Belmont Concrete Retaining Wall, Piers & Grade Beam — San Mateo County
If you’ve ever worked in Belmont, CA, you already know—nothing is easy out here. The hills are steep, the streets are tight, and the City of Belmont is serious about permits. On this one, we even had to pull a temporary easement permit just to access the backside of the property. Belmont really makes you earn it, but that’s what we do—hillside concrete, retaining walls, piers, all through San Mateo County and the Bay Area.
This project sits right off Highway 280, the main artery running through the Peninsula south of SFO. Beautiful drive, but once you exit into these Belmont hillside neighborhoods, that’s when the real work starts.
Full Project Photos:
👉https://tinyurl.com/BelmontRetainingWall
YouTube Video For This Project:
👉 https://bit.ly/ConcretePiersForRetainingWall
Drilling 20-Foot Piers in Belmont’s Hillside Soil
Getting Started
This job started with deep foundation work.
To stabilize the slope, we drilled 20-foot deep piers, 24 inches in diameter, using:
#3 spiral @ 3-inch pitch
#8 vertical rebar
#5 rebar ties
Why Belmont Requires Deep Piers
Belmont hillside soil is no joke—soft in some areas, hard in others, and full of movement from water. That’s why San Mateo County often requires deeper piers for slope stabilization and structural retaining walls.
Normally, we like to pour everything—piers, grade beam, and concrete retaining wall—in one sequence. But Belmont’s layout doesn’t play. Tight access and staging forced us to split it up:
- Drill & pour piers
- Return for grade beam
- Come back again for the wall
All good. We adjust based on the hillside.
Belmont Access Challenges
In Belmont, even getting material to the site can be a mission.
Small streets. Steep slopes. Limited truck access.
This is why Belmont retaining wall projects often take multiple phases—you work around the site, not the other way around.
40-Foot Concrete Retaining Wall + New Step System
The final part of this job was the 40-foot concrete retaining wall. Clean forms, tight rebar layout, proper hillside drainage—all the stuff that keeps a wall standing for decades.
We also added a new set of concrete steps to tie everything together and make the property usable again. Belmont homeowners almost always need steps because these slopes are wild.👉 https://bit.ly/Concretesteps2025
Project Videos From This Belmont Job (Watch the Full Breakdown)
Belmont Retaining Wall — Full Overview
These three videos show the entire hillside process—from deep piers to grade beam to the final retaining wall. Perfect if someone wants to understand how the Belmont concrete retaining wall construction really works.
Drilling the Piers & Rebar Layout
Grade Beam + Wall Pour Day
These three videos show the entire hillside process—from deep piers to grade beam to the final retaining wall. Perfect if someone wants to understand how Belmont concrete retaining wall construction really works.
What We See in the Field vs. What’s on Paper
Why We Build in a Sequence
On a hillside project like this, here’s what really matters — plans and drawings give us a roadmap, but once we start digging or cutting into the grade, the site conditions get to speak for themselves. What looks solid on paper can turn into a different story in the dirt: slope shifts, soil layers, drainage patterns, tight access, or unexpected underground conditions. That doesn’t mean anyone was wrong — it just means the ground sometimes has its own plans.
We work in a sequence: layout ➝ excavation ➝ footings/pier prep ➝ reinforcement ➝ concrete or block work ➝ back-fill and drainage. And at each step, new things can pop up. Sometimes early. Sometimes later. That’s just how hillside, structural retaining-wall jobs go.
When those surprises show up, we don’t ghost them — we call them out. And yeah: on a project like Belmont, change orders can happen, not because of sloppiness or cutting corners, but because once you open the ground, you see what the soil hides. We bring what we find to you, explain why it matters, and chart the proper fix so we get the job done right.
Tight access, deep cuts, drainage concerns — that’s all part of the deal. We don’t rush. We don’t overpromise. We follow the sequence, and we stay transparent from start to finish.
We’ve been doing hillside and retaining-wall work long enough to know how Belmont soil behaves under pressure. So when something shows up mid-job, we already know how to handle it — keep the wall strong, the job clean, and you informed every step of the way.
Schedule online ⏩ https://tinyurl.com/AllAccessEstimates
Call/text: 510-804-4646
