How to level backyard and raise fence height?

Question

Hi guys,

Background : My backyard is not levelled well. It is slopy and hence the fences are also. The fences and the ground go downhill away from the house as shown in the images.

The fences are of different heights around my backyard and the ones in between mine and my neighbours area.

You can see bamboo trees at the corner of the fence. They have been there since we bought this house. I am guessing the reason for having them at the corner is for safety and screening purpose. The adjacent fence is not very tall but the neighbours ground on other side of the bamboos are higher so anyone can jump across to my area. I believe that would have been the reason behind this. Now, my kid is grown up and he needs some area in our house (backyard) to play football and etc, plus those bamboos are looking like a mess. Hence I want to clear that.

Following are the images with their approximate (tried to be accurate) measurement.

Fig 1 : Sizes of the fence in one side of the fence.

Fig 2. The red dotten line indicated the short fence I like to have between two colorbond post and level up to match the higher end.

Fig.  Possiblity of raising the fence at the corner or surrounding to block the view from street when the gound in the backyard is raised.

Questions:

* What are your thoughts on raising the fence ? Do I have some room, espcially at the corner to raise the fene, currently measuring 1500mm from the slopy ground outside the fence towards street. 
* if there are some room, I have one picture attached above where I have indicated A, B and C. I would like to know what are my chances, raise the fence so that A matches with A, B matches with B or C matches with C ( this last one will be too high, I guess, from Council perspectives). 
* I believe there are some standards on the fence raising and height of the fence from Gold Coast City Council. I am researching on that too. If I don't get to raise the fence, there will be no point of levelling the ground on backyards as the raised ground will sit heigher than the fence. Will not look good. There are some house around my neighbourhood where I saw following setup. I am sure they are more than > 1800 with the retaining wall and fence on top. Do you think I can have similar setup just around the corner ?

This looks good retaining at the backyard to hold soil.

4. In one of the pictures, I have indicated (with dotted lines) that where I like to have a retaining wall installed in the backyard, so that when I have to fill soil to raise the ground, it holds the ground. I heard about the "Before you dig".  I will be reaching out to Gold Coast City Council to find out out lies under the ground for the safety. Is there any other way to find out what's inside before starting to dig, that I don't know of ?

You might see my other queries related to other projects but I have to plan my thoughts and I am getting my ducks in a row so that I am prepared.

Many thanks to who have read so far. I had a few months gap and now I am planning to renovate slowly. i would like cost effective approach if there are any, as I will be turning this into investment property and will rent out (hopefully) in 1-2 years.

P.S. While writing this post and the one i just wrote before, I have seen few things missing in this new platform and I am sending an email to the workshop@bunnings.com.au. Things that were making life easier before and now struggling.

Dave-1 · Answer

Good Evening @Sugar

@EricL has mad two good points. Definently have a chat with your council to find out how high you can go with a retaining wall and if it can have a fence installed on top of it,

I would suggest a couple of quotes from a profession landscaper for the retaining wall and fence as well. There is nothing worse then a slow creep from a retaining wall and if it has a fence on top it will become structually unsound fast.

You could raise the lower sections of the fence easy enough. I am wondering why the fence had the shorter sections installed (maybe a council ruling?) If there is no ruling then it could be the cheapest way to raise it after removing the bamboo tree.

I am currently installing a privacy fence higher then my boundary fence. It is serperate from the boundary fence as I want it to go another 600 mm over the 1.8m it already is (plus around a 30cm concrete footing.)

The second sketch is to show how I intend to have a higher screen and to support it. Some things to consider if you go this path. The earth screws are great up until a point. They will stop drilling in if they hit ANY thing solid. I hit rock around 400mm down for one :/ They are not good for a retaining wall, more for a vertical type support.

I am half way through doing this project. I havnt uploaded the pics just yet but will try and do some tomorrow.

Another way you could look at creating an area to play is to drop the soil next to the patio by 400mm and raise the dip to kind of meet in teh middle. That way you may not need such a high retaining wall or to modify your fence too much?

Dave

EricL · Answer

Hello @Sugar

It's good to see that you have another project lined up. In this particular instance, I believe it will be a two-step process. First, I suggest engaging the services of a licensed structural landscaper, retaining wall specialist, or a specialized landscaping company. They will be able to advise you about building your retaining wall and levelling your backyard at the same time. Second is the fence line, I recommend doing a bit of research in regards to the rules and regulations of your local council in regards to the total height of the fence when retaining walls are included. It's possible that the structural landscaper may have fencing services as well so its best to ask if they can do a package deal.

Let me try and offer some advice in regards to your questions. I'm confident that you can level your backyard using a retaining wall. Your fence line can look exactly like the sample photos you posted. If you level your backyard your fence line can be straight and level. Checking your council rules and regulations in regards to the retaining wall and fencing are vital as a work permit and structural engineering plans may be required. yes, the baboo tree can be removed, but I suggest trimming it down and cutting it into pieces and placed into large pots as they are expensive and would be a shame to simply thrown them away.

Here are some guides that will help:

* How To Build Retaining Wall
* How To Set-Out Posts For A Colorbond Fence 
* How To Install Colorbond Fence Panels

Let me call on our experienced members @Dave-1, @Nailbag and @Remarka6le for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric