We are looking to replace our rock retaining walls with stone blocks or different materials and are having difficulty finding retaining wall builders in Melbourne. The retaining walls are at the front of the house on some slope and dimensions are 12x10m with max height of 1.2-1.3m at 2 areas - we are looking to do terraced retaining walls if possible. I’ve made a few contacts with retaining wall builders but some of them are not returning my calls and texts and emails, one got back to me but they only deal with boulder retaining walls. I read that we would need a permit as it’s over 1m in height so I’d like to go with a company with a builder licence. Is there any where I can look other than Google search? You don’t have to give me the names of companies if you’re not allowed here or just DM me.
thanks for the heads up, I’ll search up again with those. Btw what would be the rough estimate using stones? Boulder retaining wall company advised I’ll be looking at around $16,000 + GST or $23,000 if I wanted to reuse the existing rocks but with proper footing and mortar to rebuild from ground up. edit: thanks for that again, heaps more suitable companies with building and landscaping licences have come up so I’ve emailed 3 of them to enquire.
Your local landscape supplier will have a list of possible tradies they can suggest and some they may not suggest. hipages ? Builders licenses dont apply to landscaped retaining walls Landscaping has its own license.
I don't know about permits, but over 1m in height you will need it to be engineered. Is there any way you can do a staggered wall so each section is under 1m? (Of course, you still want it to be strong, so proper footings will be required, but you just may get away without paying an engineer. A good landscaper will know the rules about this.)
Thanks for the reply, I thought we’d need someone with a builder licence to build retaining walls of higher than 1m in Victoria or we just need a permit from the council. I’d normally use hipages for other little jobs but not for this scale of work that involves safety - slopes on both sides of the walls with a pedestrian footpath.
Thanks for the heads up, I didn’t know what it was called but I also wanted to build it in that staggered way because I thought to myself it’d be more stable from soil pushing them over time - I read somewhere as well that for over a metre in height you’d have to have it engineered. So that led me to look for a licensed builder who offers everything. I’m getting quotes based on that style of retaining wall atm.
Engineered can be achieved two ways. Can be constructed to a engineering specification or bespoke engineered. A height of 1.2m often can use a engineered specification. Bricklayers can assist. They key is the foundation layer. Another option is filled besser with reo rods and render. All these systems have engineering specs. Many other suppliers too Retaining Walls | Adbri Masonry Many of these need the base layer correctly laid on foundations then stack and some are solid and some are filed with agg.
hi PC12 just wondering if you found anyone building your retaining walls? Would you recommend any? I am also looking for a builder/structural landscaper to give us a quote but having difficulty finding one. I only have one returned my call and not very interested in giving a breakdown/detailed quote without us spending money with him on the landscaping design. So I’m just here looking for recommendations if you have anyone in mind thank you
