Licensed carpenter · Sydney
Timber retaining walls
Low timber sleeper walls for raised garden beds and small level changes, and a plain guide to when a wall is big enough to need an engineer and approval.
- Google reviews
- 5.0 from 33
- NSW licence
- 276621C · Carpenter
- Quotes
- Free, on site
- Licensed
- Since 2014
About timber retaining walls
A low sleeper wall holds back a garden bed, levels a small step in the yard or edges a path.
Timber is quick to build with and easy to cut around trees and services. For walls like these, the job is carpentry: posts, sleepers, drainage and a straight line.
Bigger walls are a different job. Once a wall is holding back a lot of soil, a slope, a driveway or a building, it needs an engineer's design and often council approval, and the work may need a contractor licensed for structural landscaping. If your wall is in that range, we tell you at the first visit, along with what it will need.
Drainage decides how long a sleeper wall lasts. Water building up behind the wall pushes it over and rots the timber, so the wall needs gravel backfill and a slotted drain pipe behind it, with an outlet the water can actually reach.
Sleeper wall options
- 01
Treated pine sleepers
Rated for in-ground use (H4 or higher). The most common and modest choice for low garden walls.
- 02
Hardwood sleepers
Heavier and naturally darker. Choose a species suited to soil contact.
- 03
Steel posts with timber sleepers
Galvanised steel H-posts set in concrete, with sleepers slotted between them. The posts don't rot, and a damaged sleeper can be swapped out.
- 04
Raised garden beds
Sleeper boxes for vegetables or planting, built square and level.
Before we price it
What changes a retaining wall
Height and load
The taller the wall and the more it holds back, the more engineering it needs. A wall near a boundary, a building or a driveway needs extra care.
Approval
In NSW, low retaining walls set back from the boundaries can be exempt development. Taller walls, and walls close to a boundary, usually need approval.
Drainage
Gravel backfill, a slotted pipe and an outlet stop water building up behind the wall.
Services and roots
Pipes, cables and tree roots in the line of the wall change where the posts can go, so they are located before digging.
What customers say on Google
Google rating
5.0
From 33 reviews on Google
“From the first conversation, Hamzeh and his team were honest and straightforward about what the job would involve and what it would cost - no surprises along the way.”
How high can a retaining wall be without approval?
Only low walls are exempt in NSW, and they also have to sit back from the boundary and meet other conditions. Anything taller, or close to a boundary, usually needs approval and an engineer's design. We check the rules for your lot before we quote.
Timber posts or steel posts?
Timber posts are simpler and quicker. Steel H-posts don't rot and let you replace a damaged sleeper later. For a wall holding a garden bed either can work; where the soil stays wet, steel posts are the safer choice.
Do you build concrete or block retaining walls?
This page covers timber sleeper walls. For concrete, block or engineered walls, tell us about the job and we'll say whether it's work we take on or one for a specialist.
Regions we work in
We build across these parts of Sydney. Open your region to find your suburb.
Northern Beaches38 suburbs
Sydney City20 suburbs
Eastern Suburbs40 suburbs
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Planning an outdoor build? Tell us about it
A few details and a photo or two of the area are enough to start. We'll be in touch to talk it through.
- Send a few details and a photo or two
- We call you back to talk it through
- We measure on site and price the job