Flagship service
Engineered retaining walls
Structural walls built from a stamped design, by a registered builder who can carry the contract as well as the construction.
What makes a wall engineered
An engineered wall is one where a structural engineer has designed the structure and put their name to it. That happens when the wall is over about a metre, when something is sitting on the ground behind it, or when the ground itself is not reliable.
From that point the wall is a structure rather than a garden feature. The footings are specified, the reinforcement is specified, the drainage is specified, and someone has to build it to the drawing and be able to prove they did.
We build from the issued engineering, or we organise the engineer. Where the ground on site does not match the report, that gets raised before anything is poured, not after.
The work
The kind of sites we work on
A garden wall under a metre is a landscaping job and is priced accordingly. What we are called for is the wall holding a house, a driveway or a boundary, on ground that has already caused somebody a problem.
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Walls that have already moved
Leaning, cracked or bulging. Assessed with an engineer before anything is quoted, because a wall that failed once failed for a reason, and it is almost always drainage or a footing that was never deep enough.
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Substantial level changes
Two, three, four metres of fall across a block. At that height the footing, the post and the drainage all step up together, and the design stops being a matter of taste.
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Sites that fight back
Rock, no truck access, structures on the high side, a boundary that cannot be opened up. The method is planned around the constraint before a machine is booked.
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Engineered construction
Built from a stamped design to AS 4678, with the permit pathway, the contract and the insurance carried by a registered building practitioner rather than left with you.
What it solves
- The permit pathwayWalls over a metre, or carrying a structure or driveway, generally need a building permit. As a registered builder that sits with us rather than with you.
- Engineering that does not match the groundReports are taken from a few points. When the excavation says something different, the design gets amended before the work continues.
- One contractor for the whole structureExcavation, drilling, footings, wall and drainage under one contract, so no gap between trades for a problem to live in.
Examples of the work
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Built from the drawingPosts set and concreted to the heights on the design, not to the eye. -
Footings to depthAugered to the specified diameter and depth, drilled in house so hard ground does not stall the program. -
Height where it is neededCored and reinforced masonry where a post and panel system would need excessive footings. -
Drained before it disappearsAg line, geofabric and aggregate, photographed before backfill because it cannot be inspected later.
Our approach
How we approach a retaining wall
The five things that decide whether an engineered wall holds, and how each one is handled.
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01Registered building practitioner
CDB U 58737. Once a wall needs a building permit, the work has to be carried out by a registered builder. That is what allows the permit pathway, the domestic building contract and the insurance to sit with the same business that builds the wall.
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02Excavation and the wall are the same contract
Site cuts, bulk excavation, drilling and deep footings stay in the business because the structure fails without them. One program and one crew, so the footing and the wall are set out to the same drawing.
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03We build from the issued design
Send drawings and we price the documented works. Where the ground does not match what was drawn, you hear about it before anything is poured and the design is amended, rather than quietly worked around.
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04The permit, the contract and the insurance are carried
Building permit pathway, domestic building contract and Domestic Building Insurance arranged before work starts. You are engaging one contractor, not coordinating three.
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05Most of the wall is buried before anyone sees it
Depth, drainage and compaction decide whether a wall lasts, and all three are invisible by handover. That is why they get photographed as the work goes in and handed over as part of the record.
Send the drawings, or send the site
If engineering exists we price the documented works. If it does not, we organise it. Either way you get a straight answer the same day, and we will tell you if it is not a job for us.