Expert Retaining Wall Installation Services in Salt Lake City and Surrounding Areas
A well-built retaining wall transforms a sloped or unusable yard into structured, functional outdoor space. Modern Utah Landscape designs and installs modern retaining walls throughout the Salt Lake Valley…including Salt Lake City, Draper, South Jordan, Saratoga Springs, and everywhere from Bountiful to Lehi. We work with natural stone, concrete block, and custom steel to create walls that are as visually strong as they are structurally sound. Whether you're managing a hillside, creating terraced levels, or adding a modern edge to your landscape, we engineer every wall for Utah's freeze-thaw conditions and long-term durability.
Types of
Retaining Walls
Not every slope calls for the same solution. We work with many types of primary retaining wall systems, each with its own structural profile, aesthetic, and ideal use case. Here's how our most common types compare so you can go into your consultation with a clear idea of what fits your yard.
Gravity Walls
Gravity retaining walls rely on their own mass and weight to hold back soil. No deep footings, no reinforcement, no mechanical anchoring. They're typically built from natural stone, large concrete blocks, or boulders and work best for shorter walls where the weight of the material alone resists the lateral pressure of the slope. Modern Utah Landscape installs gravity retaining walls throughout the Salt Lake Valley. They're one of the more straightforward installations that blends naturally into residential landscapes. They hold up well in Utah's freeze-thaw climate when properly drained and are a dependable, low-profile solution for everyday residential grade changes.
Best For: Shorter slopes under 3-4 feet, natural or rustic landscape styles, garden bed borders and yards where a haeavy, natural material fits the design.
Cantilever Walls
Cantilever retaining walls are an engineered solution built from reinforced concrete with an L-shaped or T-shaped footing that extends beneath the soil. The weight of the retained earth pushes down on the base footing, counteracting the outward pressure of the slope and making them highly efficient for taller walls without requiring the mass of a gravity wall. Cantilever walls require professional engineering and proper drainage behind the wall to perform correctly over the long term in Utah's climate.
Best For: Taller walls over 4 feet, sites with heavy loads above the wall, driveways near slope edges, and projects where a clean face fits the architecture.
Sheet Piling Walls
Sheet piling walls are built by driving thin interlocking panels…typically steel, vinyl, or wood, vertically into the ground to retain soil without the need for a wide base or footing. A portion of the sheet extends below grade for anchoring while the rest rises above to hold the slope, making them one of the most space-efficient retaining wall solutions available. Modern Utah Landscape installs sheet piling walls for tight residential sites, waterfront applications, and areas with high moisture or drainage concerns throughout Salt Lake City and surrounding area.
Best For: Tight sites with no room for a wide base, waterfront or shoreline stabilization, soft or sandy soil conditions, and areas with high moisture or table water concerns.
Gabion Walls
Gabion walls are built from wire mesh cages filled with rock, stone, or gravel and stacked to form a retaining wall structure that is as functional as it is visually distinctive. The flexibility of the cage system allows them to shift slightly with ground movement without cracking or failing, making them particularly well suited for Utah's freeze-thaw conditions throughout the Salt Lake Valley. Water drains freely through the rock fill, virtually eliminating hydrostatic pressure buildup behind the wall and reducing the risk of failure over time. Modern Utah Landscape installs gabion retaining walls for homeowners who want a textural, design-forward wall that handles drainage challenges naturally.
Best For: Sights with drainage challenges, naturalistic or contemporary landscape style, slopes prone to erosion, and projects where a textural stone aesthetic fits the design vision.
