Eastern Melbourne Earthworks
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Retaining walls

Retaining wall replacement

Walls that have moved, and walls built badly the first time. Assessed with an engineer, then rebuilt to a design that holds.

Why retaining walls fail

A wall that has started to lean is telling you about water, not about the sleepers. Most failures trace back to drainage that was never installed, or footings that were never deep enough for the load above.

A replacement is harder than a new wall. The ground has already moved, whatever sits above it has to stay supported while the old structure comes out, and the work is often on a boundary with a neighbour watching.

What it solves

  • A wall that is already movingAssessed with an engineer before anything is quoted, because a leaning wall is a structural question, not a cosmetic one.
  • The reason it failed the first timeDrainage is almost always the answer. Rebuilding without fixing it buys a few winters, not a wall.
  • Keeping the ground supportedStaged demolition and progressive excavation, so the bank and anything above it are never unsupported.

Examples of the work

  • Failed timber retaining wall leaning away from the bank it was holding
    What failure looks likeTimber sleepers bowed off the posts. The wall did not fail at the face, it failed behind it, where the drainage was never built.
  • Auger drilling new footings alongside the failing wall
    Footings to a real depthNew footings drilled while the old wall stayed in place, so the bank was supported the whole way through.
  • New concrete sleeper wall rebuilt on the original alignment
    Rebuilt on the same lineKeeping the original alignment preserved the usable ground behind it, with every footing deeper than the wall it replaced.
  • Completed concrete sleeper retaining wall along the boundary
    Edinburgh Road, finishedConcrete sleeper on galvanised posts, drained behind, running the full length of the original wall.
  • Registered builderCDB U 58737
  • Assessed with an engineerBefore anything is quoted
  • Ground already movedSupported while the old wall comes out
  • Built to AS 4678Earth retaining structures

Send a photo of the wall and what it is holding

Leaning, cracked or bulging, the cause is almost always drainage or footing depth. A photo and the fall across the block is enough for us to tell you which one you are dealing with.

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