Retaining Wall on a Lake Lot Slope — Holding the Hill Above the Shore
The lawn between the house and the dock is sliding toward the lake a little more every spring, and a wall across the slope is how it stops.
A retaining wall on a lake lot slope holds the hill between the house and the water so the yard stops washing downhill. JMB Builders builds them in block or boulders on Twin Cities and north metro lakes: a compacted class 5 footing trench below frost, drain tile behind the wall to daylight, and the wall set back from the shore the way the city or county shoreland office allows. Priced per project after a site measure.
- Priced per project after a site measure
- Block or boulder wall with drainage to daylight
- Check with the city or county shoreland office first
- Quote from photos, reply within one business day
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
Send photos and hear back within one business day — or book a free in-home estimate.
A lake lot is almost always a slope: the house sits high, the shore sits low, and the lawn between them washes a little with every thaw and every big rain. A retaining wall across the slope turns the hill into one or two flat terraces, keeps the topsoil where it is, and gives you a level place for chairs and a path down to the dock. On a lake lot the wall also sits inside the shoreland zone, so where it goes and how tall it can be is partly the city or county's call, not just ours.
The wall itself is built like any other wall that has to survive Minnesota frost: a trench cut below the topsoil, class 5 compacted in lifts for the footing, the first course set dead level, clean gravel and drain tile behind every course, and the tile run to daylight on the downhill side. Taller runs get geogrid laid back into the slope every few courses. A wall built on lake soil without that drainage fills with water, freezes, and bows out in a couple of winters.
Before anything is quoted we ask you to check with the city or county shoreland office about the setback from the ordinary high water line and the wall height they allow. We measure the slope, mark where the wall can go, and write the quote from that. If the shore itself is eroding below the wall, that is a separate riprap job with its own DNR rules.
What you supply
- A call to the city or county shoreland office about the setback and any permit for a wall on your lot
- The block or boulder look you want, picked from options such as Versa-Lok, Anchor or Rochester Concrete Products, or fieldstone boulders
- Where you want the terrace, the steps down and the path to the dock
- Access for a skid loader down the slope, or a plan to carry material by hand
What JMB supplies
- A site measure of the slope, grade stakes and a layout you can walk before we dig
- Excavation of the footing trench and class 5 compacted in lifts below the first course
- Block or boulder wall set level and plumb, with geogrid on taller runs
- Clean gravel backfill and drain tile behind the wall, run to daylight on the downhill side
- Caps glued on block walls; steps built into the wall where the path to the dock goes
- Backfill, topsoil and seed or sod on the terrace above the wall
- Erosion blanket on any disturbed slope below the wall until grass takes
- Photos of the finished wall in your job folder
How it is priced: per project
Quoted in writing from your photos, with a reply within one business day. What moves the number:
- Length and height of the wall; a wall over the code height is sized by an engineer and that drawing is part of the job
- Block vs. boulders: boulders need a machine on the slope, block is set by hand
- How steep the slope is and whether a skid loader can get down it or material is carried
- Soil: sand near the lake digs easily, clay and old fill do not
- Drain tile run length to daylight and any geogrid on taller runs
- Steps built into the wall and a path to the dock on the same visit
- Seed, sod or erosion blanket on the terrace and the slope below
Send a photo from the house looking down to the water and one from the dock looking back up, and tell us what the shoreland office said about the setback.
How long it takes
A single wall across a lake lot slope: three to five working days once the shoreland office has signed off. Boulder walls with machine access go faster than block carried down by hand.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized reply within one business day. Prefer a look in person? A free in-home estimate is always an option.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
One wall, one terrace
A single wall across the slope near the house, making one flat lawn above it and a gentler grass slope below it to the shore. The simplest layout and the one most lake lots end up with.
Two short walls instead of one tall one
Two walls each under the code height, stepped down the slope with a terrace between them. Often avoids the engineer's drawing a single tall wall would need and keeps each wall inside what the shoreland office allows.
Boulder wall on the slope
Fieldstone boulders set by machine into the hill, battered back into the slope. Looks right on a lake lot and sheds water through the gaps, but needs a skid loader that can work on the grade.
Wall with steps to the dock
Block steps or boulder steps built into the wall line so the path to the dock runs through the wall instead of around it. The steps sit on their own compacted trench.
Retaining Wall on a Lake Lot Slope — Holding the Hill Above the Shore: questions, answered
Do I need a permit for a retaining wall on a lake lot in Minnesota?
Often, yes, and the rules are stricter than for a wall in a back yard. Lake lots sit in a shoreland zone, and the city or county shoreland office sets how far a wall has to be from the ordinary high water line, how tall it can be and whether a permit is needed. Check with them before you plan the wall; we can tell you what to ask. A wall above the code height anywhere also needs to be sized by an engineer.
How close to the lake can you build a retaining wall?
That is set by the shoreland ordinance for your lake and your city or county, measured from the ordinary high water line. We build the wall where the shoreland office says it can go, which on most lots is well up the slope near the house rather than down at the water. Work at the water's edge itself, such as riprap, falls under the DNR and is a different job.
What stops a lake lot retaining wall from leaning after a few winters?
Drainage and the footing. Lake soil holds water, and water behind a wall freezes and pushes. We put clean gravel and perforated drain tile behind every course and run the tile to daylight on the downhill side so the backfill stays dry. The first course sits on class 5 compacted in lifts in a trench below the topsoil, and taller runs get geogrid laid back into the slope. That is what keeps the wall plumb.
Block or boulders for a wall on a lake slope?
Both work. Boulders look like they belong on a lake lot, drain through the gaps and are set by machine, but the machine has to be able to work on the slope. Block is carried and set by hand, gives you a flat cap to sit on and makes built-in steps easier. Steep slopes with no machine path usually end up in block; lots with a drivable grade can go either way.
Can you build the steps down to the dock at the same time?
Yes. Steps built into the wall line are the normal way to get from the terrace down to the shore. Each riser sits on its own compacted class 5 trench, with solid step units or boulder steps and a landing where the slope changes. Doing them with the wall means one excavation and one base instead of two visits.
What if the shore below the wall is also washing away?
A retaining wall up the slope stops the lawn from sliding, but it does not fix an eroding bank at the water. That is a shoreline riprap job with its own DNR rules and permit. We can look at both on the same site measure and tell you which one you actually need, or whether it is both.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners, builders and dealers. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough: a reply within one business day, or ask for a free in-home estimate. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed October 1, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All pavers pages
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