Concrete sleepers set into galvanised steel H-beam posts, on proper footings with drainage behind every wall. The strongest, longest-lasting sleeper wall we build, by a QBCC-licensed team.
Concrete sleepers won't rot, burn or get eaten by termites, and they handle the height and load that timber can't. Slotted between galvanised steel H-beam posts, they make a clean, solid wall that suits everything from a low garden edge to a tall boundary wall with a fence on top. They come in a range of colours and finishes, from plain grey to textured, stone-look and timber-look faces.
We build concrete sleeper retaining walls across Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, the Redlands and the Gold Coast, from our base in Underwood. Whether you need a low garden wall, a boundary wall on a sloping block or an engineered wall to level a building site, our concrete sleeper walls are built on galvanised steel posts, deep footings and proper drainage for homeowners, builders and developers alike.
Every sleeper slots into galvanised steel posts set in concrete footings, sized for the height and load of your wall.
Proper drainage behind the wall, so water has somewhere to go instead of building up and pushing on the sleepers.
Choose from plain, textured, stone-look and timber-look sleepers in a range of colours to suit your home and garden.
Planning a fence too? We design the posts and footings to carry it, so your wall and fence work as one.
In Brisbane, a retaining wall generally does not need building approval when all of these are true: the total height of the wall and the ground it retains is no more than one metre above natural ground level; it’s at least 1.5 metres from a building or another retaining wall; and there’s no surcharge loading (like a driveway, pool or another wall) in the zone behind it. It also can’t form part of a pool-safety barrier.
Once a wall is over a metre, close to a building or another wall, or carrying extra load above it, it typically needs engineering and building approval from a licensed certifier. Heights can also be combined where walls are stacked or terraced. We’ll tell you exactly where your job sits when we assess the site, and arrange engineering when it’s needed.
This is general information based on Brisbane City Council guidance and can change — it isn’t formal advice for your specific site. Requirements differ between councils (Brisbane, Logan, Gold Coast and others) and always depend on the actual conditions on your block. We’ll confirm what applies to your job.
Nearly every failed wall we’re called out to comes down to the same two things: drainage and footings. Water builds up behind a wall with nowhere to go, the pressure doubles, and the wall gives. Or the footings were too shallow for the load. Both are invisible once the job’s done — which is exactly why cheap walls look fine on day one and lean by year three.
That unseen groundwork is the whole point of how we work. We’re built for what’s behind the line.
Retaining walls are priced per lineal metre, not per square metre. As a broad guide, they commonly run from around $200 to $2,000+ per lineal metre, depending heavily on height, wall type, drainage, engineering, site access and how much excavation is involved. A low garden sleeper wall sits at the lower end; a tall engineered concrete wall at the upper. The only real number is a measured quote — and ours is free.
Figures are general market ranges for guidance only, not a quote.
Often yes — but only if the wall was designed for it. The extra height and wind load a fence adds has to be planned into the wall and its footings from the start. If you’re considering both, tell us early and we’ll design them to work together — a Colorbond or timber fence set properly on a wall built to carry it.
Generally not if the retained height is under one metre, it’s at least 1.5 m from a building or another wall, and there’s no extra load behind it. Over that, or near structures, it usually needs engineering and certifier approval. We confirm what applies to your site.
Walls over about a metre, walls carrying load above them, and stacked/terraced walls typically need engineering. We arrange certified engineering whenever a job calls for it.
It depends on your soil, what sits above the wall and the post size. Walls over about a metre usually need engineering and approval, and we arrange that when it's needed. We'll tell you what's possible on your site when we assess it.
Almost always poor drainage or undersized footings — water pressure building behind the wall, or footings too shallow for the load. Both are hidden, which is why doing them right matters most.
Built properly and well drained, a concrete sleeper wall can last decades. Concrete doesn't rot or get eaten by termites, so how long it lasts comes down to the posts, footings and drainage.
Tell us about your slope and we’ll assess the site and have a preliminary quote back to you within 24 hours. Servicing Brisbane & the Gold Coast.
