Cost
What a retaining wall costs, and why the quotes are thousands apart
Retaining walls are priced per square metre of wall face, not per metre of length. A 20 metre wall at 1 metre high is 20 square metres, and at that height it's usually still 
inside accepted building work. The same 20 metre wall at 2 metres high is 40 square metres, and more than twice the job once the deeper footings and heavier posts are in.
Which is why how much per metre is a question nobody can answer honestly over the phone, and why what goes into the wall matters more than what it's faced with.
From 
Australian Retaining Walls’ published price guide, with the low end of treated pine from 
Canstar’s 2024 cost guide. Excluding GST. Published guides assume reasonable access and a minimum job size, and the notes on the right are ours.
| Wall system | Per square metre of face | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Treated pine and log | $250 to $450 | Shortest life in wet clay |
| Hardwood sleeper | $400 to $500 | Warm look, needs upkeep |
| Flush face concrete block | $360 to $460 | Plain finish |
| Concrete sleeper | $480 to $680 | Steel reinforced |
| Composite sleeper | $450 to $650 | |
| Besser block | $650 to $850 | Engineered, filled and reinforced |
| Sandstone and boulder | $350 to $550 | Access dependent |
| Stone masonry | $500 to $700 |
A range is only a range. Jake measures your wall and gives you a price for it, locked for 30 days.
These are industry estimates from a Brisbane retaining wall cost guide, which doesn't say where its figures come from, so treat them as a rough guide. Canstar puts engineering lower, from about $300.
$30 to $80 per lineal metre
Ag pipe, aggregate, geofabric and an outlet. Cheapest line to delete, most expensive to retrofit.
Adds 30 to 50 per cent
Hand barrowing, a smaller machine, more days. Normal on hinterland and acreage blocks.
Adds 15 to 25 per cent
Most of this region. Changes the footing and what the wall holds through a wet season.
$500 to $1,500
Where the wall needs a certified design.
$200 to $800
Certifier and lodgement, where the wall isn't accepted work.
$80 to $200 per lineal metre
Colorbond above the wall, colour matched.
Ask all seven of every builder, including us. The quotes usually stop being thousands apart once they're describing the same job. Ours spell out what’s in them, down to the sleeper design.
- Is the drainage listed item by item, or is it just the word drainage?
- How deep are the posts going, and into what?
- Has rock been allowed for, or is it a variation the day they hit it?
- Is the space behind the wall backfilled with drainage gravel, or with the dirt that came out of the hole?
- Is engineering and approval allowed for where the wall needs it, or is it your problem later?
- Is the price locked, or is it subject to site conditions?
- Who removes and disposes of the old wall?
We aren't the cheapest quote and we'd rather say that now than have you find out at the end. The drainage is in there, the price is locked for 30 days with no builder variations, and the wall gets built by Jake, who quoted it.
If price is the only thing that matters on your job there are builders who'll beat us, and we'll tell you so.
Want a quote that answers all seven before you ask?
- Australian Retaining Walls, price guidesThe rates per square metre
- Canstar, how much does a retaining wall cost (July 2024)Treated pine, and engineering from about $300
- Retaining Wall Builders Brisbane, retaining wall cost guideThe add on estimates
Tell us about the block
Six short questions, about two minutes. Brittany rings you back, then Jake comes out and measures it. Quotes are locked for 30 days, with no builder variations.
