Stormwater on Sloping Blocks and Retaining Walls
How to keep water away from your house and retaining walls on a sloping Ferntree Gully block.
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Water heads downhill
On a sloping block, rain falling higher up the hill runs down towards your house. If it is not captured and carried away, it collects against walls and under floors, causing damp, rot, cracking and musty smells.
Retaining walls
Water building up behind a retaining wall adds pressure that can lean or crack it over time. A slotted agricultural drain in clean gravel at the base of the wall, connected to the stormwater system, relieves that pressure. Older walls often have no drain, or one that has silted up.
Pits and grated drains
Grated drains across driveways and paths and pits at low points catch surface water before it reaches the house. They need regular clearing in leafy areas.
Downpipes
Downpipes should connect to the stormwater line, not discharge onto the ground next to the house. Disconnected or broken downpipes are a common cause of wet subfloors.
Legal point of discharge
Stormwater must go to a legal point of discharge, usually the street drain or an easement drain. We can trace your lines and confirm where they go.
Before you landscape
New garden beds, paving and retaining walls change where water flows. Before you start, it pays to know where your stormwater pipes run and how deep they are. We can locate and mark them, and suggest where to add pits so the new landscaping drains properly from day one.
Ferntree Gully ground and pipes
Ferntree Gully's ground changes as you climb towards the ranges: clay and silty loam on the lower streets, rockier, steeper ground near Upper Ferntree Gully and The Basin. Most homes built before the 1980s were connected with earthenware sewer pipe, and on a slope every joint moves a little over the years and lets roots in. Water service lines from the meter are often long and run through rocky ground or under established gardens. Stormwater has to be carried down the block and away from the house. We use cameras, locators and pressure tests to see what is happening before we dig.
Related services
- Emergency plumbing
- Blocked drains
- Hot water
- Gas fitting
- Hot water replacement
- Heat pumps
- Leaking taps
- Burst pipes
- Toilets
- Leak detection
- Pipe relining
- Stormwater
- Roof and gutters
- Bathrooms
- Kitchens and laundries
- Backflow and maintenance
More guides
Questions on this topic
Why is water pooling under my house?
Usually because downpipes are disconnected, stormwater lines are blocked, or surface water from the slope above is not being captured.
Do retaining walls need drainage?
Yes. A drain behind the wall relieves water pressure and helps the wall last.
Why foothills homes call us
Foothills know-how
Sloping blocks, big gums, clay sewers and gas heaters from the 1970s: this is the plumbing we work on every day.
Price first, work second
A licensed plumber finds the fault and agrees a fixed price with you before anything starts.
Camera, not guesswork
Drain cameras, pressure gauges and leak detection tools show the real cause before we dig or replace.
Respect for your home
Boot covers, drop sheets, old parts taken away and the job tested with you.
Get a free quote
Tell us what is going on and a licensed Ferntree Gully plumber will call you back.
How quoting works
Ring 03 7036 4101 or send the form with a short note, and a photo if you have one. A licensed plumber calls you back, asks a few questions and books a time. On site they find the cause, explain your options and give you a fixed price. Nothing starts until you agree, and larger jobs get a free written quote.
Need a plumber in Ferntree Gully?
Ferntree Gully, Upper Ferntree Gully, Boronia, Rowville, Knoxfield and the Knox foothills. Quote-only: the plumber finds the fault, then gives you a fixed price.