Really happy with the fence Tim built for us. He was easy to deal with, turned up when he said he would, and put a lot of care into getting everything right. The finished fence looks great and has made a huge difference to the property. Would definitely use Tim again and have no hesitation recommending him.
Retaining walls Whangaparaoa and Warkworth
From low garden terracing to engineered walls holding a driveway or a building platform, drained properly behind the face.
01 — Drainage
Walls fail on water, not on timber
Walls that lean or blow out rarely fail because the posts were undersized. They fail because water built up behind them and the wall ended up holding a load nobody designed for.
The clay across much of this coast makes that more likely, not less. It holds water, swells, and pushes hard on anything sitting in front of it.
- Drainage metal and coil behind the full face, piped to a legal outfall
- Geotextile between backfill and soil so the drainage layer stays open
- H5 posts concreted to a depth matched to the retained height
Retaining walls Whangaparaoa, in timber, masonry and terracing
Height, what sits above the wall, and what it has to look like all feed into the choice. A garden terrace and a wall holding a driveway are different pieces of engineering.
Timber retaining
Post and rail construction in H4 and H5 treated pine. Cost effective, quick to build and easy to blend into a planted bank.
Masonry retaining
Block and concrete walls where the load, the height or the finish rules timber out. Can be plastered, painted or left raw.
Terracing
Two or three low walls stepped up a bank instead of one tall one. Often cheaper, and it usually avoids the consent threshold.
02 — Consent
Knowing which side of the line you are on
As a general rule a wall retaining more than 1.5 metres needs a building consent, and so does any wall carrying additional load above it, regardless of height. A driveway, a building or a slope that keeps climbing all count as load.
Tim assesses this on site and organises the engineer and the application when one is needed, so the job does not stall halfway through.
- Engineer's design arranged where the height or load requires it
- Council application handled as part of the job
- Boundary walls discussed with the neighbour before work starts
One section, start to finish
An overgrown back section stripped out, cut and retained in timber to give a level lawn, then turfed and planted with raised beds down both sides.
Retaining wall questions
The two that come up on nearly every job are consent and how long timber lasts in the ground.
How long will a timber wall last?
Properly drained H5 timber in the ground has a long service life, and the posts are the limiting factor rather than the rails. Walls that get damp backfill packed straight against them are the ones that fail early, which is why the drainage detail matters more than the timber grade.
Can you retain on the boundary?
Often, but it needs care. Access to the far side, the neighbour's ground level and any shared drainage all have to be worked through, and the neighbour needs to be part of the conversation from the start.
Can retaining and a deck be done together?
Yes, and on a sloping section it is usually the sensible sequence. Both at once means one set of levels, one machine hire and one lot of site disruption instead of two.
What about the ground behind the wall?
Backfill gets placed and compacted in layers, not tipped in one go. Done otherwise it settles over the first winter and you get a trench along the top of a wall that is otherwise perfectly good.
Retaining and terracing across the Hibiscus Coast, Warkworth and the North Shore
Retaining work runs right through the Hibiscus Coast, out to Warkworth and Matakana, and across the North Shore. The clay behaves much the same across all of it: it holds water, swells, and pushes on whatever is standing in front of it, which is why the drainage detail is the same wherever the wall goes.
- Whangaparaoa
- Manly & Stanmore Bay
- Red Beach
- Orewa
- Silverdale & Millwater
- Warkworth
- Matakana & Snells Beach
- Albany & Greenhithe
- Torbay & Browns Bay
- Wider North Shore
Book a site visit
- Mobile
- 021 709 679
- Site visits
- No charge
- Pricing
- Itemised, written
Photos and a rough retained height are enough for Tim to say whether it is a consent job.
Get a quoteWhat clients say
Verified NoCowboys reviews from clients across Whangaparaoa, Silverdale, Orewa, Warkworth and the North Shore.
5.0
from 57 verified reviews
Working with Tim was awesome!!! he was so full of knowledge, always informed us of his plans for our gardens,kind and very respectful. He is our "Grass Guru", we never imagined our lawns could be as luscious as they've grown 10/10 :thumbsup_tone3:
Tim replaced our small grass area with a ready lawn after the existing area had been dug up due to drainage works and dried out. We are very happy with the result and now have a thick (and visually pleasing) lawn.
Tim from The Landscape Company responded to a job I posted on No Cowboys. A small job with a tight timeframe at a time of year (leading up to Christmas) when it can be difficult to get things done. Tim was committed to getting the job done on time, working in the rain one day and even delayed his holiday by a day to complete the job. We were very grateful as it enabled us to give a new puppy a safe area. Tim always responded to my queries promptly, gave a timely quote, asked questions to understand our expectations of the finished job and communicated clearly on when he would be on site to do the work. When some of the timber was unexpectedly unavailable, he told us why and the cause of the delay. The final fences and gates are brilliant. Tim kept a very tidy worksite, ensured no mud was transferred to the concrete driveway, accommodated changes that arose due to a change of mind on our part, and was very easy and pleasant to deal with. I have no hesitation in recommending Tim from The Landscape Company.
Tim was recommended by a friend and I couldn’t be more pleased. He single-handedly transformed my garden. An absolute pleasure to work with, first rate communication, and a real down to earth knowledge of landscaping, and a real problem solver when my garden threw up challenges.
We are absolutely thrilled with the exceptional service provided by Tim at The Landscape Company. From the initial consultation to the final walk-through, his professionalism, expertise, and attention to detail were truly impressive.
Tim was an absolute pleasure to work with, always responsive, and went above and beyond to ensure our complete satisfaction. His dedication to his craft is evident in every aspect of his work. We highly recommend Tim and The Landscape Company to anyone seeking top-notch landscaping services. Tims exceptional work has earned him a well-deserved 5 stars from us! Thank you for all the amazing work you have done for us and will continue to do for us hopefully in the future.
Bank moving, or ground you want levelled?
Photos and a rough height are enough to start. Tim will tell you whether it is a consent job before anyone spends money.