Walls, Steps & Levels · Solihull
Garden Walls & Steps in Solihull
A sloping or split-level garden is hard to use until the levels are dealt with. Retaining walls, steps and terracing turn a bank you walk past into space you actually sit in.
Proud Gardens builds garden walls, retaining walls, steps and raised beds across Solihull and the surrounding areas, in brick, block, natural stone and timber sleepers, with the footings and drainage behind them done properly.
Groundwork like this is well suited to the winter months. Get the levels, walls and steps built now and the patio, lawn and planting can follow in spring.
- Retaining walls in brick, block, stone and sleepers
- Garden steps, terracing and raised beds
- Proper footings and drainage behind every wall
Winter slots available
Build the levels now, enjoy the garden in spring.Walls & Steps We Build
Garden walls, steps and levels in Solihull
A wall in a garden is doing a job: holding back ground, defining a terrace, giving you somewhere to sit or a bed to plant.
We look at what the wall needs to do, what is behind it and where the water goes, then choose the construction and finish to suit.
Retaining walls
Block or brick retaining walls built on concrete footings with drainage behind them, faced in brick, render or stone cladding to suit the house and garden.
Garden steps
Steps between levels built to comfortable risers and treads, in brick, stone, porcelain or sleepers, with lighting cabled in while the ground is open if you want it.
Terracing and split levels
Sloping gardens divided into usable terraces: a patio level, a lawn level, a planted bank, connected by steps rather than a slope.
Sleeper walls and raised beds
Oak or treated softwood sleepers for retaining low banks and building raised beds. Quick, warm-looking and good value for lower walls.
Seating walls
Low walls built into a patio at seating height, often with a coping you can sit on, so the terrace gets extra seating without more furniture.
Boundary and garden walls
Brick and block walls for boundaries, screening and structure, with piers, copings and footings built to last.
Stone cladding and rendered finishes
Block walls faced in stone cladding or rendered and painted for a contemporary finish.
Drainage behind walls
Land drains, gravel backfill and weep holes so water behind a retaining wall has somewhere to go.
Walls and steps as part of a bigger garden
Levels are usually the first thing to resolve in a garden redesign. We can plan the walls and steps with the patio, lawn and planting that follow. See landscaping in Solihull.
Tell Us About
Your Levels.
Let us know what the garden does now, roughly how much the ground drops or rises, and what you would like to be able to use it for. Photos from the house looking out are the most useful.
A Practical Starting Point
What is the garden doing that it should not?
You do not need to know what kind of wall you need. Just tell us the problem.
Some customers have an old retaining wall that is bulging or has collapsed. Others have a garden that slopes away from the house so there is nowhere level to put a table.
Tell us what is not working and what you would like to do out there, and we will suggest the sensible way to deal with the levels.
A retaining wall and a terrace near the house give you a level patio, with steps down to the rest.
Usually no footing or no drainage behind it. It needs rebuilding properly rather than patching.
Steps rebuilt to even risers and treads, with a handrail or lighting if needed.
Terracing a bank into raised beds or a second level turns it into planting or usable ground.
Walls and steps are the first stage. We can plan them with the patio, lawn and fencing that follow.
From Enquiry To Finished Levels
How a walls and steps job works
Footings, drainage and backfill decide whether a wall is still straight in twenty years. That is where the time and the money go, and it is worth it.
Tell us what you need
Send a short description of the garden, how much it slopes and a few photos, ideally from the house looking out.
We look at the levels
We check the fall across the garden, what is being retained, where water goes now and how materials will get in.
Agree the layout and quote
Wall positions, heights, steps, materials and finishes set out in an itemised quotation.
Excavate and footings
Ground cut back, concrete footings poured to suit the height of the wall and the ground behind it.
Build walls and steps
Block, brick, stone or sleepers built up, drainage and backfill behind, steps formed and finished.
Finish and hand over
Copings, facings and pointing completed, the site cleared and the levels ready for whatever comes next.
Walls. Properly Built.
Why use Proud Gardens for walls and steps in Solihull?
We build walls as landscapers, so they are planned with the patio, lawn and planting they will sit next to.
That means thinking about where the terrace goes, how the steps line up with the doors, where the water drains and how it all looks from the kitchen window, not just the wall on its own.
Footings to suit the job
Concrete footings sized for the height of the wall and what it is holding back, not a standard trench for everything.
Drainage behind every retaining wall
Gravel backfill, land drains and weep holes so the wall is not holding water as well as soil.
Finishes that match the house
Brick to match, stone cladding, render or sleepers, chosen to sit with the property and the rest of the garden.
One team for the whole garden
Walls and steps first, then patio, lawn, fencing and planting by the same team if you want the whole garden done.
Local Wall & Step Builders
Walls and steps across Solihull and nearby areas
Proud Gardens is based in Solihull borough and builds garden walls, retaining walls and steps across Solihull, Shirley, Knowle, Dorridge, Balsall Common, Sutton Coldfield and the Birmingham side of the borough.
Send us your postcode, a description of the levels and a few photos and we will tell you the sensible next step.
Recent work: see our Solihull landscaping case study with a new garden wall and seating area, or browse all our case studies.
Common Questions
Questions about garden walls and steps
How high can a retaining wall be?
Low walls up to around a metre are straightforward. Above that the footing, wall thickness and drainage need designing for the load, and very high or boundary-adjacent walls may need building control or structural input. We will tell you if your garden is in that territory.
Sleepers, blocks or brick?
Sleepers are the quickest and cheapest for low retaining walls and raised beds, but timber has a finite life. Block walls faced in brick, stone or render last longest and suit higher walls. We will recommend based on height, ground and the look you want.
Why has my existing wall started leaning?
Nearly always water pressure behind it with no drainage, or a footing that was too shallow. Rebuilding with drainage and a proper footing is the fix; adding more weight in front rarely is.
Can you build steps with lighting?
Yes. Low-voltage step and wall lights are easiest to add while the walls are being built, so tell us at the quotation stage.
Can this be done in winter?
Yes. Groundwork, footings and walls are winter jobs for us; we work around hard frost on the day. Doing the heavy work now means the patio and lawn can go in as soon as spring arrives.
Do I need a garden design first?
For a single wall or a run of steps, no. If the whole garden needs re-levelling with terraces, a patio and planting, a design first means the walls go in the right place the first time. See garden design in Solihull.
Sort The Levels
Need walls or steps in Solihull?
Tell us what the garden does now, how much it slopes and what you want to be able to use it for.
Add a few photos if you can. We will come back with the next step and, for suitable jobs, a date to look at it.
Re-planning the whole garden? Book a design consultation →