Cost index · updated August 28, 2026
What outdoor living costs on the Peninsula.
Every figure on this page comes from signed proposals on 16 completed Sequoia projects across the Peninsula and South Bay. Not estimates, not industry averages, not a calculator. Rounded and anonymized to town level, with the project behind every number one click away.
Or see published ranges from projects near you →
On-time completionguarantee, in writing
Towns covered: Atherton, Belmont, Hillsborough, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Jose, San Mateo. Project minimum $25,000.
By project type
What each kind of project runs.
Medians shown where three or more projects share a type; a type with one published project shows that project’s range alone. Ranges are the lowest and highest signed contracts in that group, rounded. Each project’s range is the sum of the cost rows published on its page, rounded from the signed proposal, and the median is taken from the midpoints of those ranges. These are Sequoia’s 16 published case studies, not a Bay Area market average, and they run larger than the company’s typical job: across all 79 construction projects of $25,000 or more completed since January 2024, the median signed value is about $56,000.
Every project
Every project, every number.
Every row opens the case study behind the number.
What moves the number
Three things decide where you land.
Engineered masonry
Retaining wall and hillside cost guide →
Every published project above $180,000 carries engineered retaining or seat walls. Wall components alone have run $4,500 to $97,500. Wall count is the single largest swing factor in our data.
Kitchens and fire
A built kitchen or fire feature adds $20,000 to $41,000 depending on utilities and stone selection, before the terrace it sits on.
What happens underground
Drainage and grading cost guide →
Drainage and irrigation appear in every single project, from $660 to $65,000. It is the least visible line on the estimate and the one we least recommend cutting.
Methodology
How we report these numbers.
Signed proposals and dated photo records, project by project. Ranges rather than single prices, because site conditions move the number. Figures are rounded and anonymized to town level for client privacy. Where scope changed mid-build the project page says so and shows the change order, including the Atherton fire pit our client asked us to rebuild in a different color. Every figure here can be checked against the case study it came from.
Straight answers on cost
Questions this page answers.
What does a backyard remodel cost on the Peninsula?
Across the 16 completed Sequoia projects published so far, $50,000 to $431,000, with a median around $123,750. A single-zone backyard rebuild has run $85,000 to $180,000; a terraced site with engineered walls, $180,000 to $275,000.
Why do you publish ranges instead of prices?
Site conditions move the number, and figures are rounded and anonymized to town level for client privacy. Each range is the sum of the cost rows published on that project’s page, rounded from the signed proposal, and each project page itemizes its own components. The 16 published projects run larger than our typical job: across all 79 construction projects of $25,000 or more completed since January 2024, the median signed value is about $56,000.
Is there a project minimum?
Yes: $25,000. Our On-Time or You Get Paid guarantee applies to qualifying signed contracts; the guarantee terms spell out the mechanics.
How accurate are these to the final invoice?
Each range is the signed contract, rounded. Where scope changed mid-build we say so on the project page and show the approved change order rather than quietly restating the total.
Are these estimates or industry averages?
Neither. Every figure is computed from signed Sequoia contracts on completed Bay Area projects, each with its own case study, dated photo record and itemized cost table.
Next step
See what your yard would cost.
We will walk your property, price it against the same book these projects were signed from, and put a real date in writing.