Garden Retaining Walls in Christchurch
Top Retaining Walls Christchurch builds garden retaining walls, which is the low end of the trade and the part most people actually want. Raised beds, a level lawn out of a sloping section, planters against a boundary, walls either side of steps, and edges that hold mulch where it belongs.
- Low walls, planters, edging and level changes
- Usually exempt from consent, still built properly
- Timber, segmental block, stone or gabion
Get your free quote
Four quick questions. Most quotes come back within a couple of days.
Most garden walls sit comfortably under the 1.5 metre exemption with nothing above them, so consent is not usually part of the conversation. That does not mean the build is different. A low wall with no drainage still fails, it just takes a bit longer and costs less to put right.
Choosing a type for a garden retaining wall
Timber
Cheapest, warmest looking and fine at these heights. H5 posts and H4 sleepers, or macrocarpa if you would rather not have treated timber in a vegetable bed.
Segmental block
The best option where the wall curves or steps, because the units are small and dry stacked. Also the tidiest looking option straight out of the box.
Stone
The most expensive and the one that ages best. On an established garden it is often the only thing that looks right, and at low heights a mass stone wall is genuinely affordable.
Gabion
Modern, chunky, free draining, and good in a damp corner where nothing else stays dry.
Terraced garden retaining walls and the consent trap
Turning a slope into two or three level terraces is the most requested garden job we do and it is a big improvement to how a section gets used. It also has a trap in it.
Terraced walls close together are assessed as one combined structure for consent purposes, because the upper wall surcharges the lower one. Three neat 1.2 metre walls stepping up a bank are not three exempt walls. We check the spacing and the geometry before quoting.
The details that make a garden retaining wall look built rather than bought
Ends that return into the bank instead of stopping in mid air. A capping or top course that reads as deliberate. Steps that line up with the courses rather than cutting across them. And the wall set at a height that relates to something, usually a seat height, a bed depth or the level of a path.
None of that costs much. All of it is the difference between a wall you notice and a wall that just works.
Garden Retaining Walls at a glance
- Typical heights
- Up to about a metre, usually exempt with nothing above
- Types
- Timber, segmental block, natural stone, gabion
- Terracing
- Multiple close walls assessed as one structure for consent
- Drainage
- Still required, even on low walls
- Detailing
- Returned ends, deliberate capping, steps aligned to courses
- Cost
- The lowest of any retaining work, from about $160 per lineal metre
Garden Retaining Walls in Christchurch: common questions
Do I need consent for a garden wall?
Usually not, if it retains 1.5 metres or less with nothing above it. Terracing several walls together is the exception.
Can I terrace my sloping back yard?
Yes, and it is the single best thing you can do to a sloping section. Just be aware that closely spaced terraces are assessed together for consent.
Does a low wall really need drainage?
Yes. The load is smaller but the water behaves the same, and low walls without drainage still bulge.
What is the cheapest option?
Timber, comfortably. Segmental block costs more and looks tidier, stone costs the most and ages the best.
What height should a garden retaining wall be?
Set it to relate to something rather than to a round number. Around 450mm gives you a wall people sit on. Around 300mm suits a raised bed edge. Where the wall is holding a change of level the height is set by the ground, but the top course can still be lined up with a path, a step or a deck so it reads as designed.
Can a garden retaining wall double as a planter?
Yes, and it is one of the better uses of a low wall. It needs the same drainage as any other wall plus provision for the irrigation the planting will get, because a bed that is watered regularly is a permanently wet zone behind the timber or block.
How much does a small garden retaining wall cost?
Timber at these heights is the cheapest way to do it properly, from about $160 per lineal metre, so a ten metre low wall commonly lands in the low thousands. Segmental block costs more and looks tidier out of the box. Stone costs the most and is the only one that improves with age.
Recent Christchurch jobs
Boundary wall between us and the neighbour on a new build. Sorted the levels, the consent question and the fence on top in one job. Turned up when they said and left the site clean every night.
Builder here. I use them on subdivision work because the paperwork comes back complete. PS1 up front, PS4 at the end, no chasing.
Wall failed after the big rain and took part of the bank with it. Made safe within two days and rebuilt a month later with real drainage behind it.
Terraced the back lawn into two levels. Fast, tidy, fair price, and the drainage was done properly.
Get a price for garden retaining walls in Christchurch
Free site visit, a fixed written quote, and a straight answer on what the wall actually needs.
Start your quote
Four questions and you are done.