It’s easy to get excited about your new landscaping project at the beginning! During this planning stage, we often find ourselves saying “Oh, we could just rip out that bit there and put in a beautiful rock retaining wall, no problem!” or “This is the perfect spot for our new home! We’ll just put in a retaining wall to level the ground out!”. Then reality sets in. The ground your dealing with is harder to dig than you first thought, the retaining wall needs to be much higher than your initial vision and the technicality of the project starts to impact your sanity, but you know help is only a phone call away and it’s going to look fabulous when it is finished!
It’s time to take a deep breath and make a plan.
Measure the Height of your Retaining Wall
Firstly, you need to measure how high you believe your retaining will need to be. Council will allow retaining walls to be constructed up to a maximum height of 900mm without structural certification, provided they are constructed in accordance with the technical literature provided by the manufacturer (ie. Koppers logs, Keystone or similar). If your retaining wall is greater than 900mm, then you will need to get an engineer involved.
Engage an Experienced Retaining Wall Builder
Finding the right company such as Berry Excavations, to work with you on your new retaining wall will be the most valuable decision you will make.
Most retaining walls are built for one of four reasons:
- To stabilise a foundation for a home or building.
- To manage drainage or erosion issues.
- To improve the practical use of the space.
- To improve the look or aesthetics of the property.
Therefore, having your retaining wall constructed well will increase the value of your project in the long term.
Using a company like Berry Excavations is a wise decision because Berry Excavations have been building rock retaining walls for over 20 years! They also provide a personalised service and will take care of everything for you. Once you decide that you would like a retaining wall with Berry Excavations, they will take a look at your project and refer you to the right engineer if necessary. They will also supply you with all of the materials needed to build the wall including the drainage, geofabric, wall materials including the right coloured rocks, the right machinery and whatever your wall will require.
Finalise Engineering Plans
If your retaining wall is greater than 900mm, then your project will need to be designed, detailed and certified by a structural engineer. When Berry Excavations review your project, they will recommend the right local engineer to you. They will also work with your engineer to discuss any technical aspects of the project, including overcoming any challenges such as navigating around services such sewerage and any other local service infrastructure. So you don’t need to worry about anything! Your engineer will even assist you with submitting your structural certification and geotechnical assessment to Council, if required.
Give the Experts Clear Access to the Property
Once Council have approved the project, it is time to get on with the job!
Ensure that on the day of construction, that the property is as obstacle free as possible. This includes also making sure that your children and pets are kept at a safe distance to the project too!
Berry Excavations will quite often use a 20-27 tonne excavator with grabs as well as their trucks to cart in the rocks and other materials, so you will want to give them some space to move freely.
So next time you are considering building a retaining wall make sure you follow these simple steps to not only retain your soil, but to retain your sanity as well!
For more information and support on your next earthmoving project, contact the Whitsunday’s Premium Excavations and Earthmoving Contractor for an obligation free quote – Berry Excavations (07) 4946 1370.
