Leveling, engineered retaining walls, patio and concrete, irrigation and planting. One design, one contractor, one mobilization.
A full backyard renovation in Castle Rock typically runs $30,000 to $100,000+ and takes three to twelve weeks on site, depending on grade change, hardscape square footage and whether walls need engineering. HLE Landscaping & Concrete designs and builds the whole project, from leveling and engineered walls to flagstone, paver or concrete patios, fire features, drainage, irrigation and planting, under one contract.
Your highest-value outdoor project is not a patio or a wall. It is the whole yard, done once, by one contractor.
Most Castle Rock backyards we are asked to renovate share a shape. A walkout or garden-level home in The Meadows, Crystal Valley, Terrain, Macanta or Cobblestone Ranch. A builder slab the size of a parking space. A yard that drops anywhere from two to eight feet between the back door and the fence, in soil that swells when it rains and shrinks when it does not.
Nothing on that lot is one trade. The patio needs a level pad. The level pad needs a wall. The wall needs drainage behind it, engineering above four feet and a permit. The irrigation the builder installed is now under the patio. The planting has to pass Castle Rock’s landscape regulations and your HOA’s design review. Homeowners who try to assemble this from a concrete company, a wall company and a sprinkler company usually end up calling someone to fix the seams.
We price and build it as one project. Our concrete, wall and landscape crews work from the same site plan, so sleeves, conduit, gas lines and drains go in before a single stone is set, and one person, the owner, is responsible for the whole result. In our own project records, a retaining wall in the first conversation is the clearest sign a yard needs this treatment: those projects almost always involve regrading, stairs, drainage and a patio on top.
Good design on a Castle Rock lot is mostly about grade. Here is how we turn a drop into rooms.
Two three-foot walls with a planted bench between them cost less to engineer than one six-foot wall, read as a garden instead of a dam, and give you two rooms: dining on the upper level, a fire lounge a few steps down. On walkout lots we often add a lower patio under the deck so the basement level gets its own outdoor space.
A dining table, grill and traffic lane need about 400–500 sq ft. Dining plus a lounge needs 600–800. We draw the furniture on the plan before we size the stone, because the most common regret we hear about a builder patio is that it fits a table and nothing else.
Castle Rock sits at roughly 6,200 feet with a prevailing west wind. We drop the fire lounge a step or two, back it with a seat wall or a planted berm, and aim the seating at the Front Range or the rock outcrops so the fire is usable in April and October, not only on still August nights.
Castle Rock’s landscape rules for new homes limit thirsty turf, so we design the way the best Colorado gardens are designed now: mass-planted grasses and Plant Select perennials in drifts, boulders and structural evergreens for winter form, and a small, perfect turf panel framed like a rug where grass is actually wanted.
Design trend we are building most in Castle Rock right now: the outdoor room. A covered or pergola-shaded dining terrace at door level, a sunken fire lounge with built-in seating, large-format stone or porcelain in a simple grid, and zoned lighting that reveals the walls and trees instead of lining the path. It doubles the months the yard gets used.
Every material below is judged against three Castle Rock conditions: freeze-thaw, high-altitude UV and soil that moves.
| Material | Best use on a Castle Rock lot | Freeze-thaw / altitude UV | On expansive clay | Typical installed range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poured concrete (broom, exposed aggregate, sandblast) | Large patios, pads, walks, lower-level slabs | Good with an air-entrained 4,000 psi mix | Cracks if the base fails; thickened edges and control joints required | $12–$22 / sq ft |
| Architectural concrete pavers (60–80 mm) | Patios, walks, drive courts | Excellent in premium lines | Resettable if soil moves | $22–$40 / sq ft |
| Colorado buff or red sandstone flagstone (dry-laid, 1.5–2 in) | Terraces, steps, wall caps | Good; local stone, local color | Resettable | Roughly 50–100% above pavers |
| Porcelain pavers (20 mm) | Modern patios, indoor-outdoor thresholds | Excellent, under 0.5% absorption, no fading | Rigid; base and edge restraint are critical | Premium tier, at or above flagstone |
| Segmental block retaining wall with stone cap | Terraces and grade retention | Excellent | Geogrid, drainage stone, perforated pipe | $35–$75 / face ft |
| Natural stone or boulder wall | Feature walls, seat walls, grade transitions | Excellent | Engineered footing over 4 ft | Above block |
| Travertine | Not recommended outdoors here | Poor; pits fill with water and spall | Rigid | We do not install it exposed |
Ranges are typical 2026 installed prices in the south Denver metro. Your proposal carries the exact number for your lot, your access and your material selections.
Six to eight inches of compacted road base over moisture-conditioned subgrade, not the two inches of sand a builder slab sits on. On Castle Rock clay the base decides whether the patio is flat in year ten.
Clean stone and perforated pipe behind every wall, daylighted or tied to a drain, plus positive grade away from the foundation. A wall without drainage is a wall with a countdown.
Exposed travertine, thin big-box pavers that fade and cannot be matched later, and plain broom-finish concrete sold as a finished luxury patio surface.
Real ranges, so the proposal you receive from us lands where you expect it to.
Flat to gentle lots in Founders Village, Plum Creek and older Castle Rock neighborhoods replacing a builder slab.
The typical Meadows, Crystal Valley, Terrain or Macanta walkout lot with a two- to six-foot drop.
Larger and steeper lots in Macanta, Castlewood Ranch, Escavera and custom-lot homes, often phase one of a master plan.
Phases cost more, not less. Every return trip brings machines back through the same side yard and puts the finished phase at risk. If phasing is unavoidable, we design the whole yard now and build the infrastructure first: grading, walls, sleeves, stub-outs and the main hardscape.
Where homeowners waste money: building a patio without a drainage plan, skipping sleeves and conduit, undersizing the patio to save $3,000, buying the cheapest paver, and planting small trees to save $500 each and then waiting eight years for privacy.
A sloped-lot renovation is a construction schedule. Here is the whole one.
Brandon walks the lot with you, shoots the grade, photographs drainage and access, and listens to how you want to live outside.
Week 0 · 60–90 minScaled plan, material selections against your house, itemized proposal. Wall engineering starts here if any wall is over 4 ft.
Weeks 1–3HOA design review packet, Town of Castle Rock or Douglas County permits, utility locates. We prepare and submit everything.
Weeks 3–8Grading and walls, then sleeves, gas, electrical and drains, then base and hardscape, then irrigation, planting and lighting. Clean site every night.
3–12 weeks on sitePunch list, irrigation programmed to your water budget, care notes for the first season, written warranty on file.
Final weekBooking for spring: Castle Rock spring build slots fill by February. Design in December and January, submit to the HOA in February, and you are the first project on the ground when the frost leaves the soil in March or April.
The paperwork is part of the project. We carry it so you do not have to.
The Town of Castle Rock and Douglas County require a building permit and engineer-stamped drawings for retaining walls over four feet, measured from the bottom of the footing, and for any wall carrying a surcharge such as a patio, driveway, hot tub or steep slope above it. We coordinate the engineer, pull the permit and schedule the inspections. You sign nothing you have not seen.
Nearly every Castle Rock community, including The Meadows, Crystal Valley Ranch, Terrain, Macanta, Cobblestone Ranch and Castlewood Ranch, requires an architectural review submittal for hardscape, walls, structures and planting: a site plan, wall heights, materials and colors. We prepare the packet. Approvals typically take two to six weeks, which is why they sit in the schedule before the build, not during it.
Castle Rock Water’s landscape regulations for new homes limit high-water turf to a small area in the backyard, prohibit it in front yards, and tie the home’s water budget to an approved landscape plan. We design the planting and irrigation to that budget, with drip to every bed and a smart controller, and we handle the turf-replacement rebate paperwork for established homes that qualify.
Much of Castle Rock sits on expansive bentonite clay, so every patio gets a deeper compacted base and positive drainage away from the foundation, and every wall gets a French drain. Gas fire features are the reliable choice under Douglas County fire restrictions; wood-burning pits are subject to seasonal bans and HOA rules, and we will tell you which your community allows before you fall in love with one.
A $50,000 backyard is a construction project. Vet us the way you would vet any builder.
HLE Landscaping & Concrete is a locally owned design-build company based in Aurora, about thirty minutes up I-25 from Castle Rock, and the owner, Brandon, meets every client on site and designs the project with you before a crew is scheduled. Our concrete, wall and landscape crews are our own, which is why a sloped-lot renovation with four trades on it runs on one schedule instead of four.
Every retaining wall over four feet or carrying a patio gets a stamped engineered design, a permit and inspections. Every patio gets a base specified for Castle Rock’s expansive clay. Every proposal is itemized so you can see what the grade change, the wall and the stone actually cost, and the warranty is in writing.
“HLE did a fantastic job landscaping our new backyard. Brandon and his crew were great to work with. Our project included retaining wall, paver patio, artificial turf, and concrete walkway. Brandon had great suggestions and was always available for questions or to follow up on details. The crew was timely, worked hard, and were friendly.”
— Google review, full backyard build
| What you should ask any contractor | Our answer |
|---|---|
| Who designs it, and who builds it? | The same company. Brandon designs it with you on site; HLE’s own concrete, wall and landscape crews build it. |
| Are the retaining walls engineered? | Every wall over 4 ft or carrying a patio, driveway or slope gets stamped drawings, a permit and inspections. Shorter walls still get geogrid, drainage and a compacted base. |
| Are you insured for heavy equipment on my property? | General liability and workers’ compensation; certificates are provided with your proposal. |
| Can I see a project like mine? | Yes. Ask for sloped-lot terraces, walkout patios and fire lounges in your community, and read the 350+ Google reviews for how we run a job. |
| What is covered by the warranty? | Hardscape and workmanship in writing, and plant material on irrigation we install. Terms are in the proposal, not a handshake. |
| What happens if you hit rock, a utility or bad soil? | Written change order before work continues. No surprise invoices at the end. |
Want to see a project on a lot like yours in Castle Rock? Ask during your consultation. Browse the full gallery or read client stories.
Most designed, multi-trade backyard renovations in Castle Rock land between $30,000 and $100,000. A flat lot with a 400–500 sq ft patio, gas fire pit, drip-irrigated planting and lighting runs about $30,000–$45,000. A sloped walkout lot that needs leveling, a retaining wall, two levels of hardscape and a masonry fire feature typically runs $50,000–$85,000. Connected outdoor rooms with an outdoor kitchen, covered structure and engineered walls start around $100,000. Grade change is the single biggest variable.
Yes when the wall is over 4 feet tall measured from the bottom of the footing, or when it carries a surcharge such as a patio, driveway, hot tub or slope above it. The Town of Castle Rock and Douglas County require a building permit with engineer-stamped drawings for those walls. HLE coordinates the engineering, pulls the permit and schedules the inspections as part of the project. Walls under 4 feet still get geogrid, a compacted base and drainage behind them.
On site, two to three weeks for a flat-lot patio and planting project, four to six weeks for a sloped lot with a wall and two levels, and eight to twelve weeks for a full outdoor living build. Add three to eight weeks before that for design, HOA design review and permits. Spring build slots fill by February, so the best time to start design for a spring installation is December through January.
It depends on the drop from the back door to the fence. Under about two feet we usually regrade and hold the edge with a seat wall. Two to six feet is one or two terraces, each with its own use, such as dining up and a fire lounge down. Over six feet means tiered engineered walls with stairs between them. We choose based on where you want to sit, where water has to go and what the HOA will approve, not on what is cheapest to pour.
Yes. HLE Landscaping & Concrete designs and builds the entire backyard under one contract: leveling and grading, engineered walls, concrete, paver, flagstone or porcelain patios, fire features, drainage, irrigation, planting and lighting. One plan, one schedule and one owner responsible for the result, which is what most homeowners ask for after trying to coordinate three separate trades.
All at once is almost always cheaper and faster. Every mobilization brings machines back through the same side yard, and the first phase has to be protected from the second. If your budget requires phases, phase by infrastructure: grading, walls, sleeves, gas and electrical stubs and the main hardscape first, then structures, an outdoor kitchen and planting later. We design the whole yard up front either way so phase two does not undo phase one.
We locate and cap the builder’s zones before excavation, reroute mains and laterals around the new hardscape, and rebuild the zones to match the new planting plan, usually converting beds to drip and putting any remaining turf on its own zone. The system is then programmed to Castle Rock Water’s budget for your lot. Sleeves under every patio and walk mean future lines never require cutting concrete.
Look for a company that designs and builds under one contract, engineers and permits its walls, specifies base depth for expansive clay rather than a national minimum, knows Castle Rock’s landscape code and your HOA’s design review process, carries general liability and workers’ compensation insurance, shows you completed projects on lots like yours, and puts the warranty in writing. Then read its reviews for project management, communication and clean job sites, not just star counts.
Yes. We prepare the architectural review packet your HOA requires, including the site plan, wall heights, materials and colors, and we design the planting and irrigation to Castle Rock’s landscape regulations so the plan passes the first time. For new-construction homes we also prepare the landscape plan the Town requires before the water budget is set.
Well-built hardscape, mature privacy planting and covered or fire-centered outdoor living areas are consistently among the highest-return exterior improvements south metro agents cite, and they are the first thing a buyer sees from the kitchen window. The return depends on doing the invisible work right: drainage, base and engineered walls are what keep the project looking new in year ten.
Tell us about your lot, the grade and how you want to live outside. You will get a walk-through with Brandon, a scaled plan and an itemized proposal, not a ballpark.
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