Retaining walls
Stone and sleeper walls that hold a slope and turn it into level, usable garden. We get the levels and the drainage behind the wall right, and we build the wall as part of the landscape, not as a barrier through it.
Stone
Stone retaining walls
Stone suits the job it does. A rock wall holds a bank with its own weight, drains through its face, and looks better as the garden grows over and around it. On the inner north's older blocks it sits comfortably next to brick, bluestone and established planting.
We build stone walls for embankments, terraced beds and garden steps, choosing rock that suits the site and setting each course so the wall leans into the bank it is holding. The result is a wall that works as structure and reads as part of the garden.
Sleepers
Sleeper retaining walls
Sleeper walls are the workhorse of inner-north backyards: clean straight lines, a warm timber face, and a practical way to level a sloping block or lift a garden bed to a workable height. They double as raised beds, seating edges and the frame for a lawn.
The strength of a sleeper wall is in what you cannot see: posts set deep in concrete, gravel and drainage behind the boards, and levels checked before anything is fixed. Done that way, the wall stays straight instead of bowing out a few summers in.
Wall and planting together
Walls that hold a garden
The best retaining work is planned with the planting, not before it. Pockets and terraces are set where plants will spill over the face, the soil behind the wall is prepared as a garden bed rather than backfill, and the wall ends up half hidden by the garden it made possible.
Because we design, build and plant with the same crew, the wall and the garden are one job. An embankment goes from bare and slipping to held, planted and growing in, and it keeps improving as the planting establishes.
How it runs
What a retaining wall job involves
A retaining wall is a structure, so the job is scoped like one. Here is what we look at before a price is put on it and while it is built.
Site visit and levels
Every wall starts with an on-site visit. We read the slope, the soil and the access, work out what the wall has to hold, and quote the job in person. The quote is free and there is no obligation.
Drainage behind the wall
Water is what moves retaining walls. Gravel backfill and drainage behind the wall give the water somewhere to go, so the pressure never builds up against the back of it.
Height and sign-off
Most garden walls are straightforward. Past a certain height a retaining wall can need an engineer's design and council approval, and we flag that at the quote stage so it is planned for, not discovered mid-build.
Built with the garden
A wall rarely stands alone. We build it alongside the beds, steps, edging and planting around it, so the finished garden reads as one job rather than a wall with landscaping added later.
Recent work
Retaining and structural work from recent jobs
Real jobs by our own crew across the inner north. There is more in the full gallery.
Where we work
Retaining walls across the inner north
We are based in Northcote and build retaining walls across Melbourne's inner north. Every job starts with a free, no-obligation quote on site, so the price reflects the real slope, access and materials.
Related services
What local clients say
Real reviews from homes across Melbourne's inner north, in their own words.
Exceeded all expectations! Saxon came to see what work was required, offered suggestions & gave me a quote on the spot. Plants were delivered & then Cam and Elf arrived on time and cleaned up my front and backyard of overgrown bamboo, tree shoots, weeds and replanted my front planter box removing dead plants as well as trimming grass plants back. I am thrilled with the result and just wish I had taken before photos to show the incredible job done.
Simone Fet
Local Guide
Thank you Oliver & Cam for doing such a great job on a very overgrown backyard ivy - great communication and consultation throughout. Thanks Saxon for prompt response and booking, great communication and a pleasure to deal with. Now I've found this team I'll be returning in the future.
Louise Long
Local Guide
Cameron did a fantastic job with our front, side and backyards. He was efficient and had 4 bags/bins worth of weeds and vines packed in 3 hours. Saxon was able to squeeze me in last minute before a rental inspection. Highly recommend these guys!
Casey Nguyen
Local Guide
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