Mud washing out of retaining wall when it rains
Heavy rain washes mud out through gaps and causes upper sections of the wall to cave in and fill with rocks. This active structural failure creates ongoing soil erosion that can lead to further collapse and worsen future property damage.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- The most recent one is from October 2026.
- This comes up 35.7× more often in r/Landscaping than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1adding a pipe with drainage outlets and geogridDid this help you?
- 2asking online forums whether the installation specs meet requirementsDid this help you?
- 3Tearing down the wall completely to do a proper demo and rebuildDid this help you?
- 4Planning to spray stucco over the surfaceDid this help you?
- 5trying to find out construction details like footers or rebarDid this help you?
- 6building another retaining wallDid this help you?
- 7Switching from wood railroad ties to concrete blocksDid this help you?
- 8Installing proper drainage behind the new wallDid this help you?
- 9reducing and ultimately stopping watering on a timerDid this help you?
- 10rebuilding a dam to help hold the water in the garden longerDid this help you?
- 11trying to restore flow to a clogged French drain with a drain-routerDid this help you?
- 12digging out behind the wall to install a modified new oneDid this help you?
- 13leaving it to worsen slightly each yearDid this help you?
- 14building a small stone wall 6 to 8 inches high packed with sand and gravel pressed up against the baseDid this help you?
- 15Installing a linear drain on top of the wall with a waterproof liner to route water awayDid this help you?
- 16Using a perforated pipe near the surfaceDid this help you?
- 17Stuffing backer rod in the gaps between boulders and sealing with concrete crack fillerDid this help you?
- 18Using smaller rocks to fill the gaps from the frontDid this help you?
- 19Diverting gutters and down spouts away from the wallDid this help you?
- 20Using spray to manage weeds instead of pulling them outDid this help you?
- 21Cleaning up the area and inspecting for rotDid this help you?
- 22Drilling weep holes along the bottom without proper behind-the-wall trenching and using a power washer to clean up mud runoff.Did this help you?
- 23Tuckpoint bad joints and backfill voids behind the wall with gravel.Did this help you?
- 24Waiting for further failure before redoing itDid this help you?
- 25Re-grading behind the wall or creating a swale to keep water awayDid this help you?
- 26Tearing it halfway down and redoing a partial sectionDid this help you?
- 27Using a bobcat to push it backDid this help you?
- 28Removing the entire wall and sloping the grass down to the drivewayDid this help you?
- 29Removing the wall and rebuilding itDid this help you?
- 30Digging under it to relevel or push it back into placeDid this help you?
- 31Thinking about using railroad tiesDid this help you?
- 32Pushing the boundary back and planting treesDid this help you?
- 33using an engineered concrete wallDid this help you?
- 34using cement block with good foundation and drainageDid this help you?
- 35using retaining wall wire mesh gabion boxesDid this help you?
- 36removing dirt, putting in gravel, and adding a French drainDid this help you?
- 37Paying a contractor between 5k and 7k to handle the replacementDid this help you?
- 38Researching materials and watching YouTube tutorials to prepare for a DIY approachDid this help you?
- 39Using alternative materials like interlocking stone blocks or railroad ties instead of woodDid this help you?
- 40Digging out the soil behind the wall to manually investigate the existing waterproofing setup.Did this help you?
- 41Hiring a professional landscaper to completely tear out and rebuild the wall with proper gravel backfill.Did this help you?
- 42Hiring a structural engineer for a flat-fee consult to determine if it is a minor drainage fix or a major rebuild.Did this help you?
- 43Excavating the soil behind the wall to reduce earth pressure and prevent further heaving.Did this help you?
- 44Building a temporary span to hold the deck, removing the old post, and pouring an independent concrete footing at the home's foundation depth.Did this help you?
- 45Letting the wall fail naturally while ensuring the supported deck has been safely relocated to a new foundation.Did this help you?
- 46Tearing out the entire deck and wall to start over rather than trying to salvage poorly-built concrete.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Could this harm my property??”source ↗
“I have a large retaining wall that is starting to lean. I am wondering if this needs to be completely restacked? I would hate to take everything if not needed.”source ↗
“I have this wood retaining wall this is crumbling and falling out. I got quotes ranging from 5 - 7k just get this wall done”source ↗
“I’m a beginner with little to no experience landscaping. Wouldn’t call myself a handy person but trying to learn. Could I get this project done myself, tearing it out and replacing it with new wood?”source ↗
“We are finding a lot of small things in this house we’re clueless about maintaining.”source ↗
“Like this retaining wall, are there treatments we should do to save it (make it last longer) or should we even save it?”source ↗
“The crew that did our retaining walls were absolute idiots. They didn't put any sort of fabric behind the wall and now every time it rains, mud pours out onto the slab directly outside my basement door.”source ↗
“New homeowners here! We knew this was an issue but have other priorities until we get to ot. Can we patch this and get by a couple of years?”source ↗
“100’ long. Two tiered wall. Looks like only 2.5” compacted. Is this going to be a problem?”source ↗
“Can this be repaired??”source ↗
“Would anyone tackle this railroad tie collapsing retaining wall on their own?”source ↗
“That wall looks pretty cooked, those ties are rotting out from the inside.”source ↗
“Unfortunately a previous owner of our home put up multiple camphor trees in a small retaining space. We just had all three trees removed but there was damage to the retaining walls. We arent looking to completely redo them in the near future.”source ↗
“What are some DIY recommendations way to repair these to some degree?”source ↗
“Over the last few years, the plaster and paint has started showing cracks due to humidity, and the corner beads are becoming rusty in multiple places.”source ↗
“I suspect we need to add a drainage system, but I'm not entirely sure how exactly and how to evacuate the water.”source ↗
“When it rains all of the mud comes out the circled area to the left. The circled area on the upper right caved in and filled with rocks. Will the cause more problems in the future?”source ↗
“I’m 99% sure there’s no rebar. Just what you see. Idk what grout or whatever they used.”source ↗
“2 years into doing the land scaping I noticed the wall is actually leaning out towards the road, or low level. We also noticed water was leaking through cracks in the grout out towards the sidewalk.”source ↗
“Second, is my watering causing damage to the wall? My neighbor saw white mineral staining on the wall and blamed me saying I am damaging the wall.”source ↗
“as I was digging out the bed, I realized that the base of the rocks from the retaining wall is not buried and the bottom of the large rocks is in fact the bottom of the wall.”source ↗
“That mud coming through the gaps is rough.”source ↗
“I’m wondering if I’m going to have to replace it entirely or if this can be fixed”source ↗
“unfortunately the hitch hit the top part of the end of my retaining wall, causing it to shift and separate from the soil.”source ↗
“Nothing has fallen over fortunately and I can shift the section of blocks that are separated, but I can’t push it back in.”source ↗
“Long story short the wall is leaning ,weepholes were never added and there is 0 draining and its gonna be touching camper shed soon ;(”source ↗
“Can i drill out weepholes along the bottom even though i cant properly trench out behind the wall for landscape fabric,stone,sand etc ?”source ↗
“How or what to use to fill the large voids, planned on finishing it with spraying stucco, but obviously need to fill these voids first.”source ↗
“I bought this house about a year ago knowing it would need some love, just wondering how you guys would go about fixing this retaining wall”source ↗
“Also the area on the far right is so bad because the previous owner had some kind of vine/plant growing through and on the wall, killed all that and removed the vine and this is what it left behind.”source ↗
“That's wall has to go, sooner or later. Might as well get it done right instead of wasting money on temporary patch.”source ↗
“Looking to DIY this wall and just looking for best suggestions. As you can see it's been leaning for some time.”source ↗
“I feel like I really have 2 options. Remove the entire wall and slope the grass down to the driveway (would have to dig further back) or remove the wall and rebuild it.”source ↗
“When we looked at the property, we watched 3 people open their door and smash into the brick so I'd love to remove it, but I believe it needs to be there for the yard to not end up in the driveway. How do I go about either replacing or improving this?”source ↗
“Indeed, will contact local supplier. That’s my biggest concern what actually to use to fill the large voids.”source ↗
“It is for sure failing, its falling into the steps to the right in the picture, when I bought the place it was just a small Crack maybe a couple mms wide. But now it is sooo much worse. It is holding up the front of my porch structurally but not anything for thw actual house or foundation.”source ↗
“Now im sinking money into it left and right and this has been a growing problem since we moved in, but my husband and I are living paycheck to paycheck w two little ones. Ik retaining walls are probably expensive as hell but can anyone give me an idea of just how screwed I am? This particular retaining wall is holding up one of the corner supports for my front deck”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2How to build a retaining wall over tree roots
- 2Why is my exterior brick wall cracking from foundation shifting?
- 18How do you fix a backyard patio with mismatched paver sizes?
- 12How to fix a loose concrete step
- 28How to fix concrete cracks near garage foundation
- 14How to fix a towel rack ripped out of drywall