Landscaping in Berwick

Treated pine sleepers are the cheapest built option, averaging roughly $250 to $450 per square metre of wall face, though on reactive clay their realistic life is 15 to 20 years. Concrete sleepers on galvanised posts cost more at an average of $400 to $700 per square metre and will outlast the house, which usually makes them the better value on a Berwick slope. The cheapest overall answer is often terracing: two 800 millimetre walls instead of one 1.6 metre wall avoids the permit and engineering costs entirely. Every job is unique, so we work that comparison out on site and put the numbers in writing before you commit.

Generally yes once the wall exceeds one metre in height, under the Building Regulations 2018, and sometimes below that if the wall carries a surcharge load such as a driveway or a neighbouring structure above it. That means an engineer's design and a building permit through the City of Casey, which on average adds $1,500 to $3,500 and several weeks to the timeline. Every job is unique, so we check the position before quoting and it is priced into your written quote rather than sprung on you. An unpermitted structural wall becomes a problem when you sell.

It depends almost entirely on how much fall there is and where the soil goes. On average, a backyard with around a metre of fall needs 10 to 20 square metres of wall face plus earthworks, which typically lands between $8,000 and $18,000 before any paving, turf or planting. Add the finished surfaces and a full rebuild of a sloping Berwick backyard averages $25,000 to $45,000. Spoil removal is a real cost on clay because it is heavy and there is usually nowhere on site to put it. Every job is unique, so these are averages rather than quotes and you get a written figure after we measure.

Yes, and it is a normal part of Berwick renovation work. Structural roots cannot simply be cut without risking the tree and, on protected or significant trees, without breaching council controls. We hand-dig within root zones, adjust footing positions rather than trenching straight through, and use pier-and-beam or floating construction where a surface needs to pass over roots. The City of Casey has tree protection requirements that apply in parts of the suburb, and we check those before quoting rather than after.

The clay here is reactive, meaning it swells in winter when it is wet and shrinks back through summer, and an unreinforced or poorly based slab simply moves with it. Concrete also shrinks as it cures, so it will always crack somewhere. Control joints cut at 3 to 4 metre spacing give that shrinkage a planned line to follow, and a compacted crushed rock base with SL72 mesh sitting on bar chairs stops the slab bridging over soft spots. Done that way, cracking stays in the joints where it belongs.

We cover the whole suburb, including the Timbarra estate, the streets around Eden Rise, the older village pocket near High Street and the lower ground toward the Princes Highway. Each of those brings a different job type, so it helps if you mention which part of Berwick you are in when you call. We also work in Narre Warren North, Hallam, Doveton and Endeavour Hills nearby. Call 0423 422 866 to book a site visit.