Retaining Walls Hornsby
Sandstone, block and concrete sleeper retaining walls for the steep sandstone and shale bushland blocks around Hornsby.
Retaining Walls in Hornsby
Hornsby is a different proposition to the western Sydney plains. The ridges are capped with Wianamatta and Ashfield shale but the moment you drop off them you are into Hawkesbury sandstone, often with outcrop showing at the surface and bench after bench of rock below it. A block that looks like an easy dig can turn into a rock hammer job at 400mm, and a wall design that ignores that is a wall design that gets changed halfway through.
We plan for rock from the start. Where the sandstone is sound it becomes part of the solution, either cut into a bench or used as boulder retention. Where we need a structural wall we use core-filled besser block or concrete sleepers in steel H beams, with posts either socketed into rock or founded on a rock bearing footing. Bushfire prone land is common up here, so non combustible masonry and steel walls usually make more sense than timber.
Steep blocks mean height, and height means engineering. Anything over 1 metre or supporting a driveway, deck or the property above is engineer designed and lodged with Hornsby Shire Council where approval is required. Free on-site measure in Hornsby NSW 2077, fixed written quote to follow. Call 0492 879 796 to book yours.
Retaining Wall Services in Hornsby
- Sandstone boulder and block walls
- Core-filled block walls on rock footings
- Concrete sleeper walls with rock sockets
- Rock excavation and benching
- Steep bushland block terracing
- Driveway and turning bay retention
- Rock drains, agi lines and weep holes
- Engineered walls for steep sites
Retaining Wall Options in Hornsby
Sandstone Boulder Walls
Large sandstone boulders set into the slope, the most natural looking retention for a Hornsby bushland setting.
Rock Socketed Walls
Steel posts drilled and grouted into sound sandstone, which gives enormous holding power without a huge concrete footing.
Block Walls on Rock
Core-filled besser founded on a rock bearing footing where the ground is too steep or too hard for a conventional strip.
Rock Excavation
Rock saw, hammer and careful benching to win level ground out of a Hornsby block without shaking the neighbours apart.
Terraced Gardens
Stepped walls down a steep bush block that create planting beds and a usable flat area near the house.
Drainage on Slopes
Agi lines, cut off drains above the wall and weep holes, because water running down a Hornsby slope has to be intercepted, not ignored.
Retaining Wall Service Area Around Hornsby
Retaining Walls Hornsby FAQs
Does Hornsby Shire Council need to approve my retaining wall?
Usually yes once you go past 1 metre, and often sooner here. Hornsby has a lot of steep land, bushfire prone land, tree preservation and riparian controls, and any of those can bring a wall into the approval system even below a metre. A small unsurcharged garden wall away from boundaries and trees is generally fine as exempt development. We look at the constraints on your title at the measure and tell you what applies before you commit.
Sandstone or block on a Hornsby slope?
Sandstone boulder walls suit the bush setting, drain freely between the stones and need no coating, but they take up more depth than a vertical wall and need machine access to place. Core-filled besser block gives you a vertical face and maximum strength in minimum thickness, which matters when the wall is holding a driveway or you are trying to win every metre of flat yard. Concrete sleepers are the value option for long runs behind the house.
How do footings work when there is rock underneath?
Rock is an advantage, not a problem. Instead of a deep hole in soil we drill a socket into sound sandstone and grout the post into it, which typically needs far less embedment than the same wall in clay would. Where the rock is fractured or weathered we treat it more like soil and size the footing accordingly. A geotechnical opinion or the engineer inspecting the excavation decides which situation you actually have.
What causes retaining wall failure on Hornsby blocks?
Water coming down the slope. On a steep site the wall is not just holding back the soil directly behind it, it is in the path of everything draining off the ground above. Without a cut off drain up slope and an agi line behind the face, that water saturates the backfill and loads the wall. Undersized footings in weathered shale and tree roots levering at the stonework are the other two we see regularly.
How long does a steep block wall take to build in Hornsby?
Longer than a flat site, and rock is the reason. A straightforward wall might be three days, but if we hit sandstone that needs hammering or sawing, or the only access is a set of stairs, the same wall can take a week. We look hard at access and likely rock during the measure so the timeline and price in your quote reflect the site rather than an average.
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