What will a retaining wall cost on your Perth block? The honest answer is “it depends on height, length, ground and access”, but published Perth price guides give a useful starting point. The figures below are typical installed ranges as of 2026, taken from the sources listed at the bottom of this page. They are not quotes. Your local specialist will give you a written price after seeing the site.
Call 0485 557 649 for a free, no-obligation quote from a local, insured Perth retaining wall specialist.
Typical Perth retaining wall prices by material (as of 2026)
- Limestone block: typically about $420 to $680 per square metre of wall face (Landscapes WA, Sept 2026), or about $450 to $650 per square metre (Luke’s Landscaping, July 2026). Another 2026 guide gives about $295 to $630 per lineal metre at about 1 m high (What’s The Damage).
- Concrete sleepers with steel posts: typically about $260 to $630 per lineal metre (Landscapes WA), or about $315 to $630 per lineal metre at 1 m high and $420 to $1,000 at about 1.5 m high (What’s The Damage).
- Block / besser wall: typically about $370 to $790 per lineal metre at 1 m high, and about $580 to $1,575 per lineal metre for engineered walls 1.5 to 2 m high (What’s The Damage).
- Timber sleepers: typically about $210 to $470 per lineal metre (both guides). Short life, and not accepted by some councils near boundaries.
- Sandstone, boulder and gabion walls are also quoted in Perth, typically in the $260 to $840 per lineal metre range depending on type (What’s The Damage).
Why two units? Sleeper walls are usually quoted per lineal metre at a stated height, while block and stone walls are often quoted per square metre of face (length × height). To compare, multiply a square-metre rate by the wall height: a 1.2 m limestone wall at $550/m² is about $660 per lineal metre.
Concrete sleeper prices by height and finish
One WA guide (The Quote Yard, 2026) breaks concrete sleeper walls down further, typical per lineal metre:
- Garden wall under 600 mm, smooth-faced: about $220 to $320
- 1.0 m boundary wall, smooth: about $280 to $420; woodgrain: about $340 to $520; stackstone-look: about $380 to $580
- 1.5 m engineered wall: about $420 to $620 (smooth) or $520 to $720 (premium finish)
- 2.0 m engineered wall: about $620 to $880 and up
Worked examples (typical published totals)
- Small garden wall, 5 m long × 0.5 m high: typically about $1,050 to $2,950 in total (What’s The Damage).
- Standard wall, 10 m × 1 m: typically about $2,625 to $7,350.
- Larger wall, 15 m × 1.5 m: typically about $5,250 to $15,750.
- 15 m at 1.2 m high: typically about $4,000 to $11,500 depending on material (Landscapes WA).
The extras that are not in the headline rate
- Drainage behind the wall: typically about $32 to $84 per lineal metre (both Landscapes WA and What’s The Damage; The Quote Yard gives about $45 to $95). Slotted pipe in a filter sock on free-draining aggregate. Do not cut this.
- Footings: typically about $80 to $150 per square metre for reinforced footings under block walls and post holes for sleeper walls (Landscapes WA).
- Engineering / structural certification: typically about $525 to $2,500 per job; one WA guide quotes $400 to $1,200 for residential certification.
- Council permit / approvals: typically about $450 to $1,500 where required (Landscapes WA), or about $470 to $1,900 for approval of a wall over 1 m (What’s The Damage). Check your council’s current fee schedule.
- Geotechnical / soil report: typically about $525 to $2,625 where needed, more likely on clay near the Scarp.
- Excavation: typically about $400 to $2,000 depending on volume and machine access.
- Removing an old wall: typically about $52 to $190 per lineal metre.
- Soil disposal: one guide quotes about $520 per trailer load of excess soil.
One Perth guide estimates these extras can add around a third on top of the wall itself.
What pushes a Perth quote up or down
- Height. Above roughly 0.5 m you are into permit territory, and above about 1 m engineering, deeper footings and bigger posts usually follow. Cost rises faster than height.
- Surcharge loads. A driveway, pool, shed slab or house close to the top of the wall means a stronger design.
- Soil. Clean Perth sand is easy to dig but needs good compaction and drainage design; reactive clay or limestone caprock can slow excavation and post holes.
- Access. Tight side access on small new-estate lots can mean hand work instead of a machine.
- Boundary situation. Walls on or near the boundary may need neighbour agreement, a survey and a fence detail on top.
- Finish. Woodgrain or stone-look sleepers and face-cut limestone cost more than plain options.
Getting a quote you can compare
Ask every quote to state: wall length and height, material and finish, footing and post details, drainage, who arranges engineering and the permit, removal of old walls and spoil, and the fence detail on top. Then you are comparing like with like.
Call 0485 557 649 for a free, no-obligation quote from a local, insured Perth retaining wall specialist.
Related: WA permit rules · Limestone walls · Concrete sleeper walls · Block walls
Sources
- Landscapes WA, "Retaining wall cost in Perth" (12 Sep 2026)
- What's The Damage, "Retaining Wall Cost Perth 2026"
- Luke's Landscaping Co., "Limestone vs concrete retaining walls in Perth" (2026)
- The Quote Yard, "Concrete Sleeper Retaining Walls WA 2026"