Block paved driveway with sleeper retaining walls

Retaining Walls

Retaining Walls in Kent

Sleeper and brick retaining walls that turn a sloping garden or drive into level ground.

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Tell us about the job and we’ll get back to you.

  • 20+ Years’ Experience
  • Trusted & Friendly Team
  • Full Project Management
  • Competitive Pricing

Hard Landscaping

Levelling a Sloping Plot

On a sloping site, a retaining wall lets the ground be cut and filled into flat areas for a lawn, patio or parking space. The wall has to hold back the weight of the soil and any water in it, so the drainage behind it does as much work as the face you see.

We backfill behind each wall with free-draining stone, lay a perforated pipe at the base where the ground is wet, and leave weep holes so water can get out rather than build up.

Brick retaining wall and steps under constructionOur Work

About Us

Our Experience with Retaining Walls

We are a family run groundworks business based in Staplehurst, and we bring over 20 years of experience to every retaining walls job across Kent, East and West Sussex and south-east London.

The same small, friendly team surveys the job, prepares the ground and finishes the surface, so you deal with the people doing the work from the first visit to the final sweep.

We have worked on behalf of Kent County Council and utility companies, our team is registered with the Street Works Qualifications Register, and we are approved under the Trading Standards Buy With Confidence scheme.

Block paving driveway with contrasting borderOur Work

Our Projects

Retaining Walls: Recent Work

Real jobs, photographed by us. Tap a photo to see it full size.

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Retaining Walls

Timber Sleeper Walls

Sleepers are quick to build with and look at home in a garden. We fix them to posts set in concrete and line the soil side with a membrane to keep wet earth off the timber. Recent work includes sleeper walls around a block paved driveway, holding the banks and beds back from the new surface.

Timber decking built by South East GroundworksOur Work

Retaining Walls

Brick Retaining Walls

Brick suits tighter spaces and can match the house. It needs a wider footing than an ordinary garden wall, and a tall wall holding back a lot of ground may need a structural engineer’s design. We will tell you at the survey if yours does.

Brick retaining wall and steps under constructionOur Work

The Detail

What’s Included

  • Survey of the levels and ground conditions
  • Excavation and removal of spoil
  • Concrete footings or post bases
  • Timber sleeper or brick construction
  • Drainage stone, membrane and weep holes behind the wall
  • Backfilling and levelling the new ground

Your Quote

What Affects the Price

Every quote is written after a visit, so you know what the price covers before any work is booked.

  1. 01Height and length of the wall
  2. 02Sleepers or brick
  3. 03How much soil needs digging out or bringing in
  4. 04Drainage needed behind the wall
  5. 05Access for a digger and removing spoil

Ready to Talk About Your Project?

Free site visits and written quotes across Kent and the South East.

How the Job Runs

Your Retaining Walls Step by Step

  1. Survey

    We measure the fall across the plot, check the soil and agree where the new levels and walls will sit.

  2. Dig & Footings

    The ground is cut back, spoil taken away, and footings or post bases are concreted in.

  3. Build & Drain

    The wall goes up with drainage stone, membrane and weep holes placed behind it as it rises.

  4. Backfill & Level

    The ground behind is filled, compacted and levelled, ready for turf, paving or planting.

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Why Choose Us

Why Customers Choose Us

Domestic driveways or council-standard reinstatement, the same team and the same standards on every job.

  • Patio laid by South East Groundworks

    20+

    Years’ Experience

    Over two decades of getting the sub-base, levels and drainage right first time.

  • Family Run

    You deal with the people doing the work, from the first visit to the final sweep.

  • Free Written Quotes

    A site visit and a written price, so you know what is included before you commit.

  • Competitive Pricing

    Fair prices set out clearly in your written quote, with the cost factors explained up front.

  • Quick Response

    Enquiries are answered promptly, and urgent potholes and failed drains come first.

  • Block paved driveway laid by South East Groundworks

    Accredited Staff

    SWQR registered for highway work and approved under Trading Standards Buy With Confidence.

  • Ready for a Site Visit?

    Book a free visit and a written quote, with no obligation.

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Free, No-Obligation Quote

Get a FREE Quote

Tell us what you have in mind and where the job is. We’ll come back to you to talk it through and arrange a visit to measure up.

  • A site visit to measure up and check levels
  • A written price before anything is booked
  • Street works registered, Trading Standards approved

Prefer to Talk?

01580 234285

Tell Us About Your Project

We reply to every enquiry, usually the same working day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Retaining Walls: Your Questions Answered

How long will a sleeper wall last?

Treated sleepers last well when they are lined on the soil side and kept off standing water, and hardwood lasts longer again. A brick retaining wall on a proper footing will outlast either.

Do I need an engineer for my retaining wall?

Low garden walls usually do not. A tall wall, or one holding up a driveway, a building or a neighbour’s ground, may need a structural engineer’s design, and we will advise on this at the survey.

Can a retaining wall sit next to a driveway?

Yes. The wall is drained so water running off the drive cannot build up behind it, and the edge of the paving is restrained so it does not creep towards the wall.

What can a retaining wall be built from?

Timber sleepers, brick, block and natural stone are the usual choices. The right one depends on the height, the load behind it and the look you want.

Does a retaining wall need drainage behind it?

Yes. Water building up behind a wall pushes it over, so we lay a free-draining backfill and drainage behind it to let the water out.

Can’t Find Your Answer?

Get in touch and we’ll talk it through, with no obligation.