Retaining wall quote
- Thread starter srini
- Start date
Depends on the geotechnical report and design of the retaining wall in accordance with that. Retaining walls generally arent just foundations going straight down with the wall poking out of the top - you have to dig the whole thing up and make a footing in an L shape, with the bottom bit of the L going under the earth for stability - then you fill it all back in later. The only way to tell if the price is reasonable is to look at the proposed design and price it up versus other options. Plus there are other issues like how much dirt you're taking out and what you're doing with it, or the need to purchase and lay fill on the higher site.
Get a quote with itemised cost of works and show it to a builder along with the plans, and they'll see how much profit is in it.
Get a quote with itemised cost of works and show it to a builder along with the plans, and they'll see how much profit is in it.
I'm a Landscaper....so...tell me the full story:
1) new work or retro fit by removing existing rotted walls etc..?
2) you say sleepers, so square sleepers or logs sleepers...? What size sleepers (there are a few)
3) access: is it good, can the materials be delivered very close to the job site allowing for not much time in labour to install.
4) is it a council approval job or just gardening type.
5) drainage...?
6) etc etc
1) new work or retro fit by removing existing rotted walls etc..?
2) you say sleepers, so square sleepers or logs sleepers...? What size sleepers (there are a few)
3) access: is it good, can the materials be delivered very close to the job site allowing for not much time in labour to install.
4) is it a council approval job or just gardening type.
5) drainage...?
6) etc etc
Sounds way over the top to me unless the sleepers are made of gold.
You've got 40 sqm of wall there. $1000/sqm is just crazy unless you have to drop everything into the back yard with a helicopter. I am also a landscaper. I would be wealthy if people were happy to pay me 1k/sqm for retaining walls under 1m high.Like the other guys say - there must be a twist. Maybe they have to dig the posts into solid rock or something???
Get another couple of quotes and let us know if there is a twist that is inflating the cost.
maybe a typo...is it $4.2k....?
I'm with Rockstar...would love to do the job for 39k...
I know, I had mental images of planes, airports, hotels and going home with 20 grand for myself
There has to be something missing though. Get the plans/photos and the megascabs in this thread will sort it out quick imo
Thanks for all the replies. So, I'm not alone thinking its a lot of money.
@Thorpey:
1) new work or retro fit by removing existing rotted walls etc..?
New, no existing walls. Its a brand new house and will be completed in appox. 2 months
2) you say sleepers, so square sleepers or logs sleepers...? What size sleepers (there are a few)
Square I think, not sure about the size
3) access: is it good, can the materials be delivered very close to the job site allowing for not much time in labour to install.
Brand new house on a 650 sqm block, retaining wall in front will have 5m x 20m area to work on the job, back walls will have 10m x 15m area to work on the job, so should be able to deliver to where the job is
4) is it a council approval job or just gardening type.
Long story is that the drop in the front of the house is 1.8m at the tallest point which will require council permit+engineering costs. So we decided to do 2 levels of retaining walls each under the council's 1.2m limit. So, no engineering required
5) drainage...?
Will need good drainage/membrane since the house is on a bit of a hill. the drop is towards the back of the house. bit less than 2m drop in 36m of land
6) etc etc
@Ocean Architect: Good point on the itemised cost. I've asked the landscaper. Is it common for landscapers to provide itemised cost eg. material, labour, delivery etc.?
@Rockstar: Trying to get some more quotes. Have had a couple more guys measure up the job. Waiting on them to get back to me. One of them sounded like a perfectionist and said he wouldn't do anything but concrete or stone retaining walls. His reasoning was that treated pine rots in 10 years or so.
Unfortunately, $42k was not a typo. Wish it was. Didn't think of it as $1000/sqm! Puts it in perspective.
Thanks for all the useful comments. Excellent responses as usual. Don't know what I'd do without the forum!
@Thorpey:
1) new work or retro fit by removing existing rotted walls etc..?
New, no existing walls. Its a brand new house and will be completed in appox. 2 months
2) you say sleepers, so square sleepers or logs sleepers...? What size sleepers (there are a few)
Square I think, not sure about the size
3) access: is it good, can the materials be delivered very close to the job site allowing for not much time in labour to install.
Brand new house on a 650 sqm block, retaining wall in front will have 5m x 20m area to work on the job, back walls will have 10m x 15m area to work on the job, so should be able to deliver to where the job is
4) is it a council approval job or just gardening type.
Long story is that the drop in the front of the house is 1.8m at the tallest point which will require council permit+engineering costs. So we decided to do 2 levels of retaining walls each under the council's 1.2m limit. So, no engineering required
5) drainage...?
Will need good drainage/membrane since the house is on a bit of a hill. the drop is towards the back of the house. bit less than 2m drop in 36m of land
6) etc etc
@Ocean Architect: Good point on the itemised cost. I've asked the landscaper. Is it common for landscapers to provide itemised cost eg. material, labour, delivery etc.?
@Rockstar: Trying to get some more quotes. Have had a couple more guys measure up the job. Waiting on them to get back to me. One of them sounded like a perfectionist and said he wouldn't do anything but concrete or stone retaining walls. His reasoning was that treated pine rots in 10 years or so.
Unfortunately, $42k was not a typo. Wish it was. Didn't think of it as $1000/sqm! Puts it in perspective.
Thanks for all the useful comments. Excellent responses as usual. Don't know what I'd do without the forum!
All up ours was $48,000
we had 3 x 30mtr walls
Drive way + patio area 6mx7m + all around the house concreted
all turf lad front back,side and all native plants in between the 1st and second retaining wall
here a link (just click on search maps and zoom in and place the little man near the dam)
this when the worker were building the walls
Cheers Glenn
http://maps.google.com.au/maps?oe=u...park&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x6b73395494fc19
we had 3 x 30mtr walls
Drive way + patio area 6mx7m + all around the house concreted
all turf lad front back,side and all native plants in between the 1st and second retaining wall
here a link (just click on search maps and zoom in and place the little man near the dam)
this when the worker were building the walls
Cheers Glenn
http://maps.google.com.au/maps?oe=u...park&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x6b73395494fc19
Hi, you seem to have things quite organised. The 2-step option is good specially if subsoil is not bad.
The 42K quote is really very high as others have pointed out.
I paid what I thought was a bomb for mine [at that time I had no knowledge] & later I discovered there were plenty of other options.
I had 4 cememt rectangular slabs [about 1m] totalling 160m in length or thereabouts.
Cost me $26K
KY
The 42K quote is really very high as others have pointed out.
I paid what I thought was a bomb for mine [at that time I had no knowledge] & later I discovered there were plenty of other options.
I had 4 cememt rectangular slabs [about 1m] totalling 160m in length or thereabouts.
Cost me $26K
KY
If they're making a sensible profit, sure contractors do. If they're about to deep fry you, then of course not - you'll get a breakdown with about 5 lines - one for excavation/earthworks, one for footing/concrete installation, another for metalwork, another for pine installation and the last bit for landscaping/tidy up with the total quote in bold at the bottom plus GST.
If they refuse to provide a more detailed breakdown, it's a huge black flag imo. Honest tradesmen don't make secret profit margins
One of my cousins over there lives in Laylor (I have no idea what proximity that is to you) and is an excavator/concretor - I see no reason that you can't use him (or another guy - not my business) to do the superstructure and then a carpenter to install the pine. At least he'll be honest about it and set you straight - it's just excavations/footings/posts on easily accessible ground. All you need is a mini excavator/bobcat for a few hundred bucks before and after. If you have site plans i can review them with my posse
D) and itemise the works to set you straightThanks a lot OA. Much appreciated.
I'm not quite sure what plan you mean, but I've attached a site diagram. I can also email you the full thing.
I have marked out where the retaining walls are to go and how high. The soil test did not come back with anything unusual. I don't think there was any in-fill.
Thanks
I'm not quite sure what plan you mean, but I've attached a site diagram. I can also email you the full thing.
I have marked out where the retaining walls are to go and how high. The soil test did not come back with anything unusual. I don't think there was any in-fill.
Thanks
Attachments
Okay you see that bit on the top right hand corner that says "provide sleeper retaining wall (1000mm approx) make to engineers details" - that's what you need. You need the engineering plan of the retaining wall design so that you can then work out how much digging, how much steel, how much concrete, what type of concrete, spacing and specification of the steel posts etc. So call your engineer and get a copy of that (preferably electronic so that you can email it).
You engineer will also have a copy of the geotechnical report which is important in working out how difficult it is going to be to dig your footings out. The engineer has obviously based his plans on the type of soil and given you all of the above specifications so you can price your materials, but you still need to figure out your excavation costs ie rock expensive, sand cheap.
While you have your engineer on the phone, you may as well ask him if the soil is going to be easy/hard/expensive/cheap to dig out while you ask for a copy of plans/geo report. He has no reason to lie so it's all good info.
You engineer will also have a copy of the geotechnical report which is important in working out how difficult it is going to be to dig your footings out. The engineer has obviously based his plans on the type of soil and given you all of the above specifications so you can price your materials, but you still need to figure out your excavation costs ie rock expensive, sand cheap.
While you have your engineer on the phone, you may as well ask him if the soil is going to be easy/hard/expensive/cheap to dig out while you ask for a copy of plans/geo report. He has no reason to lie so it's all good info.
Sounds like they don't need engineering under 1.2 OA? No point paying for it I say. Just get a reputable landscaper in with a licence and insurance and they will be responsible for the job. I would avoid pine if you plan to stay there for a long time. There should be some reasonable options out there for you. Get some other landscapers in. Your quote is ridiculously expensive in my view. I would be making very good money at half that price.
Anything equal to or over 1m above natural ground level requires building approval as per the BCA, plus there are some other things that come into it like proximity to buildings etc (if you have a footing on the higher level within a certain range, plus if you have a building on the lower level that may be affected by collapse). If you wanted to save money then sure, make it 950mm high or something.
I personally agree about the pine because at some point, it is going to rot, and so prefer reenforced blocks myself. If anything those nice looking textured blocks are pretty good.
yeah, I was going to suggest rendered core filled blockwork.
40sqm @ 12.5 per sqm = 500 blocks at max $4 ea = 2k
$3 ea labour to lay = 1.5k
Footings and core fill 12 cubes @ 250/cube = 3k
Steel = $500 max
Machine and soil removal = 2k
Labour = say 6k
Render = say 3k
Aggregate and agline to drain = say 1k
Engineer = 1k
Total = 20k (Have I missed anything?)
Stack blocks are cheaper as pine should be.
I'm quoting Darwin prices here which I have been led to believe are amongst the most expensive in the Nation. At the price you came up with (20k), I could fly someone to Melbourne and have the job done in a week with large profit, but I may be wrong if melbourne is in fact the twilight zone
Just to reenforce the idea that I'm not arguing, rockstar - just putting it into perspective with my prices. Things could be different there. (I ain't got no beef witch you)
yeah, I was going to suggest rendered core filled blockwork.
40sqm @ 12.5 per sqm = 500 blocks at max $4 ea = 2k
darwin expensive prices per block $2.80 not 4 and that's for 1st grade blocks not 2nds that you can easily get away with for a retaining wall of that height which will cut the price by another dollar-ish
$3 ea labour to lay = 1.5k
darwin expensive laying $2.40-2.80 each
Footings and core fill 12 cubes @ 250/cube = 3k
darwin expensive concrete 170 trade 190 standard a cube not 250
Steel = $500 max
yep (thank goodness, I was starting to feel bad
Machine and soil removal = 2k
Eeeeeeh depends. It isn't a huge amount of dirt, if you wanted to you could probably just spread it around the site for less than dumping fees (depends on ground), plus I generally pay $100/hr for an excavator and a bit more for trucks - it isnt a huge job if the ground is okay
Labour = say 6k
No way. Excavation already paid, blocklaying paid, render paid all by contract - 6k for what? all that's left is steel install, concrete finish, corefill, sealing and cleanup - one day each tops
Render = say 3k
Render 20/m but a bit more for small fiddly jobs, but not needed at all in case of textured blocks, nowhere near 3k. For 3k you could tile it with marble
Aggregate and agline to drain = say 1k
Havn't priced need specs
Engineer = 1k
Engineer likely already paid as per the rest of the job
Total = 20k (Have I missed anything?)
surveyor
steel delivery
block delivery
waterproof membrane
termite treatment
steel installation
corefill
concrete delivery/waiting time/finishing
sealing and painting of render
cleanup/refill of exposed footings
certifier
Stack blocks are cheaper as pine should be.
yep
Just to reenforce the idea that I'm not arguing, rockstar - just putting it into perspective with my prices. Things could be different there. (I ain't got no beef witch you
)
