Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Jun 17, 2009 11:40 am We need some retaining walls at the front. We need to have them in 60cm high steps (on the high side). I am a bit lost at what to do. We want some kind of masonary wall that won't cost a fortune. Someone suggested besser blocks and then paint or render it afterwards. Apparently, it is cheaper than dry stone wall like keystone. However, another landscaper said it is better to have a dry stone as the soil can move and cause cracks along the wall. Our wall is 21m long, in three tiers. Any ideas which option is better? We are in Sydney and our soil is quite clayey. Re: Dry wall or besser blocks? 2Jun 17, 2009 6:12 pm 60cm is not much of a retaining wall. What are you retaining? Depending on your surrounding garden there are many options of comparable price. dry stone wall, besser blocks, brick or even just sandstone boulders. I would suggest using the material that blends into your garden and house the best. Say if you have a native style garden, then sandstone boulders would suit. If your garden is more formal, then perhaps rendered or painted besser blocks. Re: Dry wall or besser blocks? 3Jun 18, 2009 9:43 am thanks. We are not sure but we want a low maintenance garden. We plan to have Empire Zoysia grass, Jedda's dream plants all (I mean ALL) around the property border and native grass or kangaroo paws in garden bed. It's a funny combination so I am not sure how it will work. My husband hates trimming, but he doesn't mind mowing the lawn . I'm not sure if sandstone boulders will be able to hold the soil in. We are on the high side and we would need like a terrace sort of walls. The reason for 60cm was because then we don't need engineer drawings for the footing. 6 11144 there is a standard besser block wall pdf somewhere online with footing sizes, also have a look at dincel. 1 2899 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair Ditto 3M Claw, expensive but best thing I've used to date. I put two of the 11kg ones in for a 12kg mirror on the wall, and its been great for 4 years now. 4 2131 |