Category Archives: Empire Walls

Retaining walls for schools

Did you know Empire Retaining Walls has been doing work at high schools around the area? Even owner Adam Ilic’s old high school!

Licensed and registered with the Victorian Building Authority (VBA), Adam Ilic of Empire Retaining Walls has been a trusted service provider of residential and commercial clients, including builders and architects, across Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula for more than 12 years. He also has a current Working with Children Check, which enables Empire Retaining Walls to provide services to local schools.

Here are a couple of examples of Empire Retaining Wall’s work at local schools:

Steps

Students had no means of safely accessing the classrooms below unless walking an extra 100 metres around the gardens, hence all the wear and tear in the area. You know teenagers! New steps have made this much safer and also much easier on the eye!

Retaining wall replacement, with drainage

An old, dilapidated retaining wall, well over 25 years old, needed to be replaced. There was no drainage behind it, just clay, which would constantly expand when it rained. This caused it to topple.

About Empire Retaining Walls

Our customer centric approach means that each client receives personalised service and a custom solution. We take great pride in delivering top quality finished products made of the finest materials. And when it comes to retaining walls, we guarantee our workmanship from the ground up.

To ensure the integrity of your design, contact us for a free quote and consultation today.

• Call Adam on 0421 573 001
• Email Adam at email empirewalls@live.com.au
• Follow us on Facebook
• To find out more about our service areas, please visit empirewalls.com.au.

Empire Retaining Walls recently built a retaining wall at a property in Mt Eliza.

Why was a retaining wall needed?

A block of land in Mt Eliza was being subdivided to accommodate the development of a new residential property.

One of the key features of the new property was a sunken ground level floor.

Upon the surveyor confirming the height of the finished house’s ground level, it was identified that the earth needed to be cut into to accommodate the sunken ground level floor.

Given these excavation works and the contour of the land, a retaining wall needed to be installed around the fence line to secure the soil behind it and prevent erosion / land slip of the neighbouring property.

We worked to specification

The engineer communicated the following requirements:

• maximum 1800mm centres for the steel
• pier depths to be 1500mm deep and 450mm in diameter, using 25mpa strength concrete.
• 75mm treated pine sleepers between the steel uprights
• drainage behind the wall

And voilà!

About Empire Retaining Walls

Licensed and registered with the Victorian Building Authority (VBA), Adam Ilic of Empire Retaining Walls has been a trusted service provider of residential and commercial clients, including builders and architects, across Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula for more than 12 years.

Our customer centric approach means that each client receives personalised service and a custom solution. We take great pride in delivering top quality finished products made of the finest materials. And when it comes to retaining walls, we guarantee our workmanship from the ground up.

To ensure the integrity of your design and the safety of you home and family, contact us for a free quote and consultation today.

• Call Adam on 0421 573 001
• Email Adam at email empirewalls@live.com.au
• Follow us on Facebook
• To find out more about our service areas, please visit empirewalls.com.au.

Empire Retaining Walls recently built a retaining wall at a new property in Somerville.

Why was a retaining wall needed?

As you can see from the photos, there was a significant slope away from the house, towards a public road and walkway.

But pedestrians and road users weren’t the only ones at risk, particularly in bad weather.

Eventually the soil surrounding and to some extent supporting the structure atop could have collapsed or would have eventually eroded, which would have been a serious issue for the property owner.

Our recommendation

We discussed with the client different retaining wall options within their budget.

In our professional opinion, treated pine with steel uprights is always a good option to consider; they’re often the most cost effective solution and the longest lasting.

Our client agreed.

An engineer was engaged, soil tests were undertaken, plans and specifications were provided and Council was engaged for the relevant permit.

Hot tip

Council approval is sometime required when you’re installing a retaining wall. If you install or have a retaining wall installed without Council approval when Council approval is required, Council can request the structure be removed. Selling property can also become tricky when you have installed structures without Council approval.

The result

Well, you can see for yourself.

About Empire Retaining Walls

Licensed and registered with the Victorian Building Authority (VBA), Adam Ilic of Empire Retaining Walls has been a trusted service provider of residential and commercial clients, including builders and architects, across Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula for more than 12 years.

Our customer centric approach means that each client receives personalised service and a custom solution. We take great pride in delivering top quality finished products made of the finest materials. And when it comes to retaining walls, we guarantee our workmanship from the ground up.

To ensure the integrity of your design and the safety of you home and family, contact us for a free quote and consultation today.

* Call Adam on 0421 573 001

* Email Adam at email empirewalls@live.com.au

* Follow us on Facebook

To find out more about our service areas, please visit empirewalls.com.au.

We recently replaced a 30 year old retaining wall in Mt Eliza.

Issues with the existing structure:

* Redgum sleepers had not been waterproofed

* Uprights rotted at the base

* No drainage behind the wall

Retaining walls are specially engineered stabilising structures, designed to hold sloping soil in place. One of the most important factors, but certainly not the only one, to ensuring a safe and stable structure is correct retaining wall drainage.

Without effective retaining wall drainage, pressure will build up behind the wall. This may create bulging, cracking and eventually, collapse. Well-designed retaining walls will not tip over and will support, not only the earth behind the wall, but any lateral loads that may be applied – cars for example.

Replacement recommendation:

* Timber sleeper retaining wall

* Galvanised steel uprights

* Drainage behind wall

The replacement wall was designed and constructed to engineer specifications.

We recommended a timber sleeper retaining wall, which is a cost effective solution with a long life expectancy. Galvanised steel uprights do cost more than timber uprights because they also have a longer life expectancy.

A retaining wall is a specially engineered stabilising structure. If not properly installed, the stability and longevity of the retaining wall is called into question. If a retaining wall should fail, significant damage and even injury may result.

About us:

Licensed and registered with the Victorian Building Authority (VBA), Adam Ilic of Empire Retaining Walls has been a trusted service provider of residential and commercial clients, including builders and architects, across Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula for more than 12 years.

Our customer centric approach means that each client receives personalised service and a custom solution. We take great pride in delivering top quality finished products made of the finest materials. And when it comes to retaining walls, we guarantee our workmanship from the ground up.

To ensure the integrity of your design and the safety of you home and family, contact us for a free quote and consultation today.

* Call Adam on 0421 573 001

* Email Adam at email empirewalls@live.com.au

* Follow us on Facebook

To find out more about our service areas, please visit empirewalls.com.au.

We love what we do here at Empire Retaining Walls – it gets out of bed in the morning because there is something new and different to accomplish every single day. No two jobs are the same, and when I say we are prepared for whatever your job throws at us, we mean it.

Part of being ready for any and all jobs, means having the right equipment on hand to get the job done. The team at Empire Walls has it’s very own excavator, which means we not only handle the design and build of your retaining wall, we also do all the excavation work on site. No need to subcontract out or bring in another team, we do it all.

It also means no additional cost to you. If we need to utilise the excavator for your job, we will include that in our quote. No hidden costs and no hidden add ons*, which is so important when it comes to budgeting and planning your project.

Our excavator is heavy duty enough to get the job done, but also compact which means it can fit under garage doors. No need to crane it in or remove any existing structures. With a maximum width of 980mm, it can fit into a tight access location.

We also utilise 300mm, 450mm and 650mm Auger bit for drilling and our licensed operator is ready to handle any job.

Don’t trust your retaining wall project to just anyone. Putting our excavator to work also greatly reduces man power time and means your project will be done in a suitable time frame.

* Unless deemed outside the initial scope of the work.