Drainage works
Drainage & backfill rectification
Saturated backfill can more than double the load a wall carries, and most residential walls that fail in storms were pushed by water, not soil. Rectification gets water out from behind the wall and away from it: functioning subsoil drainage at the base, free-draining material against the structure, weep holes that actually weep, and surface water directed somewhere lawful and harmless.
Scope
What this covers
Excavation behind the wall to expose and renew failed drainage
New agricultural drain runs in graded gravel wrapped in filter fabric
Replacement of clay-heavy backfill with free-draining material where practical
Clearing or drilling weep holes so the wall face can relieve pressure
Redirection of downpipes and surface flows currently discharging above the wall
Timing
When it's needed
Water staining or constant damp on the wall face, boggy ground at the base, weep holes that never flow even in rain, or a wall whose movement accelerates after storms. Also the mandatory companion scope to almost every structural wall repair, repairing a wall while leaving the water behind it is half a job.
A bulging or freshly moved retaining wall can collapse without further warning, particularly during or after heavy rain. Keep children, vehicles and work activity away from both the base and the retained edge, do not excavate at the toe, and get a structural assessment before anyone works close to it.
Quote variables
What shapes the scope
Depth of excavation required to reach the base drainage layer
Where relieved water can legally discharge on the block
Access for machines along the wall line versus hand digging
Landscaping, paving and planting reinstatement above the works
Retaining wall construction and structural repair in NSW generally requires a licensed building or structural landscaping contractor, and walls above council-set height thresholds, commonly in the 600 millimetre to one metre range depending on the council and circumstances, need engineering design and may need development approval. Confirm licence details and the engineer's involvement in writing for any structural wall work.
Wall works
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