Forest Hills is wooded, hilly, and exclusive — large lots that slope, drain, and hold mature trees. The concrete that works here is engineered for grade: stepped footers, retaining, and slabs that respect the hillside instead of fighting it.
Forest Hills lots are big, steep, and tree-covered — beautiful to build on and unforgiving of concrete that ignores the slope. Stepped footers and retaining are the everyday reality here, not the exception.
The terrain is the defining feature: rolling, wooded hills on shallow Central Basin limestone. Slopes mean footings have to step down the grade to stay below frost while reaching competent bearing, and they mean managing where water goes — across the lot, behind retaining walls, and away from the home.
We form keyed step-downs on hillside footers, pour engineered retaining and site walls with proper drainage behind them, and lay out driveways that climb the grade without becoming a sheet of ice in January. Like neighboring Belle Meade, the mature trees are protected and arborist coordination is part of the job.
The same mix behaves differently on different ground. Here is what we plan for when we pour in Forest Hills — and why generic "national average" concrete advice gets people in trouble here.
Shallow limestone under wooded slopes gives good bearing, but the grade is the issue — footings step down the hill to stay below frost and on competent rock or soil, never on loose fill at the downhill edge.
On a hillside, water management is structural. We pour retaining walls with proper drainage behind them and grade drives and flatwork so runoff is directed, not left to undercut a slab or a wall.
Big sloped lots with mature trees mean access roads, root protection, and forming on grade. We plan equipment access and tree protection before the first cut.
Forest Hills is its own municipality within Davidson County; review runs with the city alongside Metro Codes. We handle the permitting and the hillside-specific inspections.
Forest Hills work is grade-driven — stepped footers, retaining walls, hillside slabs, and the long driveways that climb these lots.
Stepped, keyed hillside footers that follow the grade and stay below frost on competent bearing.
See the spec → 03 / ServiceFoundation slabs engineered for sloped, wooded lots, with proper sub-grade and drainage.
See the spec → 01 / ServiceLong hillside approach drives graded to climb the slope and shed water, broomed or stamped.
See the spec → 07 / ServiceStamped patios and pool decks that terrace the hillside into usable outdoor space.
See the spec →A sample of the Forest Hills subdivisions, roads, and pockets we've worked — not a limit. If you're nearby, we're nearby.
The questions Forest Hills builders and homeowners ask us most.
Yes; it's most of what we do in Forest Hills. We form keyed step-down footers that follow the slope so each level stays below frost depth on competent bearing, and we engineer retaining where the grade demands it. Steep lots are a design problem we solve routinely.
Often, yes — on a hillside, retaining is how you create buildable, drainable space. We pour engineered concrete retaining walls with proper drainage behind them so they last, and tie them into the site grading.
Not if it's graded and finished right. We lay out hillside drives to manage the climb and shed water, and we broom-finish for traction. We'll talk through the grade and any heated-slab options on the site walk.
They're protected, like in Belle Meade — and we work with them. Arborist coordination, hand-digging in root zones, and forming around critical roots are built into how we quote Forest Hills work.