Example builds › Rock Solid Excavation › Services › Retaining Walls
Rock Solid Excavation builds retaining walls that do real work — sea walls along the water, natural stone walls, and high-format engineered block for serious load and elevation change. A wall holds back a hillside, protects a shoreline, stops erosion, or turns a useless slope into usable space. Get the drainage and structure right and it lasts; get them wrong and Michigan freeze-thaw takes it apart. Freeze, thaw, repeat — built to take it.
Types of Walls We Build
Different jobs call for different walls. We match the wall to the load, the elevation change, and the setting — whether that's a lakefront edge taking wave and ice or a backyard slope you want to flatten out into usable ground.
A retaining wall doesn't fail because of what's in front of it — it fails because of the water behind it. When water builds up behind a wall and freezes, the pressure pushes the wall out, bows it, and cracks it apart. So we build drainage into every wall: the right backfill, drainage behind the face, and a base that won't shift with frost. Combined with proper structure for the load, that's what keeps a wall standing through our winters.
On the water, a sea wall protects your bank from being chewed away by wave and ice, and it gives a beach or lawn a stable edge to sit against. On land, a retaining wall turns a slope you can't use into level ground you can — extra yard, a patio area, or a driveway that needed the elevation handled. John will walk the site and tell you straight what the situation calls for.
Why They Last in Michigan
Almost always it's water and drainage. When water collects behind a wall and freezes, it pushes the wall out and cracks it. We build drainage behind every wall and set it on a frost-stable base, which is what prevents that failure.
It depends on the load, the height of the elevation change, and the setting. Natural stone suits some jobs, high-format engineered block handles serious load, and shorelines need a sea wall built for wave and ice. John will assess your site and recommend the right build.
Yes. Holding back a slope with a wall flattens out ground you couldn't use before, opening it up for lawn, a patio, or a driveway. It's one of the most common reasons people build one.
Shorelines and Slopes
We're based in Fenton and serve Genesee, Oakland, Livingston, and Washtenaw County, including Fenton, Linden, Holly, Hartland, Howell, Brighton, Milford, South Lyon, and the lake communities nearby.
Free on-site walk-through, written estimate, no pressure. Freeze, thaw, repeat — built to take it.
Free on-site estimate.
(810) 577-6228 example build
Frequently asked questions
Do you serve my area?
We work out of Fenton across Genesee, Oakland, Livingston, and Washtenaw counties. If you're near the edge, ask.
Are estimates free?
Yes — free on-site estimates, residential and commercial.
Are you licensed and insured?
Fully licensed and insured for residential and commercial site work across Southeast Michigan.
How does Michigan freeze-thaw affect this work?
It's the single biggest factor. Water that gets under or behind a structure and freezes is what moves it. Base prep and drainage are where the job is won or lost.