Retaining Walls in Rockwood Village

The east side of this neighbourhood runs up against the Etobicoke Creek valley, and houses on that edge often have backyards that end in a steep bank. Some owners have a few metres of flat grass and then a drop; others have a yard that slopes from the back door all the way down. On these lots the question is less about decoration and more about keeping the usable part of the yard from creeping toward the creek.

Much of the soil in this part of Peel is clay-rich till, which holds water and swells when it freezes. That's why a wall on a creek-side lot is mostly built below ground: an excavated, compacted gravel footing, a buried first course, clear stone backfill and a perforated pipe that carries water out to the valley side of your own property. The outlet direction matters. Water can't be dumped along the fence line into the next yard, and on a regulated slope it can't simply be discharged wherever is convenient.

Lands near the creek and its valley are regulated by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, and a permit can be needed before grading, filling or building near the top of the bank. We check that mapping before design, not after. A common failure on older lots like these is a wall that tipped for one reason: no drainage, so water built up behind it each spring until it gave way. Those get rebuilt from the footing up rather than pushed back into line.