Retaining Wall Regulations
Installing a retaining wall in Sydney can seem like a pretty simple task and it is if you are under the council requirements. But for walls greater than 600mm high and in some other states 1000mm high you will need council approval and a engineer.
Some people like learning the hard way and do not install their concrete sleeper retaining walls correctly and overtime the wall will lean and bulge, if you install your retaining walls at 600mm high and other states 1000mm high and follow our installation guidelines you will be fine but anything over that it is best to have council approval and a engineer.
As im sure you can understand the higher the wall the greater the risk it is to people and that's why its a great idea to get it done right.
Retaining Wall Heights Sydney
When will you need to get council approval for your retaining wall? the best thing to do is to simply ask your local council and that will only take a phone call. Height variations can differ from state to state. but here are some rough guidelines to follow:
* In New South Wales, you need permission from council to build a retaining wall higher than 600mm from ground level.
* On the Gold Coast of Queensland, you need building approval for retaining walls 1 metre or more in height.
* In Victoria, a building permit is needed for retaining walls over 1 metre high.
If you need a building permit you can presume that you will also need a structural engineer. Please Contact Us if your engineer needs our concrete sleeper engineer specification details.
Domestic retaining wall jobs are pretty straight forward for engineers and are not a big job, and it will not cost much to get an engineer report.
Not only are there height regulations but there can also be regulations in relation to how close it can be to the boundary, in NSW it cant be any closer than 900mm, best thing to do is simply call your local council.
We may give advice or guidance on what products we think that you require or do a quote for materials for you but ultimately the responsibility lies with the customer to make sure they have ordered the right materials and have followed council guidelines and or engineer requirements.
We can supply all types and lengths of steel so please ask us and we can provide prices. Steel Specifications/dimensional and sectional properties can be provided if requested.
Please Note that 120 UB/150 UB and 125x65/150x75 Channel is imported steel (not manufactured in Australia) and therefore does not meet an Australian standard as of yet, it will be sufficient on small walls that do not require engineering or council approval, this is why you must get council approval and engineering done if a wall is over a certain height. this is the customers responsibility and does so at his own risk.
120 UB/150 UB and 125x65/150x75 Channel is extensively used in South Australia.
