Coogee runs downhill to the water, and nearly every garden here is a level change of some sort. Steps, low walls and terraces are the work, and getting them set out right is what makes a site usable.
Coogee sits about eight kilometres south-east of the city at around 27 metres, with cliffs running around the bay that drop away toward the beach at the western end. It is one of the more densely populated parts of Australia, with apartment buildings from the 1930s onwards and some freestanding houses still in among them.
On a sloping site the stairs and landings are the part people use every day and the part most likely to be done badly. Consistent risers, generous landings and the right fall on each tread is unglamorous work that transforms how a garden feels.
A lot of Coogee's apartment stock is pre-war walk-ups with narrow entries, original paths and planting strips that have been patched for decades. Reworking those lifts the whole building and needs a scope a committee can approve.
Toward the headlands the wind and salt are harder than they are a few streets back. Planting and fixings have to suit the position rather than the suburb, and we specify per site.
Most Coogee projects start with holding the slope and getting safe access across it.
Walls to hold a fall and create level terraces, built with drainage behind them. On a steep site this is the structure everything else sits on, so it is where the budget goes first.
How we build retaining wallsStepped paths, landings and terraces paved to a level, free-draining finish. Setting out the steps so the risers are consistent is the part that matters most and the part most often got wrong.
How we approach pavingLawn on the flatter terraces over prepared and graded soil. In sandy, exposed ground we improve the soil first, because turf laid straight onto it will not hold a dry summer.
How we lay new turfScreens and boundary hedges on close-set blocks, cut to a clean line and kept dense low down where they are doing the privacy work.
How we trim hedgesMulch at a grade that stays put on a slope rather than washing to the bottom of the garden in the first heavy rain.
More on mulchingLifting growth off roofs and gutters and thinning canopies to get light onto a lower terrace. On shared boundaries we work to the fence line and leave the neighbour's side tidy.
See our pruning and trimmingBeds, terraces, stairs, planters and paving joints cleared back, roots included. On a stepped site the stair edges are what read as maintained or neglected.
More on weedingOld paving, broken concrete, cleared planting and green waste taken away. Removal from a stepped site is a barrow exercise and we size the real volume in the quote.
See our rubbish removalRemoving a tree that has outgrown a small lot or is lifting a wall, path or stairs. The City of Randwick controls removal and significant pruning of many trees, and we check before quoting.
About our tree lopping workThe grade and the access across it set most of the price.
Three steps, a fixed written price, and the site left clean.
Call or send photos showing the fall and any existing stairs. That is what tells us most before we come out.
We measure the grade, work out the access, check the exposure, then put a fixed written price and a staged plan in front of you.
One crew from start to finish, the barrow runs planned, and all old material and green waste removed.
Terry and his team are fantastic to work with.
The team have been very professional with their work, communication and they were also fast paced.
They use very high quality materials and workmanship is flawless.
Coogee sits in the City of Randwick with Randwick, Clovelly, Bronte, Maroubra and Kensington around it.
For everything we do across the area, see our work in the City of Randwick, or browse every Sydney suburb we service.
Terracing. Retaining walls and stepped paving turn a fall into a series of level areas you can actually furnish. How many levels and how high the walls go depends on the grade, which we measure when we quote.
Yes, and it is one of the most worthwhile jobs on a sloping site. Uneven risers are what make stairs feel wrong and what causes falls. Rebuilding them to consistent dimensions with proper landings changes how the whole garden is used.
Yes, regularly. Narrow entries and original paths are the usual situation. We supply a written scope and fixed price a committee or strata manager can approve, and work to the building's access hours.
Often exposure. Within a few streets of the headlands, wind and salt vary a lot, and a position that catches the southerly is much harder than one that does not. We specify for your site rather than for the suburb.
Often yes. The City of Randwick controls removal and significant pruning of many trees. We check what is permitted before quoting so nothing halts mid-job.
Yes. We work across Coogee 2034 and the surrounding eastern suburbs including Randwick, Clovelly, Bronte, South Coogee, Maroubra and Kensington.
Send us the basics and we will come out, measure the fall, work out the access and check the exposure, then give you a fixed written price. The visit costs nothing.
Prefer to talk it through? Call 0451 267 287.
Whether it is a yard you cannot stand on or stairs that have never felt safe, we will come out, measure it properly and price the build.