Full Landscape Makeover: 1,300 Plants
From 1,300 plants to fencing and concreting, handled in-house by one team for a fresh new look.
Landscaping in Wollongong and the Illawarra, built for sloped blocks
Landscaping in Wollongong is mostly a slope problem. Handy Tradie 4 U works across the Illawarra and South Coast, from Helensburgh to Nowra, on the kind of blocks this region actually has. A fall across the yard, clay underneath, and water coming from uphill. We build the retaining walls that make a yard usable, lay the turf, redo the garden beds, fence it and put the steel on it.
Landscaping built for Illawarra slopes
Marcio runs the crew out of Wollongong and we do the lot in-house. Welding and metal fabrication is our main trade, so the handrail beside the steps, the gate in the fence and the slat screen along the boundary are made by us, not subbed out. Use the instant estimate tool on this page for an indication, then we come out and look at the fall. Call 0413 147 335 or email info@handytradie4u.com.
Licensed and insured · ABN 91 639 254 685 · Wollongong NSW 2500.
How we quote a landscaping job
Landscaping is the hardest trade to price off a photo, because the same-looking yard can be a two-day turf job or a six-week build depending on what is under it and how you get a bobcat in. So we do not publish rates. We come and look, then give you an itemised written quote with a firm figure and the exclusions stated, before anything starts.
What we are looking at:
Put your rough scope into the instant estimate tool for an indication, or call 0413 147 335 and we will come and walk the yard with you. Where a wall needs an engineer's design, that design is charged by the engineer and is a separate cost to budget for; we tell you at quote time if your job needs one.
Retaining walls.
Length, height and what sits above them. Usually the biggest single item on a sloped block.
Turf.
Area, and the variety, because the right grass for a shaded mixed-aspect yard is not the right grass for full sun.
Access.
Whether a machine can get into the yard, or whether everything goes through a side gate in a barrow. This is the single biggest hidden factor in Illawarra landscaping.
Spoil.
Cut into a slope and you create soil that has to be trucked away, tonnes of it.
What is underneath.
Rock, fill, old concrete, or services in the wrong place.
Drainage.
A yard that holds water needs it dealt with before anything gets planted on it.
What we do in a yard
Most yards need two or three of these at once, and the order they happen in matters as much as the work itself.
Retaining walls
The job that makes a sloped Illawarra yard into a flat one you can use. Concrete sleeper, masonry block, treated timber, sandstone and gabion, with the drainage behind the wall done properly. Full detail on the retaining walls page, including when an engineer is needed and what the approval path looks like.
Turf supply and installation
Old lawn and weeds off, soil prepared and levelled, turf laid tight and rolled. We match the variety to your yard's sun, shade and traffic rather than to whatever is on the truck. Turf laid on unprepared ground looks fine for a month and patchy forever after.
Garden makeovers
Beds reshaped, edging in, soil improved, planted and mulched. For a yard whose bones are fine and whose garden has got away. It is not a full redesign and it is not scoped like one. If you would rather keep on top of it as you go, we also do ongoing property maintenance.
Fencing, gates and screens
Boundary fencing, Colorbond, timber paling and steel slat screens, with the gates made to the opening rather than bought off a rack. Because fabrication is our main trade, a gate that has to clear a sloping path or a wall post gets built to suit it. Hot-dip galvanised or powder-coated for coastal exposure, and more detail on gates, handrails and balustrades.
Paving, paths and steps
Paths, patios, steps between levels and the landings that connect them, set out so the fall takes water away from the house rather than into it. Concrete paths and slabs are scoped separately from the landscaping so you can see what is in each part of the job.
Mixed jobs: most of our landscaping work is several of the above at once. A wall, then the levelling, then the turf, then the fence and the handrail. One crew, one quote, one timeline, and the trades sequenced so nothing gets built twice.
Which turf actually works in the Illawarra
Turf choice comes down to three questions: how much sun does the yard get, how much traffic does it take, and how much watering and mowing are you actually going to do.
Sir Walter Buffalo
The safe pick for most Illawarra yards. It handles sun and shade, it is soft underfoot, it recovers from wear, and it is the lowest-maintenance of the three in a mixed-aspect yard. It sits at a premium and it is worth it on a yard with trees or a fence line that shades half of it.
Kikuyu
Fast-growing, tough, and the most economical of the three. Best in full sun with heavy traffic, kids, dogs, a cricket pitch. The trade-off is that it grows fast enough to need regular mowing and it will run into your garden beds if you let it. Good edging solves that.
TifTuf
The most drought-tolerant option. Fine leaf, holds colour through dry spells on less water, and suits an open sunny yard where you want a tight lawn and do not want to irrigate it constantly. Less shade tolerance than Buffalo.
None of them fix bad soil. Preparation is most of the job: old lawn and weeds removed, the ground graded so water runs off rather than sitting, and a proper underlay before the turf goes down.
Working on a sloped block: what changes
Most Illawarra blocks fall. Figtree, Mount Pleasant, Balgownie, Thirroul, Austinmer and Bulli are built into the escarpment. Horsley, Albion Park, Shell Cove and the newer estates sit on cut-and-fill pads. That changes four things about a landscaping job.
You have to make the level before you can use it.
Terracing a slope means retaining walls, and walls mean footings, drainage and often an engineer. The usable yard is built, not found.
Spoil and import.
Cutting into a hill produces soil to remove. Filling produces soil to bring in. Both are truck movements people do not expect.
Access decides the labour.
A yard a bobcat can reach is a fraction of the work of a yard where everything goes through a 900 mm gate.
Water takes the shortest way down, through your yard.
Runoff arrives from uphill. On a slope, drainage is the first decision, not the last.
Drainage, soil and the stuff you cannot see
1
The parts of a landscaping job that fail are the parts you cannot see when it is finished.
2
Drainage behind the walls.
Agricultural drains behind every retaining wall, free-draining aggregate rather than the clay that came out of the hole, geotextile fabric so fines do not silt up the aggregate, and a discharge point that actually goes somewhere. Surface drains or a swale where water comes off a slope.
3
Soil.
Illawarra clay compacts hard and holds water. Turf and plants put straight into it struggle. Breaking it up, improving it and grading it is unglamorous and it is the difference between a lawn that takes and one that patches out in the first summer.
4
Compaction.
Backfill goes in in layers and gets compacted. Dumped in one go, it settles and your new paving dips.
Sequence. Walls before levelling, levelling before drainage, drainage before turf, and steel fixings set while the wall is being built. Out of order means doing things twice.
One crew for the walls, the steel and the planting
Most landscaping jobs on a sloped block need a wall builder, a metal fabricator and a landscaper. Three contractors, three quotes, three schedules and one argument about who is responsible when they do not line up.
We are one crew. Welding and fabrication is our main trade, so the handrail beside the new steps, the gate in the new fence, the slat screen on the boundary and the balustrade on the deck are fabricated in our own workshop and fitted to what we just built. The fixings go into the wall while the wall is going up, and we can weld on site through mobile welding where something has to be made to fit in place.
If the yard job runs into a deck or a covered area, see decking and pergolas and patios: done together, the footings and set-out happen once.
How a landscaping job runs
Online estimate
, then a site visit: slope, soil, drainage, sun and shade, access, and what is under the ground.
Scope and material selection
, walls, levels, turf variety, fencing in Wollongong, steelwork and planting, chosen for the conditions on your block.
Approval and engineering check
where there are walls over about a metre or a surcharge above them.
Fixed written quote
, itemised, with exclusions stated.
Build in order
, walls and drainage, then levelling, then paving and the fence line, then turf and planting last so it is not driven over.
Handover and clean-up
, waste and spoil removed, and a straight brief on watering the new turf for the first few weeks.
Landscapers from Helensburgh to Nowra
Helensburgh, Thirroul, Woonona, Bulli, Corrimal, North Wollongong, Fairy Meadow, Figtree, Unanderra, Port Kembla, Dapto, Horsley, Albion Park, Warilla, Oak Flats, Shellharbour, Shell Cove, Minnamurra, Kiama, Jamberoo, Gerringong, Berry and Nowra.
Based in Wollongong, with the full list on all our Illawarra and South Coast service areas.
Get your yard quoted
Put your rough scope into the instant estimate tool for an indication, then we come out, look at the fall and the soil, and give you a firm written figure before anything starts.
Call 0413 147 335, email info@handytradie4u.com or use the contact page.
Licensed and insured · ABN 91 639 254 685 · Wollongong NSW 2500.
Our Work
Recent Work
Paths, seating and outdoor living work across the Illawarra
Videos
Watch Our Landscaping Work
Real jobs from our own crew, filmed on site. See all our work videos.
Bricklaying Day
Swapping the drill for a trowel: a day on the bricks.
Want a firm price on this?
Send a photo and a short description. You get a straight answer on what it needs and what it costs before anything starts.
Questions
Landscaping Questions
How much does landscaping cost in Wollongong?+
We do not publish rates, because the same-looking yard can be a two-day turf job or a six-week build depending on the slope, the soil, the access and what is under the ground. Use the instant estimate tool on this page for an indication, then we come out and walk the yard and give you a firm itemised written figure with the exclusions stated before any work starts. Call 0413 147 335 to book a time. Most Illawarra jobs can also be staged if you would rather do the yard in parts.
What is the best turf for the Illawarra?+
Sir Walter Buffalo for most yards, because it handles both sun and shade. Kikuyu if the yard is full sun and high traffic and you want the more economical option. TifTuf if it is dry, open and you do not want to irrigate much. None of them fix bad soil, so preparation matters more than the variety.
Do I need council approval for landscaping?+
Planting, turf and garden beds generally do not. Retaining walls, significant earthworks and some structures can. Works exceeding 600 mm above or below existing ground level fall under the complying development earthworks provisions, and your council's controls apply on top of that. Check whether your job falls under exempt development with your council. We check the specific address before quoting.
Can you landscape a steep backyard?+
Yes, that is most of our work. A steep yard is terraced with retaining walls to create level areas, with drainage behind every wall. Walls over about a metre, or with anything above them, generally need an engineer's design, and we confirm that for your block before we quote.
How long does a landscaping job take?+
A turf-only job is a couple of days. A yard with a retaining wall, levelling, fencing and turf runs two to six weeks on site depending on access and whether engineering or approval is needed.
Do you remove the spoil and rubbish?+
Yes. Excavated soil, old concrete, demolished fencing and green waste all go, and it is itemised in the quote so there is no end-of-job surprise.
When can I walk on new turf?+
Keep off it as much as you can for the first two to three weeks while it roots in, and water it daily at first. We give you the watering brief at handover.
Do you do the fencing and the metalwork too?+
Yes, in-house. Welding and fabrication is our main trade, so gates, handrails, balustrades and steel slat screens are fabricated by the same crew doing the landscaping, and the fixings go into the wall while it is being built.
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