For many of us, retaining walls have commonly consisted of either natural rocks, bluestone blocks, or timber sleepers, often red gum that has been recycled from railway tracks.
More recently, steep uprights have been dug deep below the ground, with either treated pine or concrete sleepers slipped into them. This has drastically reduced maintenance requirements and increased longevity.
The New Kid on the Block
Now, however, we have a new kid on the block: retaining walls made completely of steel. These steel retaining walls have both steel uprights and steel sleepers.
Whilst they are not yet widely used throughout Australia, we predict that increasing numbers of residential and commercial properties will use them.
Why? Many, many reasons.
Steel Sleepers are Stronger and Lighter
They offer much better strength than either timber or concrete sleepers and are much lighter – two times lighter than treated pine and five times lighter than concrete.
This both reduces transport costs and means that heavy machinery isn’t needed to install them. They can also be cut on-site, with none of the hazardous dust that is associated with concrete.
Last Longer
You can expect decades, not years, of life from your steel sleepers. Their longevity is mostly impacted by the longevity of the uprights and the drainage of the soil they’re in.
Steel Sleepers are as Strong as Concrete
Steel sleepers are engineered to compete with the strength of concrete, with none of the crumbling and chipping.
Easy to Transport
Being much lighter than concrete and timber, steel sleepers can be transported in an ute or trailer. You won’t need to hire extra vehicles to deliver them.
Steel Sleepers Come in Many Finishes
You aren’t just restricted to a steel look – they come in a range of finishes and colours, to suit your property and personal taste. They can be ungalvanized for a rustic look, powder coated to improve resistance to corrosion, or textured powder coated, which can be matched to any galvanized colour. Textured powder coating is ideal if you wish to match the colour of your retaining wall with your Colorbond fence.
Wrapping Up
This new kid on the retaining wall block has a very bright future ahead of it. You will definitely be seeing more and more steel sleeper retaining walls in the years to come.
