Most retaining walls land between about $200 and $800 a face-square-metre supplied and installed, timber sleeper at the bottom, concrete sleeper and link-block in the middle, core-filled besser and natural stone higher. The levers that move the number, and why an honest quote prices by the face-metre after a site assessment.
A retaining wall is priced by the face-metre. That is the wall length, times the height it holds. Get
the face area, the build type and the footing right, and you can price the job before anyone visits.
Below is where the numbers sit in the Hills in 2026, built and set in place.
What a retaining wall costs per face-metre
Cheap quote.block on a shallow pad, no drainage, no breakdown$150 to $220/m²
Timber sleeper.treated pine to hardwood, concrete-set posts$200 to $400/m²
Concrete sleeper.reinforced sleepers, galvanised posts, drained$250 to $500/m²
Link-block and gabion.segmental block or rock cage, geogrid and drainage$300 to $600/m²
Besser and natural stone.core-filled masonry or feature stone, engineered footing$450 to $800/m²
These are a guide only, not a quote. The cheap-quote row is in red for a reason. A number that low
usually means block on a shallow pad, no drainage behind the wall, and the over-a-metre engineering
left off. It is cheap because of what it leaves out, and that is the part you pay for again.
What moves the number
Material and height. The two biggest levers. Timber sleeper sits at the bottom, then concrete sleeper, link-block and gabion, with core-filled besser and natural stone at the top. And a taller wall costs more per face-metre because the footing, the reinforcement and the drainage all step up with the height.
Face-metres (length by height). Cost tracks the face area, so a long boundary and a short garden step are not the same job. We price by the face-metre after a site assessment, because the run and the drop together are the single biggest number on the quote.
The footing and the soil. Reactive clay, fill and sloping ground all mean a deeper or wider footing and more concrete or steel to hold the wall. The footing is sized to the wall and the soil, and it is the part a cheap quote quietly skips.
The drainage. A full ag-line behind the wall, the aggregate backfill, the weep holes and the geofabric are real work, and they are the cheapest insurance against the wall bulging. A wall without drainage is the one you pay to rebuild.
Engineering and council over 1m. A wall retaining over a metre needs a structural engineer design and council development approval in South Australia. We itemise the design fee and the development approval, so the over-a-metre line is a number you can see, not folded in.
Excavation and access. A steep or tight block adds excavation and machine-access cost, and the spoil has to be carted away. Both are itemised and confirmed on the site assessment, never sprung on you at the end.
The honest comparison is not which quote is cheapest. It is which quotes price the same material, the
same height, the same footing and the same drainage. Line those up and the gap usually explains itself.
Why the height changes the price so much
A wall does not just get taller. It gets harder to hold. As the wall climbs, the soil behind it pushes
harder. So the footing gets bigger. The steel in it steps up. And over a metre, the wall needs an
engineer and a council sign-off. That is why a tall wall costs far more per face-metre than a low garden
step. The tool builds that in for you.
Ask this, exactly
“Can you send the quote broken down by face-metres and height, with the material and the footing size named, the drainage on its own line, and the over-a-metre engineering itemised?”
A working wall builder prices by the face-metre and states the footing and the drainage. A flat round number with nothing behind it hides where the corners were cut.
How we price at Tierline
Our estimator gives you a real by-the-face-metre range in under a minute, before you book anyone. Then
the free site assessment pins the exact figure on the slope, itemised line by line, with the footing,
the drainage and any engineering named. You can lay it next to any other quote and see, line for line,
where the difference sits.
Watch
What a retaining wall really costs per metre
A short walkthrough of the levers that move a wall price, the material, the height, the footing and the drainage, so you can read a quote and tell a fair number from a vague one before you sign.
Common questions
How much does a retaining wall cost per metre?
As a guide most walls land between about $200 and $800 a face-square-metre, supplied and installed. Timber sleepers sit at the lower end, concrete sleepers and link-block in the middle, and core-filled besser and natural stone higher. The material and the height are the two biggest levers, because a taller wall steps up the footing, the reinforcement and the drainage all at once.
Why are two retaining wall quotes so far apart?
Usually because they are not the same wall. One sizes the footing to the soil and drains the wall properly. The other stacks block on a shallow pad with no drainage. The gap hides in the footing, the drainage, and whether the over-a-metre engineering is itemised or just left off. Read the lines, not the total.
Can you price my wall without visiting?
We can give you an honest by-the-face-metre range on screen, and a tighter number from a photo of the slope. The fixed price comes after a free site assessment, because the soil, the fall and the access change the footing and the drainage. We do not price a wall properly over the phone.
Tierline Retaining Walls