Dural: 68 metres of engineered wall on clay that eats cheap ones.
Project overview
A failing 68 m timber retaining wall on a Dural acreage driveway — leaning 200 mm out of plumb after nine wet years in reactive Hills clay, and holding back the only access to the house.
The challenge
The wall couldn’t simply be pulled out: it retained the driveway itself, so the family needed access maintained throughout. Reactive clay meant the new wall needed proper piers and drainage, not another row of sleepers on a strip footing.
Our approach
We staged the rebuild in three 22 m sections, keeping two-thirds of the driveway live at all times. Each section: excavate behind, pier to 1.8 m per the engineer’s design, concrete sleeper system with galvanised steel posts, then ag-line, gravel and geofabric before backfill. Compaction tested per section.
The outcome
Finished in 14 working days with driveway access never lost for more than a working day. Engineer’s certification issued on completion — the wall is warranted for decades, not seasons. The old sleepers went to a recycler, not landfill.
Tell us about the job.
Price back within 24 hours — or we’ll tell you straight if it’s not our kind of work.