Updated October 2026
Chidlow sits at the eastern end of the hills village chain, rural country with large blocks, and one of the localities the Shire of Mundaring's strategy treats in its own right. We connect you with retaining wall builders who cover the 6556 area.
Common wall situations in Chidlow
Rural retaining work: driveway cuttings on long approaches, house and shed pads, dam and track batters, and terracing. Access for machinery is usually good and the volumes are large, which is a different pricing problem from a suburban garden wall.
The Shire's strategy records reticulated sewerage in the hills as limited to the Mundaring town centre, so properties here run their own systems. The tank, the leach drains and the irrigation area are part of the site plan, and the Shire holds the records.
The ground under Chidlow
Perth is a sand city. Up here it is not. The ground is ironstone and laterite gravel over weathered granite, and the City of Kalamunda records in its Local Planning Strategy that reticulated sewerage is constrained in the Hills because hard granite sits close to the surface and is costly to dig through. That same rock is what a post hole has to get through, so ask any builder how the quote prices a hole that hits it.
Drainage is the thing that actually matters. Water that cannot soak away through rock travels sideways and arrives behind the wall, and the Shire of Mundaring names heavy soils and perched water tables as Hills constraints for that reason. Ag-pipe, free draining gravel, geotextile fabric and a lawful discharge point are not optional line items.
What a wall costs in Chidlow
As a rough guide, most residential walls run from around $200 to $700 or more per metre for a wall about a metre high, depending on material, height, access and engineering. Those are published Australian guide figures rather than a quote, and rock is the reason a Hills number can sit above them. Read the retaining wall cost guide and then get a price for your block.
Approval, and who to ask in Chidlow
In WA a retaining wall is exempt from needing a building permit only where it retains no more than 500mm of ground, is not tied to other building work or to holding up the land next door, and is not work of a kind that affects adjoining land. The measurement is the ground the wall retains, not the height of the wall, which catches a lot of people out. All three conditions have to be met, so a wall on or near a boundary needs a permit whatever its height. Development approval under the local planning scheme can be a separate question again, and the rules change, so confirm your wall with the Shire of Mundaring before you build.
On who may carry out the work, WA draws the line by how the work is classified under the building legislation, not by a dollar threshold a homeowner can apply to their own job, and the position for a standalone retaining wall is not something to take from a website. Ask any builder what registration or licence they hold and verify it with Building and Energy, and ask your permit authority what your wall requires. Have the builder lodge a free Before You Dig Australia (BYDA) enquiry before anything is dug.
Frequently asked questions
Is Chidlow too far out for a Hills builder?
No. The builders we work with cover the Shire of Mundaring, Chidlow and Wooroloo included. It is worth asking any builder directly whether they price travel separately on an eastern job.
What suits a dam or track batter?
Usually large format block or concrete sleeper, designed for the height and the load, with drainage that accounts for where water collects. These are engineered jobs rather than garden walls.
Does a rural block need a building permit for a wall?
The same test applies as everywhere in WA, and a large block does not sidestep it. The Shire of Mundaring is the permit authority, so ask them what your wall needs.
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We also cover nearby Wooroloo and Sawyers Valley.