Your Francis Ranch backyard is a hill. We've already built one.
Retaining walls, patios, turf, planting and irrigation for Trumark and Taylor Morrison lots in Francis Ranch, designed around the slope behind your fence. Our crew finished the backyard on Quinn Rd this spring.
Casa de RJ, licensed general contractor. CSLB #1084784
- Built in Francis Ranch: Quinn Rd, Orchid, spring 2026
- Walls sized to your slope, engineered when they need to be
- One licensed contractor for the whole yard, walls to plants
Three ways to handle the slope
Most Francis Ranch backyards run about 60 feet wide and 40 feet deep, with the slope along the back fence. Which of these your lot needs depends on how steep it is and how much flat ground you want.
Planted slope
The grade stays where the builder set it. The pad gets the patio and turf; the slope gets plants that hold it, on drip. The gentler Primrose lots often land here.
Single retaining wall
One wall at the base of the hill, with the slope cut back behind it. The most flat ground per foot of wall. Taller walls need engineering and a permit, and we handle both.
Terraced walls
Two shorter walls stepping up the hill with planting between them. Easier on the eye, and each tier can often stay under permit height. This is what Quinn Rd got.
Every project starts with design.
The walkthrough is free. We come out, look at your slope, talk through what you want back there, and give you a real ballpark on the spot. If the numbers work, the first thing we contract is design, because on a lot like yours, nobody can price a build honestly until the walls are engineered.
What's included
A measured site plan, structural engineering for your retaining walls, six rendered perspectives with two rounds of revisions, a finished material budget with quantities, and help getting your plans submitted to the city.
Not included
Geotechnical reports, if the city requires one, and city permit fees are billed at cost. If your lot has no existing site plan, survey work is quoted separately.
Design and engineering starts at $10,500.
That number becomes the roadmap you build from, with us, or with anyone.
Retaining walls: wood, block, or concrete?
Three ways to build the wall that holds your slope. You've heard all three from neighbors; here is when each one is the right call on a Francis Ranch lot, and what it means for cost.
Wood
Pressure-treated timber
- Best for
- Low garden edges and spots nobody sees.
- Height
- Low walls only.
- Permits
- Rarely needed at garden height. We confirm with Dublin before we build.
- Look
- Warm and rustic. Weathers quickly.
- Life
- Shortest of the three. Timber sits in wet soil from day one. Check your HOA guidelines before choosing it for a visible wall.
- Cost
- Lowest.
Segmental block
What Quinn Rd got: Belgard
- Best for
- Terraces, curves, and most Francis Ranch slopes.
- Height
- Roughly 3 to 4 feet per tier as a gravity wall; taller with geogrid and an engineer.
- Permits
- Depends on height and what sits above the wall. We make the determination and pull the permit when one is needed.
- Look
- Stone-textured face, capped top, clean curves.
- Life
- Decades. No rot, no rust, and the drain line behind it keeps water off the wall.
- Cost
- Middle.
Concrete
Block-and-rebar or poured
- Best for
- One tall wall, a pool, kitchen or structure near the slope, or a tight setback with no room for geogrid.
- Height
- Engineered to whatever the site needs.
- Permits
- Always, with engineering.
- Look
- Clean and modern as-is, or faced with stone.
- Life
- Longest.
- Cost
- Highest.
We tell you which one your lot needs at the walkthrough, and why. Most Francis Ranch yards land on segmental block; the exceptions are where something heavy sits close to the hill.
Quinn Rd, Orchid at Francis Ranch: six weeks on site, dirt to done
The build came after about four months of design, engineering and permits. Same slope as yours. Same builder fence. This is the sequence we ran, and the one we'll run on your lot.
Layout and excavation
April 28
The terrace line gets cut into the slope with a mini excavator. Trenches for drainage and irrigation go in before anything else.
Drainage and base
April 30
Perforated drain pipe and a compacted gravel base, depth checked with a tape along every run. The irrigation manifold is set by the house.
First course
May 1, morning
The first row of wall block is set on the base and leveled unit by unit. Everything above it depends on this row.
Walls up
May 1, afternoon
Courses stack, corners and curves get cut on site, and a drain line runs behind every wall so water never sits against it.
Second tier and backfill
May 5
Lower wall capped, upper tier built, fabric and drains laid on the slope, gravel backfilled behind the walls. The pavers arrive.
Patio base
May 21
Compacted base screeded flat and true. A patio only stays level if this layer is right.
Pavers
May 30
Belgard Riviera pavers with a contrasting border, drains finished flush with the surface.
Turf and planting
June 3 to 6
Turf goes down on the pad, plants chosen for the Dublin climate go in on the terrace, and the drip system is tuned plant by plant.
What the neighbors see now
Two tiers of wall holding a slope that used to end at the fence, a patio you can actually put furniture on, and a yard that stays green without a hose in your hand.
Francis Ranch, on video
A lot the way the builder leaves it, shot when a homeowner asked us what could be done with it. Quinn Rd in Orchid, finished. And the layout day in between, when the design gets marked out on the actual ground.
Who you're working with
RJ Gozinsky-Irwin
Founder, Casa de RJ
Building homes around people. Not blueprints.
RJ founded Casa de RJ, a design-build general contractor and real estate firm based in Danville, and his name is on the door and on every job. He holds both a California general contractor's license and a real estate license, backed by ten years in Bay Area real estate and a background in construction. That means the person pricing your retaining wall also knows what a finished backyard does to a home's value on this street.
Quinn Rd was a Casa de RJ build from the first cut to the last plant. Yours would be too: RJ walks the lot and writes the scope, and the crew that built Quinn Rd builds yours.
CSLB #1084784 | DRE #02142285
What happens after you book
Plan on five to six months from your walkthrough to a finished yard: about two months of design and engineering, about two months in Dublin permits, then six weeks on site.
-
We reach out
Within one business day we text or call to set your walkthrough.
-
The walkthrough
Free. About an hour on your lot. We look at your slope, talk through what you want back there, and give you a real ballpark on the spot.
-
Design agreement
If the ballpark works, design is the first contract, from $10,500: site plan, engineered walls, six renderings, a material budget. It's the roadmap you build from, with us or with anyone.
-
Design and engineering
About two months. Layout, material selections, and engineered wall drawings when the wall calls for them. If your HOA needs a submittal, we prepare it with you.
-
City permits
About two months with the City of Dublin. We pull the permit and handle the back-and-forth.
-
Construction
Six weeks on site, dirt to done, in the same sequence as Quinn Rd. Then the yard is yours.
Francis Ranch questions
Do I need a permit for a retaining wall in Dublin?
It depends on the wall's height and what sits above it. Some low garden walls don't need one; taller walls, or walls holding up a patio, pool or structure, do, and they need an engineer. We make the call and handle the paperwork. Your HOA's approval is a separate step.
Can you cut into the hill to give me more flat yard?
Often, yes. It depends on how your lot was graded, where the builder's drainage runs, and what your CC&Rs say about the slope. We check all three at the walkthrough before we promise you flat space.
Which is better: wood, block or concrete?
For most Francis Ranch slopes, segmental block. It terraces, curves, drains well and lasts decades. Wood is for low edges nobody sees. Concrete is for one tall wall or anything heavy sitting near the slope. The comparison above covers the trade-offs; we tell you which one your lot needs at the walkthrough.
How long does it take?
Plan on five to six months from walkthrough to finished yard. About two months of design and engineering, about two months in Dublin permits, then six weeks on site. Quinn Rd's build took six weeks, first dig to last plant. HOA review runs alongside and can add time.
What does the design phase cost, and what do I get?
Design and engineering starts at $10,500. That covers a measured site plan, structural engineering for your retaining walls, six rendered perspectives with two rounds of revisions, a finished material budget with quantities, and help getting your plans submitted to the city. Geotechnical reports, if the city requires one, and permit fees are billed at cost; survey work is quoted separately if your lot has no site plan. That number becomes the roadmap you build from, with us or with anyone.
What about the drainage the builder installed?
We keep it working. New walls get their own drain lines that run past or tie into the builder's system, never against it.
Do you do synthetic turf?
Yes. Quinn Rd got synthetic turf on the pad. A real lawn is the alternative if you'd rather mow.
Is the walkthrough free?
Yes. We come out, look at your slope, talk through what you want back there, and give you a real ballpark on the spot. If the numbers work, the first thing we contract is design.
I'm in Magee Preserve or another new community. Do you work there?
Yes. Same playbook, different slope. Tell us the community on the form and we price it for that lot.
Not ready for a walkthrough yet?
Get the Casa de RJ Exterior Living booklet, free: the three tiers, the projects behind them, and how a build actually runs. Fill out the form and we'll send it over.
Tell us about your lot
A few questions so we can confirm your lot is a fit and price the right tier. We send the Exterior Living booklet right away, then reach out within one business day to set up the free walkthrough.
Prefer to talk? Call or text (510) 590-6291.