Landscape Construction In Melbourne
At New Era Landscapes, we build the hard parts of a yard across Melbourne's south east. Excavation, levels, drainage, retaining walls, paving, concrete and decking, built by one crew in the order they have to go in.
Landscape construction is the structural half of your yard: the digging, levels, drainage, walls and hard surfaces everything else sits on. New Era Landscapes does landscape construction in Melbourne's south east, with our own crew on every trade. Quotes are free and measured on site.
It's the part of your yard that has to be right the first time. You can move a plant and relay a lawn, but a wall in the wrong place or paving laid to the wrong fall means a machine back on site and paying for the same work twice.
Our landscape construction services in Melbourne run from a single wall to a whole yard. If a designer has already drawn your plan, we'll build to it. If nobody has, we'll work the layout out with you on site.
Hard landscaping
What Does Landscape Construction Include?
It includes everything in your yard that's built rather than grown: excavation, drainage, footings, retaining walls, paving, concrete, decking and masonry. Garden beds and lawn are the soft half of the job. We build it first, because it sets the levels everything else in your yard has to finish against.
Here's what our landscape construction covers.
- Excavation, cut and fill, and site levelling
- Stormwater and agricultural drainage
- Retaining walls in concrete sleeper, rock, block or render
- Paving in bluestone, granite, travertine and porcelain
- Concrete slabs, paths, steps and driveways
- Timber decking off the house or out in the garden
- Brick and block garden walls, piers and stone cladding
The ground decides the build
Your yard in Melbourne's south east sits on one of two very different soils. The bayside suburbs are mostly sand, which drains fast and slumps when it's dug beside. Further east it's mostly reactive clay, which holds water, swells through winter and shrinks back over summer.
Each needs different footings, different drainage and a different depth of base under your paving. So we look at what comes out of the first hole before we price the rest of your job, not after.
Levels and falls
Why Do Levels Matter So Much in Landscape Construction?
Because every surface we build decides which way the water runs. Ground beside a house has to fall away from it, and the national building code sets the minimum: generally fifty millimetres of fall over the first metre out from a slab. Get it backwards and your yard drains toward your house.
Height matters as much as fall. If paving is built up too high against your brick house, it covers the weep holes, the small gaps at the bottom of the wall that let it drain. You'd never notice they'd gone until there was damp inside.
So we set the levels on day one, from the house outwards, and every wall, path and pour is built to them.
Source: ABCB Housing Provisions, Drainage.
| Stage | What it involves | If it's rushed |
|---|---|---|
| Excavation | We take the ground down to the levels your job needs and cart away what comes out. | Your surfaces finish at the wrong height against the house. |
| Drainage | We run pipes and ag drains to a legal point of discharge before anything covers them. | Water sits under your paving and behind your walls. |
| Structure | We build footings, retaining walls and slabs to the drawings where your job is engineered. | Walls lean and slabs crack once the ground moves. |
| Base | We lay crushed rock in layers and compact it under every hard surface. | Paving dips where you walk and where you park. |
| Surface | We lay paving, concrete and decking to the falls we set on day one. | You get puddles, and joints that open up. |
A site visit is the right place to start. We walk the yard with you, take the levels and talk through materials, how long each one lasts and what it costs.
The process
Our Landscape Construction Process
Every build starts with the ground and where the water goes. From there it runs in three stages.
- Consultation and site assessment. We take the levels, check the soil and the drainage, see how a machine gets in, and ask how you want to use the space.
- An itemised quote. The excavation, the drainage, each wall and each surface are priced separately, so you can see what every part costs and stage the work if that suits you.
- Build. We build it in order, from the first cut to the last paver, and leave the ground ready for your planting and lawn.
Why New Era
Choosing New Era Landscapes for Landscape Construction
We bring over 10 years of experience in landscaping and turf work across Melbourne. Most landscape solutions in Melbourne come down to one of three problems: a slope, water sitting where it shouldn't, or ground that won't take weight. We build for all three.
Every trade is in-house, so you deal with one team. The same crew digs the site, builds the walls and lays the surfaces, so the levels line up and one team answers for the result. When the build's done, we can do the garden beds and lawn as well.
Quotes are free, measured on site and itemised, with no obligation. You can see finished jobs on Instagram.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does landscape construction cost in Melbourne?
It depends on how much ground has to move, the materials on top, and how easily a machine can get in. Those three move a price too far for a published rate to mean anything. Our quotes are free, measured on site and itemised, so you can see what the digging, the drainage and each surface costs.
What should I look for in the best landscape construction companies in Melbourne?
Ask how they set the levels, where the stormwater goes, and what goes under the paving. A builder who answers all three before quoting has planned your job. Then ask who does each trade, and compare itemised quotes line by line, not just the totals.
Do I need a permit for landscape construction?
Most of it doesn't need one, but some parts can. A retaining wall over about a metre, a wall on a boundary, and anything built over an easement can need a building permit or the council's consent. We tell you which parts of your job need one before you commit to anything.
Should someone check for pipes and cables before digging?
Yes, every time. Before You Dig Australia is a free service: you lodge the address and the utilities send back plans of what's underground. Allow up to two working days for them all to arrive. The plans are approximate, so the ground near a marked service is opened by hand.
Source: Before You Dig Australia.
How long does landscape construction take?
A single wall or a courtyard is usually days. A whole yard is weeks, and the date for your job comes with the quote. Weather, how much soil has to come out, and whether anything needs engineering or a permit are what move it.
Areas We Serve Across Melbourne
We're based in Melbourne's south east and we work right across the city. There's no shopfront to visit, so we come to you and look at the ground before we price it.
You'll find us regularly in Brighton, Berwick, Frankston, Cranbourne, Glen Waverley, Cheltenham, Narre Warren, Pakenham, Dandenong, Bentleigh, Beaumaris, Mentone, Mordialloc, Hampton.
Not on that list? Call and ask. We cover most of Melbourne, and you'll get a straight answer either way.
Written by Jono O'Brien, who runs New Era Landscapes and has been in landscaping and turf renovation for over ten years. You can talk to him directly about your yard.
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