Timber Retaining Walls
Timber does most of the work in the Hutt Valley. A pole and rail wall goes up in a few days, costs less per metre than anything else, and holds a 1.2m step in level.
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Days Bay, Wellington region
Retaining Walls in Days Bay
Top Retaining Walls Lower Hutt builds retaining walls in Days Bay, one of the tightest places to work anywhere in the Wellington region. The road runs along the shoreline, the hill goes up immediately behind it, and most sections are long, narrow and steep.
- Timber, block, gabion, stone and engineered walls
- Full drainage behind every wall we build
- Consents lodged through Hutt City Council
- Drainage on every wall300mm of metal, a drain coil and geotextile. Never an optional extra.
- H5 poles as standardThe right treatment for timber that lives in wet ground.
- Consents handledHutt City, Upper Hutt and Wellington, start to finish.
- Itemised quotesYou see what the drainage and the spoil actually cost.
Access shapes the whole job here
Days Bay properties often have no side access at all. Houses sit close to the road with the section climbing behind, and the only route to the back is through the house or up a set of steps.
That means spoil comes out by barrow and materials go in the same way, which is real labour and it shows in the price. We assess it before quoting and tell you what it means, rather than discovering it on the first morning.
| Council for consents | Hutt City Council |
|---|---|
| Typical ground | Steep greywacke slope, narrow shoreline strip |
| Walls we build most here | Gabion, stone and engineered block |
| Consent threshold | 1.5m of retained ground, or any surcharge above the wall |
| Drainage | 300mm metal, perforated coil, geotextile, on every wall |
| Site visit | Free, with a written quote to follow |
Steep sections and the walls that hold them
The slope behind a Days Bay house is usually too steep for one wall to be sensible. Tiered walls with terraces between them work far better, both structurally and because they give you flat ground you can actually stand on.
Because sloping ground above a wall counts as a surcharge, expect a consent through Hutt City Council on anything of consequence here. We arrange the engineer and lodge it.
Salt, weather and material choice
The bay faces across the harbour and takes weather off the water. PVC coated gabion mesh and hot dip galvanised or stainless fixings are worth the extra every time this close to the shore.
Greywacke stone suits the setting better than anything manufactured. It is the same rock as the hill directly behind the section, so a stone wall here never looks imported.
Not sure whether your wall needs a consent? Send us a photo and a rough height. Under 1.5m of retained ground with nothing loading it from above is exempt. A driveway, a building, a pool or fill sloping up behind it is a surcharge, and that changes the answer.
Common questions
Retaining walls in Days Bay: common questions
Can you work on a section with no vehicle access?
Yes, we do it regularly in the bays. It costs more because spoil and materials move by hand, and we will show you that in the quote rather than hiding it.
Why are bay jobs dearer?
Access and slope, almost entirely. The wall itself is not that different from one on the flat. Getting to it and getting the dirt away is where the money goes.
Wall types
Retaining walls we build in Days Bay
Concrete and Block Retaining Walls
Concrete goes in wherever something heavy sits above the wall, and in a city built beside an active fault it is also what engineers reach for first. We build.
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Engineered Retaining Walls
Past 1.5m, or once a driveway or building sits above it, the job changes completely. You need a chartered engineer, a building consent from Hutt City Council and.
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Stone and Gabion Retaining Walls
Stone suits the Hutt hills, where a hard manufactured face can look wrong against bush and rock. The whole region is founded on greywacke, so local quarries put out.
See moreNeed a retaining wall in Days Bay?
Answer three quick questions or call [PHONE] and we will book a free site visit.