Landscape Timber Retaining Wall Replacement — Rotted Ties Out
The railroad ties the last owner put in are bowed, soft on the back side and leaning at the ends — they come out, the slope is cut back, and a wall with a base and drainage goes in their place.
JMB Builders does landscape timber retaining wall replacement across the Twin Cities metro and north to St. Cloud. The rotted railroad ties or timbers are pulled, spikes and deadmen with them, and hauled to a facility that takes them. The soil is cut back and the wall is rebuilt on a compacted base with drainage stone behind it, in segmental block or new ground-contact treated timbers. Tall walls get an engineer. Priced per project after a site measure.
- Priced per project after a site measure
- Old ties pulled, spikes and deadmen removed, hauled
- Rebuilt in block or new treated timbers
- Compacted base, drainage stone, fabric behind it
- Tall walls: engineer and permit brought in
Timber walls were the standard yard wall for decades, and most of them are now at the end. Railroad ties rot from the inside once the creosote is spent, treated landscape timbers rot from the back where they sit against wet soil, and almost none were built with a base or drainage. The spikes rust, the deadmen let go, and the wall bows out in the middle and leans at the ends. Patching a tie or two buys a season. Replacing the wall fixes it.
Demo is most of the work. Each tie is pulled with the machine or a bar, the spikes and rebar are cut, and the deadmen that run back into the slope are dug out. Railroad ties are creosote-treated and not every landfill takes them, so we haul them to a facility that does and that cost is on the quote. Then the soil behind the wall is cut back far enough to build properly: a trench for a compacted base, room for drainage stone and fabric behind the new wall, and space to work.
What goes back is your choice. Segmental block is what we recommend: it does not rot, it is built with a setback that resists the soil, and it can be taken apart and reset if the ground ever moves. New timber walls are still built when the look matters or the budget does, with ground-contact treated timbers, timber screws instead of spikes, deadmen on every other course, a gravel base, and drainage stone and fabric behind the wall that the old one never had. Either way, wall height decides the rest: a short garden or bed wall is built on judgment and the block maker's tables; a tall wall, or one with a driveway, a slope or a structure above it, gets an engineer's design and a city permit, and we bring both in.
What you supply
- Photos along the wall, one from above showing what it holds up, and one of the worst section
- Block or timber for the new wall; if block, a style and color picked from samples, which we order
- Access for a mini excavator or skid loader, and a spot to stage the old ties before they are hauled
- What you want above the wall afterward: lawn, a bed, a patio, a fence
What JMB supplies
- Site measure, grade check and the utility locate before we dig
- Old ties or timbers pulled, spikes and rebar cut, deadmen dug out, and everything hauled to a facility that accepts them
- Slope cut back and spoils hauled or spread, then a trench and a compacted class 5 base
- Block wall: first course set level and buried, block stacked with the designed setback, cap glued on
- Timber wall: ground-contact treated timbers, timber screws, deadmen tied back into compacted fill
- Clean drainage stone, perforated pipe to daylight, and filter fabric behind either wall
- Geogrid on the courses that need it and backfill compacted in lifts
- An engineer's design and the city permit when the height or the load calls for it
- Top graded to drain over the wall, sod or bed restored, and photos in your job folder
How it is priced: per project
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- Length and height of the old wall, which set both the demo and the new wall
- Railroad ties vs. landscape timbers: ties are heavier, spiked harder and cost more to dispose of
- Block or new treated timber for the replacement
- What is above the wall: lawn is simple; a driveway, patio or slope adds engineering, grid and a permit
- How far the slope has to be cut back to build properly, and where the spoils go
- Soil and drainage: wet clay behind the old wall means more stone and a longer pipe run
- Access: machine to the wall, or ties carried out by hand from a backyard
- Corners, curves and steps built into the new wall
Send a photo along the length of the wall and one from above showing what sits behind it. We schedule the site measure from that and tell you at the measure whether it needs an engineer.
How long it takes
A short garden or bed wall: two to three days, most of the first spent pulling and hauling ties. A yard terrace or a wall along a driveway: about a week. Engineered walls add design and permit time before we start.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized quote within one business day. We only come out to measure first when the job needs a tape measure — no pressure, no games.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Railroad ties out, block wall in
The most common request. Ties pulled and hauled to a facility that takes creosote wood, the slope cut back, and a segmental block wall built with a compacted base, drainage stone and a cap. The wall that does not need doing again.
Timber wall rebuilt in new timbers
For a wooded lot or a budget where block is out of reach: ground-contact treated timbers on a gravel base, fastened with timber screws, deadmen every other course, and the drainage stone and fabric the old wall never had. It will still rot someday; it will take much longer.
Timber bed edge to block planter
A one- or two-timber edge around a bed that has rotted through. Replaced with a low block wall on a compacted base, or a steel or paver edge if the bed no longer needs holding back.
Tall or loaded timber wall
A timber wall holding a driveway, a slope above the house, or a patio needs an engineer's design and a permit for its replacement. We bring the engineer in, build to the drawing, and terrace it into two lower walls when that keeps it simpler and looks better.
Landscape Timber Retaining Wall Replacement — Rotted Ties Out: questions, answered
Can a rotted timber retaining wall be repaired instead of replaced?
A single soft timber at the top course can be swapped, and it buys a season or two. A wall that is bowing, leaning or soft on several courses is done: the timbers rot from the back where you cannot see, the spikes have rusted through and the deadmen have let go. Taking it apart to fix the middle is most of the labor of replacing it, and the new timbers would sit on the same missing base. Replacement is the honest answer.
How do you dispose of old railroad ties?
Railroad ties are treated with creosote and many transfer stations and landfills will not take them with ordinary construction debris. We haul them to a facility that accepts treated wood, and that disposal is a line on the quote so there are no surprises. Ties should not be burned, chipped or reused where people or gardens touch them, so we do not leave them behind unless you ask.
Should I replace timbers with block or new timbers?
Block, if the budget allows. It does not rot, it is built with a setback that resists the soil, it can be reset if the ground ever moves, and it comes in styles that suit most yards. New treated timbers cost less, look right on a wooded lot, and last far longer than the old wall did when they get a gravel base, drainage stone behind them and screws instead of spikes. We price both from the same measure so you can compare.
Does replacing a retaining wall need a permit in Minnesota?
Short garden and bed walls usually do not. Tall walls, walls with a driveway, slope or structure above them, and walls near a property line often do, and the height threshold and the rules vary by city. When a permit is needed the city usually wants an engineer's design with it, for the base, the geogrid and the drainage. We check your city's rules at the site measure and bring in the engineer and pull the permit as part of the job.
What goes behind the new wall?
Clean drainage stone, a perforated pipe at the bottom that drains to daylight, and filter fabric between the stone and the soil so silt does not clog it. That is what the old timber wall almost certainly did not have, and it is why the old wall leaned: water sat in the soil behind it, froze and pushed. On taller walls, geogrid layers tie the wall back into compacted backfill. The top is graded so surface water runs over the wall or away from it.
Can you build the new wall in the same spot?
Usually, and often a little farther back, because a proper base and drainage stone take more room than the old ties did. The slope is cut back to make that room and the spoils are hauled or spread. If the old wall was on a property line, the new one is set inside it with the setback the wall needs. We mark the new line at the site measure so you can see where the wall face will land before we dig.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners and for the builders and dealers we sub for. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough. You hear back within one business day. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed September 26, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All pavers pages
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