Concrete Retaining Walls in Covington, WA

Retaining walls in Covington: what to know

The wall rule that matters most is in the city’s grading code, section 14.60.170. A wall that carries a surcharge or stands more than three feet exposed needs its own building permit, and a wall on a single-family lot may be no higher than four feet. Bigger grade changes are stepped, with the walls spaced face to face by at least the lower wall’s thickness plus its height, unless the lower wall is designed to carry the upper.

Placement matters as much as height. A wall parallel to a house must stand at least five feet away, and inside that five feet it is limited to 30 inches. Easements for storm, water, or sewer lines need the utility’s written approval before any wall goes in, and a wall between two lots sits entirely on the downhill lot.

Permits and rules in Covington

Community Development reviews wall permits. Its grading code requires a separate building permit for any wall that supports a surcharge, such as a driveway or a building, or that stands more than three feet exposed. That is stricter than the usual four-foot state line measured from the footing. We confirm the permit path and any engineering with Community Development for your lot before we price the wall.

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

How we approach it

Measure exposed height and surcharge first, since three feet starts a permit
Hold walls near the house to 30 inches inside the five-foot setback
Route the wall drain to the storm stub, not onto a downhill neighbor
Check easements and the critical areas map before staking the footing

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 Covington

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

Questions from Covington homeowners

How tall can a retaining wall be on my Covington lot?

Covington’s grading code says a wall on a single-family lot may be no higher than four feet, and a wall over three feet exposed, or carrying a load, needs its own building permit. Taller grade changes are stepped into spaced walls.

Can I put a fence on top of my Covington retaining wall?

Yes, with limits. Within the required setbacks, the fence and wall together may not exceed 10 feet, the fence alone 6 feet above the wall, and any part above 8 feet must be open-work. Outside the setbacks, the combined height is held to the zone’s building height.

Where can my Covington wall drain go?

Preferably to the lot’s storm drain stub. The code generally bars discharge onto a downhill neighbor’s property, onto steep or erosion-prone ground, or in a way that skips grading the area above the wall to carry water along it.