A newly built sandstone seawall running the width of a waterfront lawn down to the sand

Sandstone Seawall Construction in Sydney

Seawalls

A seawall holds your whole waterfront together. It stops tide and boat wash from eating away at your land, supports your lawn and gardens, and gives your jetty, ramp and pontoon a solid base.

We build sandstone seawalls across the Port Hacking River, the Georges River, Sydney Harbour and the South Coast. We work from the barge as well as the shore, so no property is out of reach, even one with no land access. Built properly on sound foundations, a sandstone seawall will stand for 50 years or more.

Repair your seawall or replace it?

A lot of the walls we work on are older structures that have slumped, lost blocks or been undermined at the base. If the wall is fundamentally sound we repair it, re-point, reset the moved blocks and cap it. If it is not, we will tell you straight and give you an honest repair against rebuild comparison.

The other jobs are new walls on unprotected foreshores, replacing failed timber, brick or concrete walls with stone, and extensions: raising the height, or adding sandstone capping, stairs and landings. We look at your site from the water before recommending anything.

A weathered sandstone block seawall holding the lawn above a tidal beach, with the house behind it

How a sandstone seawall is built

We use A-grade natural sandstone blocks, picked for density and face quality, set on properly prepared foundations. That is what keeps a wall straight through decades of tide cycles. Where the site calls for it we add concrete footings, rock anchors and geotextile backing to manage drainage and hold the fill behind the wall.

Our crew works from the barge as well as the shore, so a block with no land access is not a problem. Piling, stonework and clean-up are all handled by the same team, from first inspection through to the last load off site.

Coursed sandstone seawall with cut stone steps and a ramp up to the lawn and boat shed above

What does a sandstone seawall cost?

We price seawalls per job rather than per metre, because the variables move too much for a rate to mean anything. Length and height matter, but so does how easy the site is to get to, what the foundations are like underneath, and whether an old wall has to come out first.

A seawall also sits on the boundary between your land and a public waterway, so what you are allowed to build comes down to council, the condition of the existing foreshore and how far out the new wall sits. We coordinate the development application with our in-house marine town planner.

Kingtide Marine crew working from a punt alongside a sandstone seawall under construction, with the timber formwork still in place

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a sandstone seawall last?

Built properly on sound foundations, a sandstone wall will outlast pretty much everything else on your waterfront. Fifty years is common and plenty go much longer. The stone is dense, copes well with constant wetting and drying, and weathers attractively rather than rotting like timber or rusting like steel.

Do I need council approval for a seawall in NSW?

In most cases, yes. Seawalls on Sydney waterfronts generally need council approval, and work below the mean high-water mark can also involve NSW Crown Lands and Fisheries. We have been through the process many times across the Sutherland Shire and St George areas, so we can point you in the right direction for your site.

How much does a sandstone seawall cost in Sydney?

It depends on the length and height of the wall, how easy the site is to access, what the foundations are like, and whether an old wall has to come out first. Rather than guess at a rate, we inspect your foreshore and give you a free, fixed, itemised quote for your exact site.

Can you repair or extend an existing seawall?

Yes. A lot of the walls we work on are older structures that have slumped, lost blocks or been undermined at the base. If the wall is fundamentally sound we can repair, re-pack and cap it. If it is not, we will tell you straight and give you an honest repair-versus-rebuild comparison.

Simple from the start

How It Works

We inspect from the water
A proper look at your foreshore at the appropriate tide, including whatever wall or bank is there now.
Design and approvals
We design the wall for your site, then help you through the council and Crown Lands side.
Stone goes in from the barge
Foundations prepared, blocks set true, site cleaned up. Done properly once.

Kingtide Marine

Why Choose Kingtide Marine

20 years of experience

Twenty years in the trade and around 100 jobs a year on the Port Hacking River, the Georges River, Sydney Harbour and the South Coast. Nobody knows these tides, beds and foreshores better.

Our own fleet of vessels

No waiting on subcontractors. We run our own fleet of operating marine vessels and do the construction ourselves.

Five-year warranty

We warrant our work for five years and come back at three to six months to check it over, tighten it up and put it right.

Reviews

What our clients say

5.0 from 16 Google reviews

Mick and his team delivered outstanding service and work quality in the refurbishment of our concrete jetty and slipway. Communication was excellent and the end product was of a very high standard, considering the original state of the structures. We definitely felt we received excellent value for money and will always use Kingtide for future waterfront projects.
Stephen Smith
Mick, Sam and the team were fantastic to deal with from the onset. Easy to deal with and awesome workmanship. Nothing was a problem and great advice given. I highly recommend Kingtide services.
Paul Gentile
Mick and his team worked with us from the day our old jetty was damaged in a storm. They made it safe and patiently waited while we planned for a new one. They kept us updated with progress, checked we were happy and we now have a beautiful new jetty. Would highly recommend them..thanks guys. Drummoyne NSW
Jules OK

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