Hillside streets, split-levels and retaining walls holding the slope
Shawnee, about 12 miles from downtown with roughly 67,000 residents, rolls more than most of Johnson County, and plenty of its houses are built into the hill.
Shawnee's older neighborhoods near Johnson Drive and Nieman Road are a mix of postwar ranches and 1960s and 70s split-levels, and as you head west the land gets hillier and the houses newer. A lot of homes here are built into a slope, with a brick or block lower level on one side and stacked-stone or timber retaining walls along driveways and yards. Water runs downhill toward whatever is in its way, and on many lots, that's the basement wall.
The work we do most in Shawnee is drainage paired with structural repair. A bowing lower-level wall on the uphill side gets bracing, and an uphill French drain so it isn't loaded again next spring. A settling downhill corner gets piers. A retaining wall leaning toward the house is part of the picture too: we look at whether it's directing water or soil pressure at the foundation, and tell you whether it needs a separate repair by a landscape or wall contractor.
What we see most in Shawnee
Uphill walls
Lower-level walls on the uphill side braced and relieved with drainage.
Downhill settlement
Piers under the side that's drifting down the slope.
Retaining walls
Checked for how they send water and soil pressure toward the house.
Split-level seepage
Lower-level seepage handled inside or out, depending on the finish.
Neighborhoods and parts of town
- Along Johnson Drive
- Off Nieman Road
- Near Shawnee Mission Parkway
- Around Shawnee Mission Park
- West toward K-7
- Along Midland Drive
- Near Mize Road
- Neighborhoods off 75th Street
Services in Shawnee
Crack repair · piers · bowing walls · waterproofing · French drains · sump pumps · crawl spaces · slab lifting · free inspection
Questions from Shawnee homeowners
My retaining wall is leaning. Is that a foundation issue?
Sometimes. If it's pushing soil or water toward the house, it affects the foundation. If it's simply failing on its own, it's a separate repair, and we'll tell you which.
Why does only one wall of my lower level leak?
Usually because it's the uphill wall, where the water ends up. Drainage on that side often solves it.
Do you need a Shawnee permit?
For structural work, yes. We pull it through the city.
Nearby: Lenexa · Overland Park · Prairie Village · the whole metro