California Retaining Wall Engineering and Permit Requirements

Retaining walls in California require engineering and permitting if they are greater than three feet in height. The California building code also prohibits retaining walls made of wood.

If you are in Southern California, RCP Block & Brick has partnered with Keystone to provide pre-engineered segmental block walls up to 6-ft in height. The geogrid shown in each of the pre-engineered designs is Miragrid 2XT. An equivalent geogrid that I recommend is Grade 3 Geogrid* by My Supply Shed. What I like about this geogrid is it is bi-directional, meaning it does not matter which direction you orientate the geogrid in, both directions act as the strength direction. This prevents wall builders from accidentally orienting their geogrid in the wrong direction, which could lead to a wall failure.

For a complete guide on building a retaining wall out of segmental blocks and geogrid, check out our course.

DIY Retaining Wall® does not offer any engineering services in California.

*Amazon Affiliate – If you use these links and make a purchase, I may be compensated.