Whether you’re considering hiring a landscaper in Sydney to build a retaining wall or you’re thinking about DIY retaining walls, you will want to do a little research first. From finding out what type of retaining wall is best, the cost of getting a retaining wall, and as part of this, you’ll also need to know what materials are the cheapest for building retaining wall as well.
In this post, we’ll help you understand the best type of materials for retaining walls in Sydney, along with giving you some practical information that we hope will help you decide which type is most suited to your situation.
What is the point of a retaining wall, and do you really need one?
Most people will find a retaining wall in those places where additional support is required, as it can stop any earth from moving downwards with erosion. The foremost reason our clients build retaining walls in Sydney is to combat gravity, but they also serve a number of other purposes too. They can help to manage any water run-off by slowing down the flow of any rainwater. A retaining wall can also help you to get more usable land in sloped gardens or backyards.
So, if your property is downhill from any soil fault lines, getting a retaining wall can provide both peace of mind and a little bit more stability. It can enable you to stay in better control of any downhill erosion by reducing the angle of a slope and holding back the soil. If your properties foundations are threatened in any manner by a sliding hill, getting a local Sydney landscaping company to build a retaining wall is a sound investment. Aside from this, with the right type of design, they can also look pretty good too.
What is the cheapest material for a retaining wall in Sydney?
One of the greatest things we find about building retaining walls in Sydney homes is that there are lots of options in terms of the different types of materials you can use. For most people, getting a retaining wall is an investment, and it’s one that should be built to last. However, if you are working on a budget, you might want to know which material is the cheapest.
The cheapest material for retaining walls is treated pine. As you would expect, it won’t last as long as some of the other materials we will mention, but you can extend the life expectancy by installing galvanised posts in between the treated pine.
Next on the list is hardwood. This is still a relatively cheap material for retaining walls, but it would need to be professionally treated to make sure it is capable of holding back the dirt and water that could sit behind it. You might also be interested to learn that you can use Railways sleepers too. They fall nicely into this space as they are purpose-built to withstand heavy contact from both ground and water.
If you want to build a retaining wall with concrete sleepers, they are more expensive, but they come with the advantage of having a much longer life expectancy. They are usually offered in a range of colours and they can be easily installed between concrete posts or even galvanised steel.
The next type of retaining wall materials are concrete or Besser blocks, both of which cost considerably more than any of the options mentioned above. There is the obvious benefit of robustness and durability with this option, not to mention their versatility in terms of being available in a range of shapes and sizes, such as curvy, straight, corner blocks, and more.
The final option, and the most expensive of all is sandstone. Due to the fact it is made in moulds, this will not offer the same versatility in design compared with blocks. And, if you choose natural stone that needs to be cut to size, this will be the most expensive material for building a retaining wall.
It’s important to remember that a shorter-term solution may end up costing more in the long-run, and for this reason, it’s important to think about the project as an investment.
If you have any questions about building a retaining wall in your Sydney home, you can quickly and easily get in touch with a member of our friendly landscaping team. With plenty of experience gained working with local clients, we can offer guidance and expertise that might help you make your decision more easily.
