Workers' comp class code · Construction & Trades
Class code 6217-2 — Landscaping Construction (Hardscape)
Installation of retaining walls, pavers, and other hardscape features.
This classification covers landscaping construction contractors who build hardscape features such as retaining walls, paver patios, walkways, and other non-planting elements of a landscape design. Work includes excavating and preparing a base, laying and compacting gravel or sand, setting pavers or wall blocks, and building structural retaining walls to hold back sloped soil.
Payroll includes hardscape installers who set pavers and blocks, laborers who handle material and prepare the base layers, and equipment operators running small excavators or compactors on larger jobs. This work is typically distinguished from softscape landscaping — planting, mulching, and lawn care — which carries a different, lower-risk classification.
Repetitive lifting of heavy pavers and wall blocks drives the bulk of strain injuries in this trade, and retaining wall construction on sloped sites adds the risk of soil or partial wall collapse during the build. Excavation for base preparation and drainage carries similar trench and cave-in hazards to general excavation work, and equipment operation on uneven, sloped terrain adds rollover risk.
What code 6217-2 typically includes
- Paver patio and walkway installation
- Retaining wall construction
- Base excavation and compaction for hardscape
- Drainage installation tied to hardscape features
- Small equipment operation (compactors, mini excavators)
Codes this one gets confused with
5022 — Masonry
Both trades build walls from individual units, but general masonry typically applies to building structures while this code applies to landscape retaining walls and pavers.
See code 50226217 — Excavation & Grading
General excavation covers broader site earthmoving, while this code applies specifically to the hardscape construction that follows site grading in a landscape project.
See code 62175213 — Concrete or Cement Work — Floors, Sidewalks, Driveways
Poured concrete walkways fall under the concrete flatwork code, while paver-based walkways built by a landscaping crew fall under this hardscape classification.
See code 5213What this code means for your premium
Hardscape construction rates in the moderate range, generally above simple lawn and planting landscaping work due to the lifting, excavation, and wall-building involved, but below high-fall trades.
Estimate your premiumClassification is not final until a carrier assigns it. Code numbers, wording and exceptions vary by state and rating bureau — several states run their own bureaus. This page is general reference written in our own words; your carrier's underwriter assigns the code based on your actual operations and payroll records.
Questions about code 6217-2
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