Top Retaining Walls Christchurch builds poured reinforced concrete retaining walls in Christchurch for the jobs where nothing else will do. A poured wall is boxed up on site, filled with steel, and poured as one continuous structure. There are no joints for water to find and no units that can move independently.
Poured concrete goes in when a building sits above the wall, when a driveway runs right along the top, or when the wall is tall enough that an engineer wants a single monolithic structure rather than stacked units. It is also the usual answer for basement and garage walls that double as retaining.
Every poured wall we build is engineer designed and consented. There is no version of this job that sits inside the Schedule 1 exemption.
| Structure | Steel reinforced concrete poured in place |
|---|---|
| Design | Chartered professional engineer, always |
| Consent | Building consent required, always |
| Waterproofing | Applied to the retained face where drawings call for it |
| Backfill | Free draining metal placed in compacted lifts |
| Best for | Buildings, driveways and tall walls |
| Timeline | Longest of any wall type, driven by curing and inspections |
We excavate and pour a reinforced footing, then fix the steel cage for the wall itself. Boxing goes up both faces, gets braced hard, and the wall pours in one go. Once the concrete has cured we strip the boxing, apply waterproofing where the drawings call for it, then build the drainage layer and backfill in compacted lifts.
It takes longer than any other wall type and it costs more. What you get is the strongest option available and a wall that will outlast the house.
The footing design changes a lot across the city. On the deep gravels through Hornby, Islington and Templeton the bearing is good and footings stay simple. On the eastern side, where loose sands and silts sit under a shallow water table, the geotechnical work drives the design and the footing gets more involved.
On Port Hills slopes the loess adds its own problem. Dry loess stands up in near vertical faces and looks solid, then loses strength when it gets wet. Engineers design for that, and it is one reason poured walls on the hill often come with quite specific drainage requirements.
Every wall we build gets drainage. At least 300mm of clean free draining metal, a perforated coil at the base running to a real outlet, and geotextile over the top so silt cannot block it. It is not an optional line on our quotes.
If a building or driveway sits above it, you rarely have a choice. For a garden bank you almost certainly do not need one, and block or timber will serve you better for the money.
Yes. The boxing can be formed to a curve or to an unusual angle, which is one advantage over stacked units on an awkward site.
The concrete needs time to reach strength first, and the engineer's drawings set that. Backfilling early is one of the fastest ways to damage a wall you just paid for.
Our old wall was rotten right through and leaning into the neighbour's place. They pulled the lot out, put proper drainage behind the new one and had it finished in three days. Swept the site clean every afternoon before they left too. Tidiest crew we have ever had here by a long way.
They sorted the consent, which was the bit I was dreading. Dealt with the council so I never had to, and kept me in the loop the whole way through. The driveway sits right above it and has not shifted a millimetre.
Steep section, shocking access, and they still made it look easy. They suggested two smaller walls instead of one big one, which saved us thousands in engineering fees. The terrace in between is now my favourite part of the whole garden.
Call [PHONE] or answer three quick questions. The site visit and the written quote cost you nothing.
