with any steps, patio or fence the wall meets.
- Wall blockEach course checked for level and line as the wall goes up.Set course by course
- Drainage stone behind the wallGives water in the soil a way down, so it stops pressing on the blocks.Open and free-draining
- Drain pipe at the baseCarries collected water out past the end of the wall where the site allows.Laid to fall
- Compacted baseLevel, compacted pad with the first course set partly below grade.Placed in lifts
- Native soilExcavated back far enough to fit drainage stone behind the wall.To firm ground
“Vlad and his crew installed my patio in 2 days. Did excellent work and vlad answered any and all questions I asked. I highly recommend Korvex Development for any job you may require.”
Joe Ayoub · Patio installed
“Did awesome work! had them repair a leany fence and they were on time, cheap and super professional”
Josh Cohen-Collier · Leaning fence repaired
FAQ
Retaining Walls in Kanata: common questions
Can a wall shore up the ravine bank at the back of our Kanata yard?
The conservation authority decides that first. On a slope it considers potentially unstable, the MVCA generally does not permit new development or lot grading, and any slope stability analysis has to show the work is safe with the slope as it is. We keep walls back from a ravine bank unless the MVCA has approved the work, and check its mapping for your lot before planning.
Where does the water behind the wall go?
Into drainage stone behind the block and a pipe at the base, which carries it out past the end of the wall where the site allows. On a Kanata lot that outlet is chosen with the swale and the neighbour’s side of the slope in mind, so the water rejoins the lot’s drainage and stays off the foot of the wall.
We have a walkout basement. Can a wall hold the grade beside it?
Often, yes. Beside a walkout the ground drops from the front of the house to the back, and a wall can hold that grade and step it down with block stairs. The City’s advisory sets the limits: landscape structures are not attached to the foundation without a professional engineer’s design, and over 1 m they need an engineered design. We measure the heights at the free site visit and say what applies before pricing.
Do you work in all parts of Kanata?
Yes. Korvex Construction builds decks, fences, interlock and drainage across Kanata, including Beaverbrook, Glen Cairn, Bridlewood, Morgan’s Grant and Kanata Lakes. The ground changes from yard to yard here, so the free on-site estimate starts with what is under your lawn. Request an estimate online or call 613-880-7679.
Book a free retaining wall estimate in Kanata
Tell us what you want built and send a few photos. We come out, look at what sits under the job, and give you the scope and the price in writing.