Sunshine Coast retaining wall materials
HYBUILT supplies retaining wall materials to the Sunshine Coast from our yard at 28 Shettleston Street, Rocklea QLD 4106. The Sunshine Coast is about 100 km north of the centre of Brisbane and the run north is up the Bruce Highway.
Read the approval section below before you order. The Sunshine Coast is the one region we deliver to where the usual South East Queensland one metre rule does not describe the position, and it is the single most useful thing on this page.
Council approval on the Sunshine Coast is different
Across most of South East Queensland, a wall under one metre with no surcharge and adequate clearance usually does not need building approval. Sunshine Coast Council does not work that way. The council states:
- you must have a building permit before construction, modification or repair of most retaining walls
- you must have council approval, as a concurrence agency, for retaining walls over 2 metres high
Building approval is also needed to increase the height of an existing wall, to add a fence on top of it, or to repair or replace more than 20 per cent of its structural components.
That last one is the trap, and almost nobody in this industry mentions it. If you are pulling apart a failing wall and replacing sleepers, posts or footings, you are not automatically doing maintenance in the council's eyes. Once you pass 20 per cent of the structural components you are in permit territory. The same applies if you decide to put a fence on top of a wall that is already there.
One honest caveat: the council's page says a permit is required for most retaining walls but does not set out which walls the word most leaves out. We are not going to guess at those exemptions. Confirm your own situation directly with Sunshine Coast Council or a licensed private building certifier before you order material.
Noosa is a separate council
Since 2014 the Sunshine Coast has been administered by two local governments: the Sunshine Coast Region covers the southern part and the Shire of Noosa covers the northern part. The requirements set out above are Sunshine Coast Council's. We have not verified an equivalent published position for the Shire of Noosa, so if your site is at Noosa, Noosaville, Tewantin, Peregian Beach or elsewhere in the shire, check with Noosa Council rather than assuming the Sunshine Coast Council position carries across.
Our Queensland council approval guide compares the councils side by side and covers what triggers approval beyond height.
Whose wall is it
Sunshine Coast Council also publishes a clear position on shared walls: retaining walls are not normally a joint responsibility for neighbours, but where a wall is constructed over and benefits multiple properties, the owners are jointly responsible. The council recommends that retaining walls be constructed entirely on one allotment to avoid disputes. That is worth knowing before you set out, because the set out is the cheapest time to move a wall off a boundary. Get a survey. More detail is in who is responsible for a retaining wall between properties.
Delivery from Rocklea to the Sunshine Coast
Depending on the order size we can usually deliver within 2 to 3 business days after order confirmation. We run crane trucks in a range of sizes matched to the load and the access. Delivery cost depends on load size, distance and access, and the final figure is confirmed before dispatch rather than after you have paid.
On bulk drainage gravel, our 10mm and 20mm drainage gravel is delivered across the Sunshine Coast. It is delivery only, with no pickup option, so ask us to price the freight with the rest of the order.
The region splits into a coastal strip and a hinterland, and they are different delivery problems. Coastal jobs at Caloundra, Maroochydore, Coolum or Noosa are typically tight urban blocks with limited street frontage. Hinterland jobs around Maleny, Nambour and the Blackall Range are typically longer, steeper driveways where the question is not whether the truck can park but whether it can turn around and whether the crane can reach a drop point below or above the road. Tell us which you have, and send two or three photos. The delivery and installation page has the full checklist.
Our published service area also takes in the region from Gympie to Kingaroy, so jobs north and west of the Sunshine Coast are covered as well.
What to buy for a Sunshine Coast wall
Because a permit is required for most retaining walls here, more Sunshine Coast walls arrive with an engineer's drawing than in other regions. If you have one, send it with your quote request and we will price to it.
- Concrete sleepers in 1480mm, 1980mm and 2380mm lengths, in five finishes.
- Galvanised steel posts, C and H sections in twelve lengths from 0.4m to 3.8m, plus the heavy duty 150UC23 and 150PFC sections in nineteen lengths from 2.0m to 6.0m. Sections above the 150 series are quoted to your engineer's specification. Our steel post selection guide explains the choice.
- Composite sleepers for lower walls where handling weight matters.
- Sandstone blocks, boulders and steps, which suit hinterland and acreage sites with machinery on hand.
- Drainage, geo fabric and drainage and base materials. On a sloping hinterland site the outlet is the thing to plan first, because the drain has to discharge somewhere lawful. Our drainage guide covers it.
- Fence post brackets if a fence is going on the wall. Note that adding a fence to an existing wall needs building approval here.
Work out what your wall needs
Put the wall length and height into the materials calculator for a bill of materials covering sleepers, posts, gravel, agi pipe, geo fabric, wedges and caps. It is an estimate rather than a quote, and on the Sunshine Coast in particular it is not a substitute for the permit process. To have it priced with freight, request a quote with the wall length, the height, your suburb and a couple of site photos. The wall height guide covers what changes as the wall gets taller.
Contact the yard
- Address: 28 Shettleston Street, Rocklea QLD 4106
- Phone: (07) 3716 0191
- Email: enquiry@hybuilt.com.au
- Hours: Monday to Friday, 6am to 4:30pm
Other areas we deliver to
We also deliver across Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Ipswich, Toowoomba and Northern New South Wales. Outside the list, ask anyway and we will price the freight.