Lehi, Utah
Your dream yard. Done right. Done on time.
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Grading, drainage and retaining walls for Lehi lots, from soggy clay yards toward the Jordan River to steep Traverse Mountain benches that need engineered walls and permits.
“Sidewalks, retaining wall, and raised garden are all beautifully done.”
“I will be using them for all of my landscape needs, a pleasure to work with!”
Grading and Retaining Walls in Lehi
Grading is the part of a yard nobody sees, and the part that causes the most trouble when it is wrong. In Lehi it splits two ways. On the flats, from Holbrook Farms down toward the Jordan River, lots are fairly level and sit on heavy clay. Water does not soak in fast there. If the yard is not shaped to carry it off, it sits against the foundation or turns the lawn to mush every spring.
On Traverse Mountain, the problem is the hill itself. Lehi's Hillside Preservation rules, Chapter 12-A, apply to ground with a slope of 10 percent or more, and grading falls under Chapter 12-B. Any retaining wall over 4 feet, measured from the bottom of the footing, needs a permit and an engineered design under Chapter 12-C. You do not work around those rules. You plan with them from the first sketch.
We handle both kinds of lot. On flat clay we shape swales and slopes so water leaves the yard. On the bench we lay out terraces, figure out which walls need an engineer and build them with drain rock and pipe behind them. We confirm current requirements with Lehi City on every job, because codes change and a wall is not something you want to redo.
Lehi is two towns in one: bare new-build lots on clay down by Thanksgiving Point with an HOA clock ticking, and steep gravel benches up on Traverse Mountain that need engineered walls.
Know your Lehi ground
The Lehi challenges
Lehi's valley clay can hold water for days after a storm or a long sprinkler run. A yard graded flat, or graded toward the house by accident, will pond. Over a few years that water finds window wells and foundation cracks, and the lawn in the low spots dies from sitting wet.
Once your slope hits 10 percent, Lehi's hillside rules come into play. They can affect how much you cut, where fill goes and how walls step up the hill. Building first and asking later can mean a stop-work order and paying to undo it.
A lot of failed walls we see were stacked with no drain rock or pipe behind them. Water builds up, freezes and pushes, and the top of the wall starts to lean out. On a bench lot that wall may be holding up a neighbor's yard, so it is not a small problem.
Some people try to stay under the 4 foot rule by stacking two short walls close together. If the upper wall sits too near the lower one, it loads it like a single tall wall. We space terraces the right way, or bring in the engineer when the design calls for it.
The J&H approach
We measure the real elevations of your yard, the house and the lots next door, then set a plan for where every bit of water goes. On clay lots that might be a swale, a drain line or a dry well. Nothing gets guessed or eyeballed.
For walls over 4 feet in Lehi, we work with a licensed engineer and pull the permit before we build. Shorter walls still get a compacted base, drain rock and a perforated pipe that daylights, because water is what tips walls over.
On Traverse Mountain lots we often turn one steep slope into two or three flat terraces. You get room for a lawn, a patio or a garden, and each wall stays in a safe height range. We plant the faces so they hold soil and look finished.
From our job sites
Short videos from real J&H job sites. Tap one to play it with sound.
What homeowners say
"We had a really big project (full lot project) and a crazy timeline, and Jackson and his team were awesome. They are very efficient, work hard to get things done quick, and the quality of their work is top-notch. Great company. Great guys. I would highly recommend them for any landscaping needs."
"Jackson and his crew did a phenomenal job on our back yard. I had a vision and they brought it to life. We had them do a retaining wall, grading, underground trampoline, sprinkler system, and sod. They met deadlines, communication was on point, and the whole crew was friendly.…"
"…The job was completed quickly without sacrificing quality, and the results exceeded our expectations. We would absolutely hire this team again and recommend them to anyone looking for landscaping help."
Everything we do in Lehi
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Grading and Retaining Walls near Lehi
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Your dream yard. Done right. Done on time.
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