Top Retaining Walls Lower Hutt builds poured reinforced concrete retaining walls in Lower Hutt for the jobs where nothing else will do. A poured wall is boxed on site, filled with steel and poured as one continuous structure. No joints for water to find, and no units that can move independently of each other.
Poured concrete goes in when a building sits above the wall, when a driveway runs along the top, or when an engineer wants one monolithic structure instead of stacked units. It is also the usual answer for basement and garage walls that double as retaining, which are common on the hill suburbs where houses are cut into the slope.
Every poured wall we build is engineer designed and consented. There is no version of this job that fits inside the Schedule 1 exemption.
| Structure | Steel reinforced concrete poured in place |
|---|---|
| Design | Chartered professional engineer, always |
| Consent | Building consent required, always |
| Waterproofing | Applied to the retained face where drawings call for it |
| Backfill | Free draining metal placed in compacted lifts |
| Best for | Buildings, driveways and tall walls |
| Timeline | Longest of any wall type, driven by curing and inspections |
We excavate and pour a reinforced footing, fix the steel cage for the wall, box both faces and brace hard, then pour in one go. Once the concrete has reached strength we strip the boxing, apply waterproofing where the drawings call for it, then build the drainage layer and backfill in compacted lifts.
It takes longer than any other wall type and it costs more. What you get is the strongest option available and a wall that will outlast the house in front of it.
On the valley floor the Waiwhetu gravels are dense to very dense and give good bearing, but they are not at the same depth everywhere. Through Petone and down toward Seaview the soft sediments run more than 10 metres thick in places, with the greatest known thickness around 27 metres near the western end of the Petone foreshore. That is a geotechnical conversation, not a standard detail off a page.
On the hills you are into greywacke and its weathered clay mantle, where the question becomes how deep you have to go to find rock that has not broken down.
Every wall we build gets drainage. At least 300mm of clean free draining metal, a perforated coil at the base running to a real outlet, and geotextile over the top so silt cannot block it. It is not an optional line on our quotes.
If a building or driveway sits above it, you rarely have a choice. For a garden bank you almost certainly do not need one, and block or timber will serve you better for the money.
Yes. Boxing can be formed to a curve or an unusual angle, which is an advantage over stacked units on an awkward site.
Only once the concrete has reached the strength the drawings call for. Backfilling early is one of the fastest ways to damage a wall you just paid for.
Our old wall was rotten right through and leaning into the neighbour's place. They pulled the lot out, put proper drainage behind the new one and had it finished in three days. Swept the site clean every afternoon before they left too. Tidiest crew we have ever had here by a long way.
They sorted the consent, which was the bit I was dreading. Dealt with the council so I never had to, and kept me in the loop the whole way through. The driveway sits right above it and has not shifted a millimetre.
Steep section, shocking access, and they still made it look easy. They suggested two smaller walls instead of one big one, which saved us thousands in engineering fees. The terrace in between is now my favourite part of the whole garden.
Call [PHONE] or answer three quick questions. The site visit and the written quote cost you nothing.
