Retaining Wall Advice

Correct steel post spacing and embedment depth for retaining walls: standard centres, the one-third embedment rule, and how soil type and surcharge change the numbers.

Posts first, then sleepers, then drainage, then backfill — the order that makes or breaks a DIY timber sleeper retaining wall, step by step.

How deep should retaining wall posts be set in Australia? The standard rule is one-third of total post length in the ground — so a 1.5m post needs 500mm embedment for a 1.0m wall. This guide covers embedment depth by wall height, soil type adjustments, surcharge load rules, and worked examples for H-beam and C-channel posts.