Retaining Walls in Sunbury
Select Fencing Sunbury builds sleeper retaining walls, made of concrete or timber sleepers stacked between posts, in Sunbury and the towns around it. We lay drainage behind every wall and can build a fence on top. Our work is covered by a 3-year workmanship warranty, and quotes are free and in writing.
Price your retaining wall
Sleeper retaining walls are pre-selected. Add the wall's length and rough height to your notes.
What you get with a sleeper wall
A sleeper retaining wall holds back higher ground with long concrete or timber sleepers stacked between upright posts. Concrete sleepers usually slide into galvanised steel posts. Galvanised means zinc-coated, so they don't rust. The posts are H-shaped along the wall and C-shaped at each end. Drainage behind the wall lets water out so it can't build up against the sleepers.
Get a free quotePosts are set in concrete first.Once the concrete is hard, the sleepers are fitted between the steel posts.
We build timber walls too.We build timber sleeper walls from treated pine or hardwood, on timber or steel posts.
Drainage goes in behind.We lay an ag pipe, a slotted drain pipe, with gravel and geofabric, a filter cloth, behind the sleepers as the wall goes up. Where the water drains out is worked out at the quote.
Digging and soil removal are covered.We excavate for the wall and cart away the spoil, the leftover soil.
A fence can go on top.We build a Colorbond or timber fence on the wall in the same job, on the same quote.
Old walls can be done in stages.A rotting timber wall can be replaced in stages, or just the worst part rebuilt.
Concrete or timber sleepers
Both hold back soil. The difference is the look, the posts and how the timber is treated.
Concrete sleepers
- Look
- Plain grey concrete with a clean, even finish.
- Posts
- Galvanised steel: H-shaped joiner posts between sleepers, C-shaped posts at the ends.
- Upkeep
- Concrete won't rot or get eaten by termites, so there's little to look after.
- Keep in mind
- Each sleeper is heavy concrete, so a yard with no machine access takes more work.
Timber sleepers
- Look
- Warm timber that weathers to grey over time.
- Posts
- Timber or galvanised steel.
- Treatment
- For a retaining wall, WoodSolutions calls for H5 treated pine, made for structural timber set in soil, or a Class 1 durable hardwood.
- Keep in mind
- Galintel, a steel post maker, notes timber sleeper walls aren't designed for machinery or heavy loads directly behind them.
Got a slope you'd like to turn into usable yard? Ask us to price a wall for it.
Get a free quoteDrainage behind the wall
Rain soaks into the soil behind a wall and has to get out somewhere. Without drainage, water sits against the sleepers and adds to the push on the wall.
Ag pipe
A slotted drainage pipe runs behind the bottom sleeper and collects the water.
Gravel
Clean drainage gravel fills the space behind the sleepers so water runs down to the pipe.
Geofabric
A filter cloth between the gravel and the soil stops fine dirt clogging the gravel.
The way out
Where the pipe lets the water out depends on your block, and we work it out at the quote.
Retaining wall permits
1 m
Over this height, Sunbury retaining walls need a building permit.
Hume City Council exempts walls under 1 m, except where the wall is part of a bigger building job or props up the neighbouring land.
If the wall belongs to a bigger project that already has a building permit, it goes into that permit.
Owners get the permit from a registered building surveyor they appoint.
Source: Hume City Council: Fencing and Retaining Walls (opens in a new tab)
Blocks differ, so ask Hume City Council about your wall first.
Adding a fence to the wall
When the wall runs along a boundary, the fence usually sits on top of it.
Planned from the start
Post makers sell brackets that join fence posts to the wall's posts. Mention the fence early and we'll plan the wall around it.
Fence height on a wall
Check with Hume City Council whether the wall counts towards your fence's height before you pick a tall fence.
Sharing the cost
Under the Fences Act, neighbours usually go halves on a boundary fence. That Act treats a retaining wall as something other than a fence, though. Read the Act (opens in a new tab)
Retaining wall costs
We can't give a fair price per metre until we know the wall's height, the sleepers and the ground. These six things set the price on your quote.
Length and height
A taller wall needs longer posts set deeper in the ground, and once it's over 1 m, a building permit.
Sleeper type
Concrete or timber, and the finish you pick.
Digging and access
How much soil comes out, and whether a small digger can reach the wall line.
Drainage
The run of ag pipe, the amount of gravel and where the water goes.
Rock
If the post holes run into rock, we note it when we measure up and it goes on the quote.
Extras
A fence on top, or taking out an old wall first.
How a wall job runs
Most sleeper wall jobs follow the same five steps.
Send the details
The suburb, the wall's length and the drop in ground level.
We measure up
An installer checks the slope, the soil, access for digging and where the water can drain.
A written quote follows
It lists the sleepers, posts, drainage, soil removal and any fence on top.
Checks before digging
Our installers look up Before You Dig Australia plans, which show underground pipes and cables, before any post hole goes in.
The build
Posts are concreted in first. When the concrete is hard, sleepers slide in with the drainage built up behind them, and the soil is backfilled.
Retaining wall questions
Permit rules can depend on what else is being built on your block. Ask Hume City Council how they apply to yours.
Get a free quoteYes, once the wall stands over 1 m, which is where Hume City Council sets the building permit line. A lower wall can still need one when it's built alongside other works, or when it holds up the neighbour's ground.
Source: Hume City Council: Fencing and Retaining Walls (opens in a new tab)
The lowest, shortest wall that does the job, on ground that's easy to reach, whichever sleeper you choose. Height matters for the permit too. In Sunbury, a wall of 1 m or under usually needs none, unless it holds up next door's ground. Ask for concrete and timber together to see both prices side by side.
We don't give a per-metre figure up front, because two walls of the same length can be very different jobs. Height is one reason, since Hume City Council wants a building permit once a wall passes 1 m. Then come the sleepers, drainage, digging and access, all priced from your wall's measurements in a free quote.
Concrete sleepers on galvanised steel posts won't rot and give a clean grey finish. Timber looks warmer, but it has to be treated for structural use in the ground.
Source: WoodSolutions: preservative treatments and use classes (opens in a new tab)
Yes. Sleeper and post makers' install guides call for an ag pipe at the foot of the wall, gravel behind the sleepers and a filter fabric. Together they let water drain away instead of building up.
Yes, in Colorbond or timber, as part of the wall job. If you want a tall fence on a high wall, check the permit position with council first.
Often. We can swap out an old timber wall in stages, or rebuild only the worst length, and the quote spells out which.
Get your retaining wall priced
Give us the wall's length and a rough idea of how far the ground drops. If it's on a boundary, say so, and add the fence you'd like on top.
- Quoting your wall is free.
- Want a fence along the top? Ask in the same request.
Want to talk it through? Call (03) 9123 6479
