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Rules, Approvals & EngineeringConcrete Sleeper Retaining Walls In Canberra
A concrete sleeper retaining wall suits most Canberra blocks, because it goes up fast and is built to the sleeper manufacturer's own span tables.
What A Concrete Sleeper Retaining Wall Is
Galvanised Posts, Concrete Sleepers
A concrete sleeper wall is a set of galvanised steel posts concreted into the ground, with precast concrete sleepers dropped down between them. H posts carry the middle of the run, C channel posts finish the ends and angled posts turn the corners. It is the wall we build most often in Canberra, and it is the one we recommend first on a standard suburban block.
Built To A Published Spec
The reason is not fashion. The system is engineered as a system: the sleeper manufacturer publishes span tables that tell you exactly what post size, what spacing and what footing depth a given retained height needs. That means a lot of walls can be built to a published spec rather than waiting on a separate engineering design.
Up In A Day Or Two
It also goes up fast. A run that would take a week in block goes in over a day or two, and that shows up in the price rather than in the quality.
Five Sleeper Styles And Their Colours
We build with sleepers made by Concrete Sleepers Canberra at their factory in Hume. There are five styles, and each comes in its own colours. Check a colour against a real sleeper before you decide, because a picture never shows it exactly.
Smooth
A flat, plain concrete face for a clean, modern wall.
Natural
Charcoal
Tan
Beach
Sawmill
Cast with a sawn timber grain, so it looks like wood but will not rot.
Charcoal
Blackwood
Stackstone
Cast to look like thin pieces of stone stacked in layers.
Charcoal
Beach
Hampton
A block pattern, so the wall reads as neatly stacked blocks.
Charcoal
Beach
Shatter
Cast to look like natural rock, broken into angular pieces.
Charcoal
Tan
Concrete Sleeper Specifications
- Made By
- Concrete Sleepers Canberra, at their factory in Hume, ACT
- Concrete Strength
- 50 MPa, the strength the concrete is made to
- Sleeper Thickness
- 75 to 80 mm for standard sleepers, 100 mm for heavier duty walls
- Steel Reinforcement
- N10 or N12 steel bars, which are 10 mm or 12 mm reinforcing bar, depending on the sleeper model and the load it is made for
- Posts
- Hot dip galvanised steel posts, coated in zinc against rust
- Post Types
- H shaped posts that join sleepers along the run, C shaped posts at each end, and 45 and 90 degree corner posts
The post size, footing depth, sleeper thickness and steel are chosen for your wall height, the load behind it and any engineering it needs. The manufacturer provides engineering reports and installation information for its wall systems.
When To Choose A Concrete Sleeper Retaining Wall
Access and retained height decide most of it. These are the jobs a concrete sleeper wall suits before anyone talks about how it looks.
Levelling A Sloping Backyard
Cut the fall into level ground you can actually use, one 200 mm course at a time.
Holding A Boundary
Where the neighbour sits higher or lower, the wall holds their ground and keeps your side usable.
Replacing A Failed Timber Wall
Out with sleepers that rotted, in with concrete that will not rot or warp.
Where A Machine Can Reach
Every post is set in concrete, so a machine at the wall line keeps the build to a day or two.
Common Mistakes With Concrete Sleeper Retaining Walls
The things that decide whether this wall is still standing straight in fifteen years.
Drainage going in behind a sleeper wallChoosing The Face
The face matters more than people expect. Smooth, Sawmill, Stackstone, Hampton and Shatter sleepers all cost differently and all age differently.
Posts Spaced Too Wide
Post spacing is set by the retained height, not by the look. Wider spacing on a taller wall is the single most common fault we are called out to.
No Drainage Behind It
The drainage behind it is not optional. Aggregate, an agricultural drain and a geotextile sock, every time.
Under 1.5 m a concrete sleeper wall can usually be built to the manufacturer's published tables, which saves both the engineering fee and the wait. Above 1.5 m, or where there is a driveway, a pool or a building sitting on the ground behind the wall, it goes to an engineer and gets a designed footing.
Not Sure What Your Slope Needs? Send a photo and rough measurements, and we will tell you how deep the posts go and which sleeper suits it.
Send Us A PhotoBuilding A Retaining Wall On Canberra Ground
Frosty winters and clay soils are hard on a retaining wall. This is what we build for.
Reactive Clay
A lot of Canberra sits on clay that swells in wet winters and shrinks in dry summers. That movement pushes on a wall year after year, so the footing depth is set for the height being held, never a standard depth.
Frost And Wet Winters
Water that sits behind a wall adds pressure, and in a Canberra winter it can freeze there too. Aggregate, an agricultural drain and a geotextile sock keep it moving out, which is why every wall we build gets them.
Approvals And Boundaries
Whether a wall needs approval depends on its height and where it sits against the boundary and the building line. We check that on site, before anything is quoted.
Read the ACT rules and approvals guide
Buying Concrete Sleepers Vs Having The Wall Built
Almost everyone selling concrete sleepers in Canberra sells you the sleepers. We build the wall. Those are different jobs and the difference is where most failed walls come from.
Buying The SleepersHaving The Wall BuiltFooting
You work out post depth and spacing for your height.
Set from the maker's span tables for your retained height, or an engineer's design above 1.5 m.
Drainage
Aggregate, ag drain and sock are extra lines, and the ones most often left off.
In every wall we build.
Labour
You dig, carry and set every post in concrete.
We excavate, carry it in and build it, usually in a day or two.
Price
A price per sleeper and per post.
One number with the excavation, footing, drainage and labour, worked out on your block.
What A Concrete Sleeper Retaining Wall Costs In Canberra
Every quote is worked out on site. These are the four that matter most on this wall.
Concrete SleeperWe do not price walls by the square metre or by the metre of length. Every wall is estimated after a site assessment, from what your site needs.What Moves The Price Of This Wall
The Style You Pick
The style and colour change the price, and we confirm it on the quote.
Height Over 1.5 m
Under 1.5 m the wall is built to the maker's span tables. Above that, or with a driveway, pool or building behind it, it goes to an engineer and gets a designed footing.
Machine Access
Every post is set in concrete. Where a machine cannot reach the wall line, the holes are dug and the concrete barrowed by hand, and that shows in the labour.
Drainage Behind It
Aggregate, an agricultural drain and a geotextile sock go in behind every wall. They are part of the price, not an extra.
The Other Retaining Walls We Build In Canberra
Which one suits comes down to your block, not a preference.
Concrete Sleeper Retaining Wall FAQs
If yours is not here, ask when we come out.
Can I install a concrete sleeper retaining wall myself?
You can buy the sleepers, and plenty of people do. What is hard is not the stacking, it is the setting out, getting the post holes deep enough for the height you are holding, and the drainage behind it. Under about 600 mm on flat, easy ground it is a reasonable weekend job. Above that, a wall that leans in two years costs more to pull out than it saved.
What are the most common concrete sleeper wall mistakes?
Three, in order. Posts spaced too far apart for the retained height. No drainage behind the wall, or a drain with no fall on it. And a footing dug to a standard depth rather than to the height being held. All three look fine on the day and show up in the first wet winter.
How long does a concrete sleeper wall last?
The sleepers are precast concrete and the posts are galvanised steel, so neither rots. What shortens a sleeper wall's life is water sitting behind it, which is why the drainage matters more than the material.
Can I get a sleeper wall that does not look like a sleeper wall?
Yes. Sawmill sleepers are cast with a timber grain, Stackstone and Hampton look like stone or blocks, and Shatter looks like natural rock. Once a garden grows over them, most people cannot tell. The plain Smooth face is the one that reads as a product.
Do I need approval for a concrete sleeper wall in Canberra?
Not for most garden walls. Away from the boundaries, a sleeper wall holding back built-up soil, called fill, needs no development approval up to 1.0 m, and one cut into the slope up to 1.2 m. Within 1.5 m of a side or rear boundary, or in the front yard, the limit is 0.4 m. Approval is a separate question from engineering, which comes in over 1.5 m.
Do concrete sleeper walls need an engineer?
Under 1.5 m of retained height, usually not, because the manufacturer publishes span tables an engineer produced. Over 1.5 m, or with a load behind the wall, yes.
Send A Photo Of Your Site
A photo and a rough length and height is usually enough for us to tell you which walls will work, before anyone drives out.
Or call (02) 5114 2500Start Here