Retaining is engineering, not stacking
A retaining wall is holding back tonnes of wet soil, and it fails for two reasons: no foundation, or no drainage. Water building up behind an unvented wall generates enormous pressure, which is why you see so many garden walls leaning outwards with cracked joints.
We dig and pour a concrete footing, build with reinforcement where the height needs it, and always put drainage behind the wall — free-draining stone, a membrane and weep holes or a land drain. Steps are set out so every rise in a flight is identical, because the one that isn't is the one people trip on.
- Concrete footing dug and poured for every retaining wall
- Free-draining backfill, membrane and weep holes or land drain behind
- Reinforcement and, where needed, a structural engineer's input
- Steps set out to a uniform rise, typically 150mm, with a 300mm+ going
- Coping and treads cut from the same batch as your paving
