Concrete Retaining Walls in Bremerton, WA

Retaining walls in Bremerton: what to know

The city’s building permit handout, dated 4/2014, lets a retaining wall of no more than four feet stand without a permit, provided no surcharge bears on it and it does not impound liquids. The wall’s height is read from the footing base to the top edge. The handout cites the 2015 IBC and IRC, but the city’s adopted-codes page lists the 2021 IBC, IRC, and IFC, so we confirm which edition governs the wall section before drawings are filed. The text we read does not define a surcharge, so we confirm that term with city staff too.

Division 3 of the city’s standards requires a Public Works permit for all rock walls and retaining walls within the public right-of-way. For a wall that reaches into the street, we read the handout’s height and surcharge lines alongside that permit, because both reviews can apply. We check the wall’s footprint against the right-of-way line before the drawings are set.

Permits and rules in Bremerton

We take each wall’s height at its footing, then log each load behind the face, including fill, a standing structure, and a driveway. A wall over four feet, or any wall carrying a surcharge, goes forward with the permit package. A wall inside the right-of-way gets a Public Works permit before excavation starts, and we confirm the surcharge definition with city staff in writing.

Rules change and vary by parcel, so we confirm the current requirements with the city before we start.

How we approach it

Set the footing base as the zero point for wall height
Log every surcharge and its offset from the wall face
Check any wall edge that sits in the right-of-way
Send the surcharge definition to city staff in writing

For the full process, see our Retaining Walls page.

Building in the cold months? See our guide to winter concrete pours.

Our retaining walls work, serving Bremerton

Examples of our work. We build retaining walls in Bremerton and the cities around it. See all of our work

Questions from Bremerton homeowners

What height keeps a Bremerton wall within the handout exemption?

Under the city’s building handout, a wall of no more than four feet, with no surcharge bearing on it and no liquids impounded, needs no building permit. Its height runs from the footing to the top edge. A wall inside the public right-of-way needs a Public Works permit at any height. The handout is dated 4/2014, so we confirm the height rule with city staff.

Does fill piled above a Bremerton wall alter the permit answer?

It can. The handout exempts a short wall only when no surcharge presses on it and it does not impound liquids. We confirm with city staff how fill, a building, or a driveway above the wall is treated, and we record the offset and load on the drawing.

Who confirms drainage behind a Bremerton retaining wall?

Drainage behind the wall is drawn on the wall section before excavation, and each outlet is listed on the drawing. Division 2.2 of the city’s standards cites BMC 15.04.020 for Ecology’s stormwater manual as the defining guidance, so we confirm the outlet with city staff before the drawings are filed.