Bethlehem Township sits in the northwest corner of Hunterdon County, running from the Musconetcong River valley up onto the ridges to the south. Interstate 78 cuts across it, but away from the highway the township is wooded hills, scattered farms and homes on acre-plus lots. A lot of houses here date from the 1970s through the 2000s, built on hillside parcels where the driveway climbs, the backyard drops off, and rock sits close to the surface.
Those conditions push most projects toward the same question: how do you make a sloped lot usable without the ground moving?
Retaining walls on rocky ground
A good retaining wall turns a steep yard into a level lawn, a patio pad or a parking area. In Bethlehem Township the challenge is usually the digging. Ledge and broken shale show up a foot or two down, so we plan the footing around what is actually there. Every wall gets compacted base stone, clean drainage gravel behind the face and an outlet so water has somewhere to go. Taller walls are stepped back or built in tiers.
Steps that follow the grade
Homes set above the road often need a long run of steps from the drive to the front door. Building the steps into the wall itself, as in the photo at the top of this page, keeps everything tied together. We also build poured and masonry concrete steps with footings below frost and railings where the rise calls for them.
Driveways and water
Steep driveways shed a lot of water, and that water ends up at the garage or across the apron. When we replace a driveway we look at pitch, add a trench drain or swale where it is needed and set the apron so runoff goes around the house. Basements cut into hillsides can stay damp for the same reason, and grading fixes often help before any waterproofing is needed.
What we check on a hillside lot
- Where the rock is and how deep the soil goes
- Where runoff from the slope above ends up
- Whether a wall needs an engineered design
- How equipment can get up or down the grade safely
Nearby, we work in the small borough of Bloomsbury and in Union Township, plus everywhere else in Hunterdon County. If your yard needs leveling or a safer set of steps, ask for a free estimate.
