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Serving Rathdrum, ID and surrounding areas. (208) 508-0030
Rathdrum Concrete & Masonry serves Spokane Valley homeowners with concrete block walls, retaining wall construction, foundation repair, and brick repair - responding within 1 business day and providing free written estimates on every job in the valley.
Spokane Valley sits on glacial outwash soils that drain well but shift under load if the base is not prepared correctly - exactly the condition where a properly footed concrete block wall matters most. Our concrete block wall installations include footings set below the frost line so the wall stays plumb through the valley's hard freeze-thaw winters.
The newer subdivisions on Spokane Valley's south and east edges - areas like Greenacres - were built on graded lots where soil was disturbed and recompacted. A retaining wall with proper drainage is what keeps that soil in place when spring snowmelt saturates the ground for weeks at a time.
Most homes in Spokane Valley were built between the 1950s and 1990s, and those foundations have now been through 30 to 70 winters of freeze-thaw cycles. Homes on lower ground near the Spokane River corridor are especially prone to water intrusion at the foundation after snowmelt and spring rain.
Ranch homes across Spokane Valley often have brick chimneys and decorative brick accents that date from the original build in the 1960s or 1970s. Forty-plus winters of freeze-thaw cycles break down mortar joints on those structures, and catching it before water gets behind the brick prevents damage that is far more expensive to fix than a mortar repair.
Spokane Valley's 45 inches of annual snowfall puts real weight on chimney crowns each winter, and the hot-dry summers that follow accelerate mortar cracking as masonry expands and contracts with the seasonal temperature swings. Fall is the best window to inspect and repair chimneys before heating season puts them back under regular use.
The flat terrain across most of Spokane Valley makes for straightforward walkway installation, but mid-sized lots with mature trees present a different challenge - root growth beneath older concrete walkways causes heaving and cracking that becomes a trip hazard. Paver walkways with a properly compacted base handle both frost heave and root pressure better than poured slabs.
Spokane Valley is one of the largest cities in Washington, covering 38 square miles of mostly flat valley floor with a housing stock built primarily between the 1950s and the 1990s. Those ranch-style homes are now 30 to 70 years old, which means original driveways, chimneys, block walls, and foundations have been through decades of the same seasonal stress. Spokane Valley averages around 45 inches of snow per year, and the region goes through many freeze-thaw cycles each winter - temperatures rising above freezing during the day and dropping back below at night. That repetition is the primary driver of concrete cracking, mortar joint deterioration, and block wall failure in this area. Water enters hairline cracks in the fall, freezes and expands in winter, and forces those gaps wider each season.
The valley floor sits on glacial outwash soils - sandy and gravelly material left behind by ancient glacial floods. These soils drain quickly in most areas, which is favorable for masonry work. However, low-lying sections near the Spokane River can hold more moisture, and frost depth in this region typically reaches 12 to 18 inches, which affects how deep footings and wall bases need to be installed to stay stable. A masonry contractor who does not account for frost depth in this climate will build walls that look fine in summer and start shifting the following spring. The City of Spokane Valley has its own building department and permit process - separate from Spokane - and a contractor who works here regularly knows what local inspectors expect.
Our crew works in Spokane Valley regularly, and we pull permits through the City of Spokane Valley Building Department for structural masonry projects. Spokane Valley incorporated as its own city in 2003, which means it runs its own permitting office separate from the City of Spokane - a distinction that matters when a project needs a permit and you want it pulled through the right office. We know what local inspectors look for on retaining wall and foundation jobs, which keeps reviews moving without back-and-forth delays.
We have worked on homes throughout the valley - from ranch houses near the Spokane Valley Mall on Sullivan Road to properties in the Greenacres neighborhoods on the east side, and older homes along the Centennial Trail corridor near the Spokane River. The older core neighborhoods have the most deferred masonry maintenance, while the newer subdivisions on the south and east edges tend to need retaining walls and drainage work as the original grading settles. Both sides of the valley are familiar ground for our crew.
We also serve Liberty Lake, just east of Spokane Valley, where newer homes on slightly more varied terrain create a different set of masonry needs. And if your property sits closer to the Spokane side of the valley, our crew covers that area as well - see our Spokane service area for more on what we do there.
Reach out by phone or through our contact form. We respond within 1 business day. We will ask a few basic questions about what you need - wall type, approximate size, and what you are seeing on your property - so we show up to the estimate prepared.
We visit your Spokane Valley property to assess the site conditions - soil, drainage, slope, and access. After the visit you receive a written, itemized estimate. We also tell you at this stage whether your project requires a City of Spokane Valley permit, so there are no timeline surprises later.
If a permit is required, we handle the application with the City of Spokane Valley on your behalf. Permit review typically adds one to three weeks before work can begin. Once approved and materials are ordered, you get a confirmed start date.
The crew arrives on the agreed date, completes the masonry work, and cleans the site before leaving. You do not need to be home the whole time, but we ask that you be reachable by phone. Before we leave, we walk you through the finished work and answer any questions about curing time or maintenance.
We serve all of Spokane Valley - from the Sullivan Road corridor to Greenacres. Free written estimates, 1-business-day response.
(208) 508-0030Spokane Valley is one of the largest cities in Washington state, with a population of around 102,000 people spread across 38 square miles of valley floor east of Spokane. The city incorporated in 2003 and operates its own city hall, parks department, and building permit office. About 60% of homes in Spokane Valley are owner-occupied, and most of the housing stock consists of single-story ranch homes built during the postwar boom through the 1980s and 1990s. The Spokane River flows through the northern part of the city, and the Centennial Trail follows the river through the city, with homes in that corridor sitting on lower ground where moisture conditions require more attention to masonry drainage.
The city stretches from older neighborhoods in the core to newer subdivisions in Greenacres and along the eastern edge near Liberty Lake. CenterPlace Regional Event Center in Mirabeau Point Park is the main community gathering spot, and the Spokane Valley Mall on Sullivan Road is the commercial anchor most residents use as a reference point for directions. If you live in the Greenacres area or the newer developments on the south side of the valley, you are in the same region we serve in Liberty Lake. For properties on the west side of Spokane Valley where it connects to the city of Spokane, we also cover that ground - see our work in Spokane.
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Learn MoreWe serve all of Spokane Valley and the surrounding area. Call or submit a request and we will respond within 1 business day.