Scenic Rim Retaining Wall Builders000
The face of a timber grain concrete sleeper wall, close

Material

4.7 Excellent29 Google reviews100% RecommendFacebook7 Facebook reviews
From mixture to surface

Material

A retaining wall is, first of all, a material problem. Cement, sand, aggregate and steel, set into ground that moves with the seasons and fills with water every summer. What holds the bank isn’t the face you can see. It’s the post depth, the reinforcement, and the space behind the wall where the water is supposed to go.

Hamilton finish, dark slate face

Sleeper

Steel reinforced concrete from Brisbane Retaining Products, with the supplier's 50 year warranty on the sleeper.

Galvanised posts concreted in along the edge of a gravel yard, before the sleepers go in

Post

Galvanised steel, concreted with 32 MPa concrete from the plant and set as deep as the ground calls for. We use the right auger for the job: 450 mm on some walls, 300 mm on others.

Geofabric lining the cut behind a row of galvanised posts, before the sleepers go in

Behind the face

Geofabric, a 100 mm socked ag pipe, then 20 mm drainage gravel, so water has somewhere to go. It’s out of sight once the wall is finished, and it’s the main reason a wall stays straight.

Read the method
A dark timber look concrete sleeper wall with gravel along its foot
Moreton weathered grey timber grain

Finishes

There’s a full range of finishes, from a dark slate face through to a sawn timber grain, in three lengths: 2390 x 200 x 75, 1990 x 200 x 75, 1590 x 200 x 75 millimetres. Colour and grain vary between them, and they all take the light differently through the day. You don’t have to pick one until after you’ve accepted the quote.

Hamilton finish
Hamilton
Moreton finish
Moreton
St Helena finish
St Helena
Stradbroke finish
Stradbroke
Fraser finish
Fraser
Whitsunday finish
Whitsunday
Blakeview finish
Blakeview
Bedrock Charcoal finish
Bedrock Charcoal
Bedrock Sandstone finish
Bedrock Sandstone
Heritage Charcoal finish
Heritage Charcoal
Industrial Grey finish
Industrial Grey
Industrial Charcoal finish
Industrial Charcoal

In progress

The order of work, which is where the money actually goes.

A block set out before the wall goes in
01 / Old wall out and set out
Galvanised posts set and concreted
02 / Posts set and concreted
Ag line laid behind the wall before the drainage gravel
03 / Geofabric, ag pipe and gravel
Finished wall holding a shed pad
04 / Sleepers in and finished

Most of that work is invisible the day the job’s finished. That’s why two quotes for the same wall can be thousands apart and both look identical in the photograph.

How a wall gets built

Most of the work is finished before a single sleeper is visible.

This is how Jake builds a knock down and rebuild, which is most of what we do. Three of the four stages are hidden the day the job's finished, which is why two quotes can look the same and be thousands apart.

  1. 01

    Old wall out, set out, holes dug

    The old wall comes down and is disposed of. Then Jake sets out, runs string lines for the heights and lengths, marks every post and drills the holes with the right auger for the job: 450 millimetres on some walls, 300 millimetres on others.

    A drilled hole gets to depth and gives the post the footing it needs. Hand dug holes often don't.

  2. 02

    Posts concreted, then left to set

    Galvanised steel posts go in and get concreted with 32 MPa concrete from the plant. Never hand mixed and never rapid set. Then the concrete's left to set before a sleeper goes anywhere near it.

    Bays run 1.6 to 2.4 metres depending on the wall.

  3. 03

    Sleepers in

    Steel reinforced concrete sleepers from a supplier who warrants them for 50 years. We don't use seconds, or sleepers light on reinforcing bar.

    The bar inside the sleeper is the one part of the wall you'll never see, and the part you're really paying for.

  4. 04

    Drainage behind the wall

    Geofabric behind every wall, a 100 millimetre socked ag pipe, and the space behind the sleepers backfilled with 20 millimetre recycled drainage gravel.

    We use 100 millimetre socked ag pipe, the size engineered walls are drawn with, even on walls that don't need engineering. Soil backfill holds water against the wall until the pressure pushes it over, which is why ours is gravel.

Why concrete

Many of the walls we rebuild were built badly the first time.

Water

A sleeper wall isn’t built to hold water back. The drainage behind it is what stops the pressure building.

Footings

The right auger for the job, 450 mm on some walls and 300 mm on others, and 32 MPa concrete from the plant. No hand mixing, no rapid set.

Height

Sleeper and post work as a system, so the wall holds a straight line on ground that moves.

Warranty

50 years on the sleeper, from our supplier, Brisbane Retaining Products.

Cost on the day

Often higher than other quotes, because it covers the whole wall system, start to finish.

Cost over time

A cheaper wall that fails costs more in the long run, when it has to come out and be built again.

Discover the applicationsDiscover the finishes
Method

Not answered here? Call us on 0488 844 741.

What people ask about how it’s built

We use the right auger for the job: 450 millimetres on some walls, 300 millimetres on others. The posts are concreted with 32 MPa concrete from the plant, and how deep they go depends on the wall and the ground, which Jake works out on site.

We never hand dig, hand mix or use rapid set. Those are where many failed walls went wrong, and none of it shows the day the wall is finished.

Geofabric behind every wall, a 100 millimetre socked ag pipe, and 20 millimetre recycled drainage gravel filling the space behind the sleepers.

We use 100 millimetre socked ag pipe, the size engineered walls are drawn with, even on walls that don't need engineering.

Soil holds water against the back of the wall, and that water pressure is what pushes walls over.

Gravel lets the water drop to the ag pipe and drain away. It's one of the cheapest things to leave out and one of the most expensive to put right later.

Why walls fail

Yes. The post holes still have to reach depth, so rock means rock breaking, and that adds time and cost.

If you know there's rock, tell Brittany when you call. It's priced into your quote, and once you've accepted it the price is locked.

Because a post that's loaded before its concrete has set can move, and a wall is only as straight as its posts. So the posts get concreted, the concrete's left to set, and the sleepers go in after.

It's part of why a normal wall takes two to three days rather than one.

Yes. Fence brackets fix to the wall's steel posts and the fence stands on those. The brackets go on before the top two sleepers, so tell us when you ask for the quote, not once the wall is up.

We fit the brackets as part of the wall. The fence itself is a fencer's job, and we can put you in touch with one we trust.

Fence brackets, in order

About 1100 millimetres. That's what our 1.7-tonne machine needs to get through, and it's worth measuring at your narrowest point before you call anyone.

Tight but workable access adds machine time, and hand labour if Jake has to put the sleepers in by hand, which adds cost. If the machine can't reach the wall, we can't take the job, and we'll tell you on the phone before booking a site visit.

No. We build concrete sleeper retaining walls only.

That means no turf, plants, garden beds, fencing, timber, rock or sandstone walls. We're retaining wall builders, not landscapers, and the quote covers the retaining wall.

Reviews
4.7 Excellent29 Google reviews100% RecommendFacebook7 Facebook reviews

29 people have written about what it was like, and they all write about the same things.

The thing people tell us most is that they can’t believe it’s only the two of us. After that, it’s how fast Jake works, how clean he leaves the site, and the quality of the wall.

Reviews published on Google. Names as the reviewers gave them.

Why people trust us with this

Jake has more than 12 years in the industry, and he and Brittany started the business in 2023.

Sleepers in

Steel reinforced concrete sleepers from a supplier who warrants them for 50 years. We don't use seconds, or sleepers light on reinforcing bar.

Footings sized on site

The right auger for the job, 450 mm on some walls and 300 mm on others, and 32 MPa concrete from the plant. The depth is worked out on site rather than guessed in an office.

Drainage behind the wall

Geofabric behind every wall, a 100 millimetre socked ag pipe, and the space behind the sleepers backfilled with 20 millimetre recycled drainage gravel.

Warranty on the wall and on the sleeper

A 6 year 6 month workmanship warranty from us, and 50 years on the sleeper from our supplier.

QBCC licence 15049372 (Jacob Spriggs)

Next

Tell us about the block

Six short questions, about two minutes. Brittany calls you back, then Jake comes out and measures the wall. Quotes are locked for 30 days, and the price only changes if you ask for extra work and approve it first.

Talk to us about your wall
0488 844 741
A long timber look concrete sleeper wall with steps, running along a slope

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