Building a Retaining Wall Around Your Pool On A Sloped Backyard

A pool at a backyard with trees and plants surrounding

The holidays are fast approaching, making it the perfect time to get stuck into those projects that you’ve been mentally adding to your list for a while. If there’s any project that’s worthwhile doing right now, it’s a pool upgrade. After all, you’ll be wanting to make the most out of your pool time this summer and for many summers to come. So, why not utilise some of that spare time to complete your dream pool retaining wall? Grab your shovel and some steel caps because the team at Ryno Hire is here to tell you how you can plan and build an easy retaining wall to surround your pool and add luxury to your home.

Go Pro or DIY?

While it may seem like a complex task building a retaining wall, considering the scale of the project, it’s actually not as challenging as it seems. DIY retaining walls are fairly straight forward, especially if you’ve had experience with marking up, pouring concrete, or laying concrete blocks. As far as construction projects go, building a retaining wall is a great first DIY project to take on if you’ve got a bit of construction or manual arts experience. It’s also a great project to get young people involved in to develop their knowledge and construction skills – get your teen to help out if they’ve got an interest in the industry. It can also help build up their practical skills!

With Ryno Hire around, you’re always capable of completing your landscaping and construction projects on your own. We don’t just give you top notch machinery for dry hire, but we support you with practical advice and instruction on getting the job done.

Why is Building a Retaining Wall Your Perfect Summer DIY Job?

Sure your pool area might be fine the way it is – it’s functional right? – but why not go the extra mile to really develop your exterior design? There are many advantages to upgrading your home, particularly the backyard. Afterall, it’s one of the main selling features of a home. If you’re looking at improving that resale value, then a pool upgrade is a must. Here’s some other reasons you might want to get stuck into a new retaining wall:

1) Aesthetics: No one can deny there is a certain aesthetic appeal that comes with retaining walls. Not only are they functional, but they have the ability to create space, add greenery or water features, and create visual appeal to your yard, instantly adding to your living experience with the added bonus of increasing your property’s value.

2) Manage Landscape Erosion: With gravity constantly working against your garden’s landscape, a retaining wall will prevent soils from moving, allowing your yard to remain intact for longer. This is an added bonus surrounding pools as the soil and leaves will be prevented from polluting the pool.

3) More Space: Choosing to construct a retaining wall will provide your backyard with more functional space, especially if you’ve got steeply sloped ground surrounding your pool. In this case, a retaining wall can help to create more level space that can be used for gardening and recreation.

Convinced you need a retaining wall to enclose part of your pool? Let’s get stuck into how you can go about building one.

Tips Before You Get Started

Know the Laws and Regulations

In Australia, each state has varying regulations for building retaining walls yourself. All states, however, require a structural engineer to assist with retaining walls over specific heights. In Queensland, it is a legal requirement to seek building approval if your intended retaining wall is going to be part of your pool fencing – so ensure you do talk to a certified builder or someone from your local government to confirm your plans and get a sign off on your project. Hold on to your permit for documentation purposes.

There’s also a few other regulations you need to look out for in QLD, in case your retaining wall is going to be located outside of your pool area. For example, if your retaining wall is going to be over one metre above the natural ground level or closer than 1.5 metres in proximity to another structure – like a building with another retaining wall or a boundary fence – then you will again need building approval. If your retaining wall meets none of the aforementioned criteria, you should be fine to get construction underway without a permit.

Tips to Help Get You Started

If you’re going to devote a portion of your budget, time, and energy (and summer) to building a retaining wall, it should earn its keep. Here are a few key design tricks to help you plan and create a perfectly aesthetic and modern pool area with a retaining wall.

1) Keep the walls low: Keeping walls under Queensland’s one metre wall regulation will help you to avoid paying engineer fees. Shorter walls also have an added bonus of helping create a sense of more space – more open than their tall counterparts. Tall walls and fences can encroach on a smaller space and make it feel smaller. A low but well landscaped retaining wall adds privacy without completely blocking out your surroundings.

2) Walls can be part of your yard’s living space. The ideal height for a seating wall is between 18 and 22 inches, or 45 to 55 centimetres. As a pool owner, your place is already a social hub for your neighbours and close friends. With the added benefit of utilising your retaining wall as a seating wall, you’ll provide your yard with extra seating without having to sacrifice valuable real estate (entertaining) space.

3) Higher walls means water features! If you want to go above and beyond with your design, creating a water feature with your retaining wall is that creative extra step. Think about it – you’re already building a wall, you just need to plan how you’re going to have the water cascading down. You may need to do some DIY plumbing or seek the help of a plumber, but how picturesque will your retaining wall look showcasing a waterfall? It won’t add too much more to the overall costs, and it will provide you with additional aesthetics and property value.

How to Plan Out The Building Process

Once you’ve planned out the dimensions of your retaining wall and have received any necessary approvals, the next step is to know your landscape. Before you get stuck into excavating, it’s vital you know of any subsurface utilities and where they are located so you can effectively work around your property’s boundaries. It’s never a good time digging into a water pipe so have a good look at your building plans. It can take a little time to request these from the council (and you may have to pay a small fee), so be sure to contact your local council well before your build.

Once you know the specifics of your backyard and have the final draft of your wall, it’s time to consider what kinds of materials you’ll want to use.

Types of Pool Retaining Wall Materials to Consider

The following are the most common material used in retaining walls for pool areas:

Interlock concrete blocks: These provide that conventional look, they’re easy to install, and come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and textures.
Natural stone / cinder block: These give a grander appearance to your home, but do take more time and effort to install due to their odd sizing.
Turndown slab: Also referred to as Monolithic pour, this feature is essentially a concrete slab that encompasses the earth. These are great for smaller budgets while still providing a high class aesthetic.
Wood: This is undoubtedly the most cost-effective material – you can essentially use any treated timber. Ensure you’re using straight angles in the installation as you go, otherwise your wall may end up looking a bit lopsided or slanted.

Additional Things to Consider

Lastly, here are some quick final tips and tricks that you should consider before you go ahead with your build:

Do all of the materials work together harmoniously? Or is your yard looking a little haphazard? To help you visualise your new retaining wall and how it will work with other materials and colours in your yard, always get samples of your blocks to place near your pool to “test it out” essentially.
If landscaping is your passion, you may wish to invest in design software that can help you develop a 3D render of your backyard with its modifications. That way, you can really understand the final picture before you get started.
Mark out the project area with spray paint or pegs before digging. Be sure to mark out a wide enough area to allow room for a plate compactor (which is only about 450mm wide).
When taking measurements, as a tip, it is a good idea to order 5% extra to cater for any errors or breakage and save yourself trouble down the track.
For a breakdown on building a retaining wall, check out one of our previous articles on retaining walls for a more comprehensive guide.

Dry Hiring The Right Equipment

Now that you’ve planned out how to start your DIY pool retaining wall, you’ll need to source some equipment – Ryno Hire’s got you covered. The perfect tool to any DIY job begins with a reputable dry hire company. Ryno Hire can provide you with all the essential DIY tools for your pool retaining wall; we have just about every machine you could possibly need and they all work together seamlessly to make your project run smoothly.

So, What Do You Need?

This does depend on the scale of your wall, but you should aim to grab at least these essential items:

You may also need some specialised attachments like the hydraulic rock breaker, hydraulic rock grab, or the concrete sleeper grab – these will make light work of excavating tough earth and shifting heavy concrete blocks.

These machines and attachments cover all the tasks you’re going to need to complete during the project. From excavating earth to make room for the blocks, to compacting your road base layer and sand cement layer, transporting all of your materials around, and of course, transporting equipment (the tipper truck is particularly useful for this).

One of the benefits of getting multiple machines out at once is that Ryno Hire can bundle these in a combo hire, which comes at a reduced price than hiring each machine individually. Combo hires are great if you’re going to need two or more machines for the one hire period.
Now that you’re all set for planning your pool-side retaining wall, there’s only thing left to do: get on the phone to Ryno Hire (or complete a quick online enquiry for us to get back to you!) to get yourself set up with the right machine and sound advice.

22 November 2020