Wilhelm Landscapes, Northern Michigan’s premiere builder of natural boulder shoreline protection, is a leading design/build landscaping company. We have designed and built hundreds of beautiful landscaping projects across most counties in Northwest Lower Michigan.

Your property is a valuable investment. Creating a design for your landscaping should be a collaborative effort. Often owners have an idea of what they want. But not always the best way to integrate those ideas into a functional design. It starts with “we should do something with the yard”. It ends with an asset to your lifestyle. 

When you contact Wilhelm Landscape for a design, most often it is Robert Wilhelm who will come to your site to meet with you personally. He will walk the site and describe options based on your desires. He then employs his vision and experience to the particular circumstances of the land. Next the design is formalized as a conceptual full color illustration so that you can visualize the design and see how the elements work together.

Whether it’s that patio you’ve always wanted for entertaining or a fire pit for those chilly evenings on the lake, Wilhelm Landscapes Design team is here to make your dreams come true.

Wilhelm Landscapes is Northern Michigan’s premiere builders of seawalls on the Great Lakes and inland lakes. Although we install most all forms of shoreline protection from vinyl to environmentally conscience designs, Wilhelm Landscapes mostly uses our Northern Michigan boulders.

The Department of Environmental Quality defines the use of this type of material as rip rap. Rip rap shoreline protection is a process that is permitted separately from other types of seawalls. Rip rap is another way of saying “boulders”

Rip rap shoreline protection generally is installed against the height of the banks along the shoreline. The size of the rip rap can vary depending on what body of water your Northern Michigan property is on. It can also depend on which side of an inland lake your property is on.

Often one side of any lake, usually the east side, will experience more significant wave action because of prevailing winds. The DEQ has standards for most inland lakes that determine the diameter permitted. Lake Michigan has experience significant level increases in the past few years. Installing larger rip rap material can break up the wave action that has claimed valuable shoreline property.

Installing rip rap shoreline protection as a seawall option is as much an art form as it is functional. Our crews piece together appropriate sizes and shapes to create a beautiful, natural looking addition to your Northern Michigan shoreline. It really does take a creative mind to fit together just the right boulders into just the right spot. This allows the seawall to maintain its condition and function against the wave action on your Northern Michigan lakeside property. 

Wilhelm Landscapes Crew Working Through Winter

With the many project we have on Grand Traverse Bay, our crews will be out working through the season to protect the shorelines from the high water and destructive waves. Wilhelm Landscapes is the premiere builder of seawalls and rip rap shoreline protection in Northern Michigan. Our staff is the hardest working group around. It takes a special type of person to gear up and go get into Lake Michigan every day and we could not be prouder of their efforts. If you happen to see one of our crews give them a shout out, they deserve our praise.

Now is the time to sign up for next years projects. If you sign an estimate before 3/31/2020, we will wave the fee for one of the designated permits when you mention this ad.

From our family at Wilhelm Landscapes to yours.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wilhelm Landscapes sells upper peninsula boulders!

Did you know you can purchase boulders from Wilhelm Landscapes. You can either pick them up at one of our locations or have them delivered to your site. We harvest the boulders from the Upper Peninsula and have a huge range of sizes and looks. Many of the large colorful boulders are called Character Boulders.  These are often very large, as much as 4′ in diameter. They can make a nice feature to a planting bed or water feature. We have also had clients interested in using these large boulders as a sign or address marker. Wilhelm Landscapes has more boulders than we know what to do with! Stop in and take a look! Check out Cash4rocks.com for more information.

Wilhelm Landscapes works with the Army Corp. of Engineers to permit your project.

As Northern Michigan’s premiere builder of seawalls and shoreline protection, Wilhelm Landscapes is ready to help as the Great Lakes reach record high levels. We work with the Army Corp of Engineers to obtain the proper permits required for working on the Great Lakes and this includes either Grand Traverse Bay.

Wilhelm Landscapes has an offer for new projects slated for 2020

Sign up for a project before 3/31/2020, and receive a free DEQ Permit. For Great Lakes customers this includes the permitting required from the Army Corp. of Engineers.

It’s suggested that with even a normal winter and spring, the water levels on the Great Lakes could rise again next year. Many residents on these waters have already been proactive by working with Wilhelm Landscapes to protect their shoreline. 

Contact Wilhelm Landscapes today and schedule an appointment to discuss your options.

Protect your investment, with a seawall or shoreline protection design from Wilhelm Landscapes.

Wilhelm is proud to announce we are now offering additional home services. From simple honey do lists to full remodels, we can help. Call us at 231-267-9267 or email wilhelmhomeservices@gmail.com.

New Services include:

Remodels – Custom Masonry – Carpentry – Drywall – Painting – Unfinished Chores – Tiling

Wilhelm Landscapes, Northern Michigan’s premiere builder of seawalls, will obtain your DEQ Permit free of charge if you sign on to a project by 3/31/19.

Wilhelm Landscapes works with the DEQ to obtain a DEQ Permit for your seawall project. We provide the necessary documents as well as the application. 

Wilhelm Landscapes works on seawall projects right up to the end of the year.  DEQ Permits can take several weeks to obtain, so it is important to file the application as soon as possible.

Wilhelm Landscapes also builds or works on repairs to vinyl and steel seawalls. We have also built bio-engineered seawalls which have become a popular solution to certain conditions. These also require a DEQ Permit.

Building a seawall correctly is as much an art as a process. Our experienced crew will create a seawall that will not only function to control erosion, but have aesthetic appeal your neighbors will envy. Many times we are asked to fix a seawall that was constructed poorly, don’t have this happen to you. Go with Wilhelm Landscapes the first time.

Wilhelm Landscapes has built a solid reputation for high quality work in Northern Michigan. Building seawalls is the backbone of our success. Your property is one of the biggest investments you will ever make. Make sure you’re not losing frontage by stabilizing the shoreline. A DEQ Permit is required for building and most repairs to inland lakes in Michigan. Wilhelm Landscapes can put that task to rest as we work with all Northern Michigan DEQ offices across Northern Michigan. They know us, we know them. They know what to expect when reviewing an application from us. The application can be a tedious venture, and incomplete or inaccurate application can seriously delay the project. Sign with us before 3/31/19 and we will obtain your DEQ Permit free of charge. It’s piece of mind at no cost to you.

We Build Seawalls on the Great Lakes

Wilhelm Landscapes is the premiere seawall installation company in Northern Lower Michigan. We have done many seawalls on both East and West Bays. These projects require authorization from the Army Corp. of Engineers. Wilhelm Landscapes is ready to walk you through this process. As part of our permitting service, Wilhelm can obtain all of the permits needed for your seawall project. Check out this 2018 project on East Bay. Most of Wilhelm Landscapes projects begin with a search for seawall construction companies in Northern Lower Michigan. Wilhelm Landscapes prides itself on being on the top of this search. This is because we have consistently built the finest boulder seawalls for years. It is very common for a neighbor to stop and ask “Who did your seawall?”.  Many of our clients are just down the lake from ones we had constructed previously. The word gets around! The choice for seawalls in Northern Lower Michigan is Wilhelm Landscapes.

Stone Steps

Our stone steps are often 5.5″ high. This is a very comfortable size for the elderly and children. They are also available at 7″ high which is still below the height of a normal home step. These steps also act as a perfect level support for a dock installation. They also come in dimensional or irregular shapes and 4 different colors.

Boulders

All of our project include boulders which we harvest ourselves. The entire project is artfully constructed to create the most appealing configuration. These beautiful boulders are also used to build most of our seawalls and retaining walls. Protect your property from fire with accessible barriers.

Design

It all starts with design. We work with your ideas and our experience to create a design that explains the elements in full color so that you can see what you are investing in. This is often more accessible than a blue print or a quick sketch.

Let us obtain your State & County Seawall & Beach Sanding permits now!!!

Wilhelm Landscapes will do this service for free, if signed up by March 15th. 

See pictures of our seawall designs below.

The finished product.

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Seawall Design

Through out my 30 years in the landscape design build field, I’ve learned many ways to avoid redoing a hardscape. Making sure common issues are handled 1st. Proper drainage is #1, shoreline erosion protection/seawalls as needed, retaining walls #3, pathways and patios #4, building of raised planting gardens w/ good soils #5 and a great planting plan.

Let Wilhelm Landscape help you with your landscape design needs. The design fee we become free of charge w/ an installation from one of our great skilled crews.

We will make your landscape great! 

“We design lifestyles”