- Mon - Sat 7:00 AM - 8:00 PM
- (865) 963-1096
Holding Ground From Knoxville To Nashville, Brentwood To Lenoir City, And Every Slope In Between
Looking for a retaining wall contractor in Knoxville, TN? Gladiator SOD and Landscaping builds segmental block, natural stone, and reinforced concrete retaining walls across Knox County, engineered for East Tennessee’s clay-heavy soil and freeze-thaw cycles. The owner is a mason, so mortared stone walls and block walls are built by our own crew with him on site, with gravel backfill and drainage behind every one.
Erosion Control & Soil Retention:
Prevent costly land movement and water runoff.
Custom Designs:
From natural stone to concrete block, our walls are built to blend beautifully with your landscape.
Increased Usable Space:
Flatten slopes and create leveled garden beds or patio zones.
Built to Last:
Engineered for structural integrity and backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
Whether you’re in West Hills, Sequoyah Hills, or Fountain City, our local retaining wall experts know the soil types and slope challenges unique to East Tennessee. We proudly serve residential and commercial clients across Knoxville and nearby cities like Lenoir City.
We also build retaining walls in Middle Tennessee. See our Nashville retaining wall services.
Gravity Retaining Walls: These rely on their own weight and mass to hold back soil, making them a clean, cost-effective choice for shorter walls and garden borders.
Segmental Block Walls: Built from interlocking concrete blocks without mortar, these are versatile, durable, and one of the most popular options for residential yards at moderate heights.
Natural Stone Walls: the premium option and the one that shows the difference a mason makes. We build dry-stacked fieldstone walls for shorter garden and terrace walls, and mortared stone walls on a poured footing where height or load calls for it. Stone is cut and fit on site so the courses stay level and the face stays tight. These are the walls that still look right in thirty years.
Reinforced Concrete Walls: Poured concrete strengthened with steel, engineered for taller walls and heavier loads where maximum structural strength is the priority.
Tiered Landscape Walls: A series of shorter, stepped walls that tame steep slopes, ease pressure on any single wall, and create usable planting terraces.
We offer affordable pricing on premium materials. Plus, we design walls with Knoxville’s seasonal weather and clay soil in mind, ensuring lasting strength and minimal maintenance.
Pair your retaining wall with:
Most retaining wall failures in Knoxville have nothing to do with the block or stone. They come from a footing that was too shallow for our clay, backfill that was dirt instead of gravel, or no drainage at all. Water builds up behind the wall, freezes, and pushes it over one winter at a time.
Every wall we build starts with a compacted gravel base or a poured footing sized for the wall’s height and the soil it sits in, a perforated drain at the base, and clean gravel backfill so water moves through instead of pushing. Mortared stone and block walls are laid by our own crew under the owner, a mason by trade, so the courses are level, the batter is right, and the joints are full. That is the work you cannot see once the wall is done, and it is the work that decides whether it lasts.
Pair a stone wall with a natural stone patio or an outdoor fireplace and the whole backyard reads as one build, because it was.
Finding the right retaining wall installer near you in Knoxville comes down to drainage, base prep, and the team building the wall. The difference between a wall that lasts decades and one that fails in three years is rarely the stone or block. It’s whether the crew built a proper gravel backfill and drainage system behind it. Our team handles every retaining wall installation in Knoxville start to finish, with no subcontractors and no shortcuts on the parts of the job buyers can’t see. Every wall is engineered for the slope, soil, and water flow it sits on.
Sloped lake lots are where a wall earns its keep. On a shoreline property in Kingston, TN, a well-built retaining wall holds the grade above the Watts Bar waterline and turns ground that would otherwise wash out into a level, usable yard.
A lake lot rarely comes level. On a shoreline property in Louisville, TN, a well-built wall holds the grade above the Fort Loudoun waterline and keeps the yard from washing toward the lake.
Lake lots in Loudon County slope straight toward the shoreline. On a property in Loudon, TN, a retaining wall holds that grade above the waterline and keeps the yard from washing toward the lake.
The most common signs are soil washing away after rain, water running toward your house, a slope too steep to use, or an existing wall that is leaning or cracking. If any of those sound familiar, our guide to signs you need a retaining wall walks through each one in detail.
Cost depends on the wall's height and length, the material you choose, how much drainage and excavation the site needs, and how easy the area is to access. The best way to get an accurate number is a free on-site estimate, where we measure the space and price the job based on what it actually requires.
A properly built retaining wall can last decades, often 50 years or more. The biggest factor is drainage. Walls built with gravel backfill and a drainage system hold up far longer than walls without one.
It depends on the height and your local rules. Many areas require a permit and engineered plans for walls over about four feet. We'll let you know what your project needs before we start.
There's no single best material. Segmental block is popular for being durable and cost-effective, natural stone is the choice for a high-end look, and reinforced concrete is best for tall or heavy-load walls. We'll recommend the right fit during your estimate.
Water building up behind a wall is the number one cause of retaining wall failure. Proper drainage relieves that pressure and protects the wall, which is why we build it into every project rather than treating it as an add-on.
Ready to stop erosion and start enjoying a better yard? Contact Gladiator SOD and Landscaping—Knoxville’s trusted retaining wall contractors. Limited availability this season!
All Locations
Mon-Sat (7am-8pm)
Sun (7am-2pm)
6620 Oak Ridge Hwy #102
Knoxville, TN 37931
Phone: (865) 963-1096
179 Belle Forest Cir Ste 103C
Nashville, TN 37221
Phone: (865) 963-1096
402 N B St
Lenoir City, TN 37771
Phone: (865) 963-1096
