Introduction

Salt Lake City’s hillside lots and sloped yards are beautiful — but they require smart engineering to stay safe, functional, and visually polished. Millburn Landscape has been designing and building retaining walls across the Wasatch Front for 20+ years, handling everything from simple single-tiered walls to complex multi-level structures with built-in seating and integrated landscaping.

A well-built retaining wall does three critical jobs: it controls erosion, manages water drainage, and creates usable flat space on a sloped lot. Done right, it’s invisible — the yard functions beautifully, water moves where it should, and the wall lasts for decades. Done wrong, it can fail catastrophically.

About This Service

Retaining walls are engineered structures. The right design depends on soil type, slope angle, water table, climate freeze-thaw cycles, and how much weight the wall needs to hold. In Utah, we deal with clay soils that expand in winter, extreme temperature swings, and heavy snow loading — all of which put real stress on a wall.

That’s why we don’t build walls based on guesses. Every wall we design includes proper grading, drainage systems (often perforated drain pipe behind the wall), proper base preparation, and engineering-grade materials. We work with natural stone, engineered block, poured concrete, or timber depending on the site conditions and your aesthetic goals.

For walls over 4 feet, we follow Utah building code and often bring in a licensed engineer to ensure the structure can handle lateral soil pressure, freeze-thaw cycles, and any water load it might face.

Our Process

It starts with a site visit. We evaluate the slope, soil conditions, drainage patterns, and what you want to achieve. If it’s a larger or more complex wall, we may recommend a soil test or engineering report.

From there, we design the wall, pull any necessary permits, and build it to spec. The installation includes excavation, proper base prep, drainage installation, wall construction, backfill, and finishing with landscape plants or mulch as desired.

Why Choose Millburn Landscape?

We build walls that last. Every project gets proper engineering, attention to drainage, and craftsmanship that shows. We manage the whole process from design through warranty service, and we’re not afraid to bring in engineers when the job calls for it. That’s how you get a retaining wall that still looks perfect 20 years from now.