Timber Retaining Walls
Timber is what most Christchurch sections end up with, and for good reason. A pole and rail wall goes up in a few days, costs less than block, and holds a 1.2m.
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Papanui, Canterbury
Retaining Walls in Papanui
Top Retaining Walls Christchurch builds retaining walls across Papanui, from the streets around Northlands through to Redwood and Casebrook. Papanui is flat, so almost nothing here needs a wall to hold back a natural slope. Nearly every wall we build in this suburb exists because of something people did to the land.
- Timber, block, gabion, stone and engineered walls
- Full drainage behind every wall we build
- Consents lodged through Christchurch City Council
- Drainage on every wall300mm of metal, a drain coil and geotextile. Never an optional extra.
- H5 poles as standardThe right treatment for timber that lives in wet ground.
- Consents handledChristchurch City, Selwyn and Waimakariri, start to finish.
- Itemised quotesYou see what the drainage and the spoil actually cost.
Why a flat suburb needs so many retaining walls
Papanui has been infilled heavily. When a section is split and a new house goes in, the building platform gets levelled, and the difference between the new platform and the old ground has to be held somewhere. That is where the wall comes in.
These walls are usually short, between 400mm and 900mm, and they run along a boundary. They look simple, and they are, provided you get the drainage right and the treatment level correct.
| Council for consents | Christchurch City Council |
|---|---|
| Typical ground | Flat alluvial ground, generally stable |
| Walls we build most here | Timber sleeper and pole walls |
| Consent threshold | 1.5m of retained ground, or any surcharge above the wall |
| Drainage | 300mm metal, perforated coil, geotextile, on every wall |
| Site visit | Free, with a written quote to follow |
Sleeper walls suit the Papanui housing stock
A lot of these walls are visible from the deck or the kitchen window, sitting a few metres from the house. Timber sleepers give a flat square face and a clean horizontal line, which looks tidier in that setting than round poles with rough sawn rails.
On longer runs down the full length of a boundary, pole and rail costs less per metre and we will say so.
Level changes at new boundaries need care
When the fill for a new build sits above your ground, that fill is a surcharge on any wall holding it. Sloping fill above a wall takes the job outside the consent exemption even when the wall is well under 1.5m, and this is the single most common surprise we deal with in infill suburbs.
We check what is above the wall before we quote and tell you whether Christchurch City Council will want an application.
Not sure whether your wall needs a consent? Send us a photo and a rough height. Under 1.5m of retained ground with nothing loading it from above is exempt. A driveway, a building, a pool or fill sloping up behind it is a surcharge, and that changes the answer.
Common questions
Retaining walls in Papanui: common questions
My neighbour's new build is higher than my lawn. Whose wall is it?
Generally the party whose soil is being retained is responsible, because the wall holds their ground. Get any cost sharing agreement in writing before work starts. We can provide a written scope you can both look at.
How long does a small Papanui wall take to build?
Most 8m to 12m garden walls take one to two days once we start, plus curing time for the post concrete before we backfill.
Wall types
Retaining walls we build in Papanui
Concrete and Block Retaining Walls
Concrete lasts longer than timber and carries far more load, which is why it goes in wherever a driveway, a shed or a neighbour's lawn sits above the wall. We build.
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Engineered Retaining Walls
Once a wall passes 1.5m, or once a driveway or building sits above it, the job changes. You need a chartered engineer, a building consent and inspections. We manage.
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Stone and Gabion Retaining Walls
Stone is the choice when the wall has to look like it belongs. Canterbury gives us plenty to work with, including Halswell basalt, Port Hills volcanic stone, Timaru.
See moreNeed a retaining wall in Papanui?
Answer three quick questions or call [PHONE] and we will book a free site visit.