Cranbourne Project: Front yard landscaping with composite decking
Front garden landscaping with composite decking, steps, natural grass, retaining walls and planted beds in Cranbourne.
Retaining walls & bricklaying
On a sloping block, a retaining wall can turn part of the slope into flat ground you can use. Across Melbourne’s south-east, we build them in concrete or timber sleepers, block or brick, along with brick front fences, garden walls and letterboxes.
What the wall is for
A lawn, an outdoor table, garden beds and a path each need a different amount of flat ground. That decides how long and how high the wall is.
If a wall you have now leans, bulges or lets water through, send photos from each end and from the top.
For a brick front fence, garden wall or letterbox, tell us what the house is built from, so the new brick suits it.
On a new home, the yard often needs levelling before anything else. See finishing a new home’s yard.
Sleeper, block and brick walls
The wall’s height matters most, then how you’d like it to look. A low garden edge is a much smaller build than a wall holding back a steep bank.
The work below and behind the wall
Much of a retaining wall is out of sight, in the footings below it and the drainage behind it. Ask us how water will get out from behind the wall, and where it will end up.
Ask, too, who digs out the soil and takes it away, and who arranges an engineer’s design if the wall needs one.
For a fence on top, see fencing and gates. When the wall is one part of a bigger change in the yard, read how to plan a backyard project.
Why one wall costs more than another
There are no prices on this page. For a wall, height and length matter most, then the ground it has to hold back.
What you choose
- Height and lengthA longer wall needs more sleepers, blocks or bricks. A taller one needs deeper footings, bigger posts and more drainage behind it.
- MaterialBricks are small and laid in mortar, so a brick wall usually takes longer to build than a sleeper or block wall.
- Finish and cappingA textured face, or a capping along the top, adds to the cost of a plain wall.
- Steps or a fence on topSteps built into the wall, or posts for a fence above it, add work to the build.
What the site brings
- Slope and soilA steeper slope means a taller wall, or two lower ones. Clay, rock or loose soil can need more digging or deeper footings.
- WaterWhere water runs or pools on the slope, the wall needs more drainage behind it, and somewhere for the water to go.
- Access for machinesIf a small digger can reach the slope, the digging goes faster. If not, it’s done by hand, which takes longer.
- What’s already thereAn old wall to pull out, tree roots, or pipes and cables in the ground add work before the new wall starts.
Examples of walls and brickwork
Front garden with a block retaining wall
A front garden for a new home in Clyde North, with synthetic turf and a block retaining wall.
Front garden with retaining walls and planted beds
A Berwick front garden with low retaining walls, planted beds, lawn and a timber entry step.
Garden preparation with decking and a pergola
Site excavation and levelling, retaining walls, timber decking and a pergola.
Landscaping with decking and aggregate driveways
Sandringham landscaping with aggregate driveways, Merbau decking, retaining walls, garden beds, a side gate and privacy screening.
Merbau decking, verandah and gardens
Front and rear landscaping for a new home, with retaining walls, synthetic turf, garden beds, Merbau decking and a verandah.
How a job works
Ask for a quote.
Describe the job in a few lines, and we’ll get in touch to hear more.
Explore the options.
We’ll usually visit, look at the space with you and measure up. Then we’ll go through what could work, and why.
Agree the work.
You’ll get a quote to read in your own time. Ask about anything that isn’t clear before you say yes.
Build and hand over.
We build the job as quoted, then walk you through the finished work and how to look after it.
Where we work
Lysterfield, Rowville, Wheelers Hill, Berwick, Narre Warren South and nearby suburbs.
Wall questions
What’s the cheapest kind of retaining wall?
No one kind is always cheapest. The wall’s size, and the digging behind it, move the price as much as the material does. Send a rough height and length, and ask which kind would cost less for that spot.
Can a fence go on top of a retaining wall?
Often, yes. A fence catches the wind, so its posts need a solid fixing in the wall or behind it. On a wall that’s already there, ask whether it can take the extra load before you plan the fence.
Do I need a design or drawings before I ask?
No. Describe what you’d like and where it would go, in your own words. Working out the options is part of the first conversation.
Tell us about your project.
Send what you know so far. We’ll ask about the rest.
Get a quote