Grovedale Retaining Wall
| Client | Beacon Constructions |
| Location | Grovedale, VIC |
| Solution | The Alterna Wall |
| Scale | 182 piles |
| Timeframe | 15 days to install |
The Stake
Beacon Constructions engaged FTA to provide screw piles for a gym and childcare centre development in Grovedale. During site testing to confirm pile depth against the required design loads, it emerged that the site had been identified as culturally sensitive, with Aboriginal artefacts found on the property. That finding came with a hard constraint: the existing ground could not be removed, which ruled out the standard construction methodology for the site’s retaining wall before a solution had even been found. The wall had to go in, and the fill behind it placed, before the rest of construction could proceed.
The Challenge
The builder had no solution for the sleeper retaining wall needed to hold back the fill, having put the problem aside while dealing with other issues on site. The wall itself wasn’t a small one: up to 3.6 metres in height, designed to carry car park loading, with every post needing extra strength to support a fence to be built along the top. Because each post had to be manufactured to its own specific location and height, tight timeframes meant posts were batch-manufactured and delivered progressively to keep construction moving rather than waiting for a single full-scale delivery. Partway through, small changes to the wall’s direction, and points where the wall would interact with future building footings, meant additional piles had to be installed, some engineered to carry higher loads than the retaining wall alone required, so that future buildings could be founded on the same footing as the wall. Late in the job, the builder also changed the required sleeper height after the posts were already installed, which meant additional welding on site, carried out from a scissor lift given how far above ground the post tops now sat.
The Approach
FTA identified that a screw pile solution for the retaining wall posts avoided the cultural heritage problem entirely: as an interference fit, screw piles don’t require removing or disturbing the existing ground, and they can be fully removed at the end of the structure’s life, unlike a drilled, concrete-filled post. Each post was custom-engineered for its specific location and height rather than built to a single standard spec, manufactured in batches to keep pace with the build. Where the wall’s direction shifted or future building footings were identified nearby, FTA adjusted pile design and installation on the fly, engineering some piles to higher loads so a single footing could serve both the retaining wall and a future building above it, without needing to remove and reinstall any piles already in the ground.
The Outcome
FTA installed 182 screw piles across 91 posts, with the piles going in over 10 days and posts positioned and welded into place over a further 5. Backfilling proceeded progressively as each section of wall was completed, letting both FTA and the builder see the finished solution take shape in real time. No rework was required despite the in-project design changes; no piles had to be removed and reinstalled for a relocated post. Costs ran slightly higher than a standard job, reflecting the urgency and site complexity rather than the piles themselves. FTA was advised that the local Aboriginal community was very happy with the solution, and Beacon Constructions considered the project a success.
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