A slope you can’t use is wasted yard, and a wall built without drainage or engineering is a slope failure waiting to happen. Oregon’s wet winters put steady hydrostatic pressure behind every retaining wall, and the clay-heavy soil common across the metro holds that water instead of draining it away. HD Landscape & Maintenance builds walls that account for both — block, boulder, and timber, engineered where the height requires it, so it holds the slope for decades instead of five years.
Donavan Hesedahl, Founder & Owner — Last updated July 2026
Oregon LCB Lic. #9977
5-star reviewed
Fixed timelines
Retaining walls fix problems most homeowners don’t realize have one specific fix. Signs it’s worth building:
HD Landscape & Maintenance designs and builds retaining walls for Oregon’s wet-winter, clay-soil conditions — every wall gets a compacted base and backfill built to move water away from the structure, not trap it behind it. Here’s what we build.
Segmental retaining wall block is our most-built system — interlocking units that don’t rely on mortar, set on a compacted gravel leveling pad and backed with free-draining gravel and a perforated drain pipe at the base. It’s the fastest way to a clean, straight wall line and the easiest system to warranty.
For a wall that reads as part of the landscape rather than a structure, we build with quarried boulders or fieldstone, stacked and set for their own mass and stability. Boulder walls carry load differently than block, and we size and place each stone for the weight it’s actually holding back.
Timber still makes sense for shorter garden walls and raised beds where a softer, warmer material fits the design. We use rated landscape timber, not construction lumber, and back it with the same drainage every wall gets — timber fails fast when it’s set against wet, undrained soil.
Most Portland-metro jurisdictions require a building permit and stamped engineering for any wall over 4 feet, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top, and several also treat closely spaced tiered walls as a single structure if they aren’t set back at least twice the height of the lower wall. We handle the engineering, the permit, and the tier spacing so a terraced hillside doesn’t get flagged as one oversized wall.
The wall you see is half the job. Behind every wall we build, free-draining gravel backfill and a perforated drain pipe carry groundwater away instead of letting it build up as hydrostatic pressure — the single biggest reason walls in this climate lean, bulge, or fail early.
For slopes that need more than one wall, we grade and terrace the whole hillside into usable, plantable levels rather than treating each wall as a standalone fix, so drainage and grading work together across the full site instead of fighting each other.
A wall that looks right the day it’s built and a wall that’s still straight in twenty years are built differently. Here’s what sets us apart.
Every wall is different, so we can’t quote a flat rate sight unseen — but here’s exactly how we price the work.
Free on-site consultation first. We assess the slope, soil, drainage, and access before quoting.
Written proposal before we start. You get a clear, itemized proposal, and we don’t begin until you approve it.
Three things that drive the price:
Want a ballpark before we visit? Call (971) 336-5520 — tell us your address and what you’re after, and we’ll give you an honest estimate range with no obligation.
Our team is ready to answer your questions and guide you every step of the way. Reach out anytime.
A wall lives or dies on what’s behind it, so we follow the same disciplined process every time.
Step 1 — Free on-site consultation. We assess the slope, soil, drainage, and any nearby structures, and talk through your goals and budget before quoting.
Step 2 — Design, engineering, and permit (if required). For walls over 4 feet, we handle the stamped engineering and permit submittal before any excavation starts.
Step 3 — Excavation, drainage, and build. We excavate to grade, compact the base, install the drain and backfill as we go, and set the wall to spec.
Step 4 — Final walkthrough. We review the finished wall with you and clean the site completely before we leave.
HD Landscape & Maintenance designs and builds retaining walls throughout the Portland metro area, Monday through Saturday — including Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Gresham, Tigard, Lake Oswego, Oregon City, Wilsonville, Tualatin, and Newberg.
Looking for retaining wall work in your specific city?
See our location pages for the neighborhoods we serve.
Let’s Talk Today! Call HD Landscape & Maintenance for a free, no-obligation consultation and a clear plan for your retaining wall — engineered, drained, and built to last through Oregon’s wet winters.
