Hardscaping in Cincinnati Built for Hillside Yards

Hardscaping is the built, non-living half of a landscape. Retaining walls, paver patios, walkways, drainage and fencing all count. Planting, sod and mulch are the softscape half. On a hillside lot the hardscape usually has to come first, because there is not much point planting a bed on ground that is still moving or on a slope that sends water toward the foundation.

A retaining wall holds ground back. A garden wall sits on level ground and defines a space. The difference is structural, not decorative. A wall that retains soil carries real load and needs the right base, the right block and drainage behind it, while a wall that holds nothing back does not. We size and build walls for what they are actually holding, which on the west side is usually a slope with water moving through it.

Yes, and most of the patios we build are on slopes. The usual approach is to cut a level area into the grade and hold the high side with a retaining wall, so the patio sits flat while the hill stays put. That is why walls and patios get quoted together around here more often than either one gets quoted alone.

Concrete block for retaining walls and concrete pavers for patios and walkways, both available in a range of colors and textures. Material choice moves the price as much as the size of the area does, so we walk through the options with you before quoting. Stone, topsoil and mulch come from our own yard on Gracely Drive, which means the material for a job is minutes away rather than on a supplier schedule.

Yes. Every project starts with a free on-site walk of the property, where we look at grade, drainage, access for equipment and how you want to use the space. The design follows the ground rather than a template. You get a written quote and a build schedule after that visit, so you know what the yard looks like on each day of the work.

Earlier than most people expect. Hardscape work starts earlier in the spring and runs later into the fall than planting does, so the season is longer than it looks. Install calendars fill by May, which means a project planned in late winter usually lands a spring slot, while a call in June is often looking at late summer.