Slope · Front yard
Retaining walls and terraces for LA slopes
For a bank that slides onto the path when it rains, or a raised bed along the drive. Block walls faced in stucco or stone, with planting above to hold the soil.
Book online and we'll call you back the same business day.
Plenty of LA lots have a slope somewhere: a bank down to the sidewalk, or a hill behind the back fence. Left bare, it sheds soil with every storm and the top of the yard goes unused. We hold it with a wall where one is needed and with planting where a wall would be more than the bank asks for.
Walls we build, by where they go
- Along the sidewalk. A low wall at the front of a raised yard, faced in river stone or stucco, with steps through it up to the walk.
- Across a backyard slope. One wall, or two lower terraces with steps between them, so each level has room for planting or a path.
- Along the drive. A raised bed held by a short wall, so the soil stays off the concrete.
- Up the bank. Steps and a path from the bottom of the yard to the top, in stone or concrete, with a handrail where it's steep.
A slope that needs work usually shows it like this:
- Soil and mulch washing onto the path or the patio after rain
- A bank that stays bare because nothing takes
- A raised front yard with nothing holding its edge at the sidewalk
- A back bank with no steps, so nobody goes up to the top of the lot
- Planters along the drive spilling soil onto the concrete
A wall, or planting alone
Some banks only need planting. Where the slope is gentle and the soil is not yet moving, deep-rooted plants on drip and a few boulders set into the face can hold it. A steeper bank, or one already sliding onto a path, usually needs a wall or terraces. At the visit we tell you which yours is, and the quote prices what we would do.
If the slope needs a plan first, because it decides where the patio and the steps can go, we price the plan at the yard visit, before any building is priced. More on that under landscape design.
One crew lead runs your whole job.
Whoever walks the lot with you at the free visit runs the build and the final walkthrough, and you get their direct number that day. A question about the slope or the side gate goes to the person who measured it.
Book online and we'll call you back the same business day.
- Free yard visit, booked within 3 business daysPaver and turf samples come with us.
- One quote with a price for each part of the yard
- Turf and planting priced side by side
- One crew lead, with a direct number
How a slope job runs
- Yard visit. We come within 3 business days. You walk the slope with us while we measure its height and length and look at what grows on it now.
- Your quote. By email within 1 business day of the visit, with the wall and the planting priced separately.
- Start date. We confirm the start date in writing.
- The build. Work starts on the date we confirmed and runs until everything on your quote is done.
- Walkthrough. We go over the wall and the planting with you. What we build is covered for 1 year and what we plant for 12 weeks, with a check visit in that time.
What the price of a wall depends on
- How long and how tall the wall is
- The facing: block finished in stucco, or faced in river stone
- One wall or a pair of terraces
- Steps and a handrail up the slope
- How the crew and the materials reach the bank
- Deep-rooted planting along the bank, each plant on drip
What the slope gets
- A wall or terraces that hold the bank, faced in stucco or stone to match the house
- Steps and a path up the slope where you need them
- Deep-rooted planting on drip to hold the soil
Questions about retaining walls
Will the wall match the house?
That's what the facing is for. Stucco can be finished in the color of the house walls, and river stone suits a Craftsman with river-rock piers. We talk the facing through with you at the visit.
Can the steps go in at the same time?
Yes. Steps and a path up the slope go on the same quote as the wall, each with its own price.
Which plants hold a slope?
Deep-rooted ones. Deer grass, ceanothus, manzanita and rosemary are common on LA banks, on drip until they root. Ice plant is shallow-rooted and heavy when wet, so we don't plant it on a steep bank.
The jobs we design and build.
Book one visit for the whole yard.
It's free, and you'll hear what we'd do in every part of it.
Book online and we'll call you back the same business day.