Brownsey Block

Brownsey Block We supply construction materials to the building industry in Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland regions.

09/02/2026

Ten luxury homes. One challenge: steep, heavily contoured ground in Bishopscourt, Western Cape, ZA.

For the Exeter Estate development by KingsHill Group, The Keep and New Land Developments, raised building platforms were needed to carve out space for tennis courts, lap pools, steam rooms, wine cellars and multi-car garages on each 650 to 800 m² erf.

The solution was Terraforce Retaining Walls® L12 blocks in charcoal, round face out, stacked in three 2m terraces at 70-degree angles. The round face left room for topsoil, allowing ten indigenous ground creeper species to be planted along the walls by Alan Dawson Gardens.

Blocks were supplied by Terraforce® licensed manufacturer Klapmuts Concrete / Cape Retaining Systems. A total of 30 000 L12 blocks were installed on site by Decorton Retaining Systems, their first project using the L12 in charcoal with a round face finish.

Subsoil and sand drainage layers run behind every cut embankment, with the bottom third of each wall concrete-filled and the larger walls geogrid reinforced, as specified by consulting engineer Dennis Belter of Gadomski Consulting Engineers.

Sneak peek: Terracing a mountainside in eZulwini, EswatiniHigh up on the mountainside above eZulwini, Eswatini, Terrafor...
08/28/2026

Sneak peek: Terracing a mountainside in eZulwini, Eswatini

High up on the mountainside above eZulwini, Eswatini, Terraforce Retaining Walls® round face retaining walls are holding back some of the highest cut slopes the system has tackled to date. Built for the new International Convention Centre and five-star hotel and resort, the tiered walls reach up to 26m in height, with EFS Construction, a Terraforce® licensed manufacturer and recommended contractor, supplying and installing over 267 000 blocks across the site.

Seedling pockets built into the concrete infill mean the walls were never meant to stay bare. Years on, palms, agaves and flowering shrubs have taken hold across the tiers, with the scalloped block lines still visible beneath the growth, tying the structure back into the surrounding hillside.

The full story on this landmark stabilisation project is coming soon!

Selected Terraforce® products are manufactured under license by Brownsey Block, Vancouver Island:

Art Wiersma
Tel: +1 250-246-4393
Email: [email protected]

Terraforce Retaining Walls® Standard round face blocks were used to build this retaining wall in Citrusdal, Western Cape...
08/21/2026

Terraforce Retaining Walls® Standard round face blocks were used to build this retaining wall in Citrusdal, Western Cape. The scalloped face gives the wall texture and softens its look along the boundary, in keeping with the rocky terrain nearby. The blocks' earthy tone works well with the patio's timber furniture and potted aloes and dracaenas, so the wall fits naturally into the backyard rather than standing out.

The result is a retaining wall that also works as a landscaping feature - functional, low-maintenance, and well suited to the space.

Blocks supplied by Terraforce® licensed manufacturer, Klapmuts Concrete / Cape Retaining Systems.

Selected Terraforce® products are manufactured under license by Brownsey Block, Vancouver Island:

Art Wiersma
Tel: +1 250-246-4393
Email: [email protected]

08/11/2026

This Women's Day, Terraforce Retaining Walls® celebrates its directors, Elgin Rust and Karin Johns, who visit sites across the country and internationally, to get hands on wherever needed. From walking a wall installation to checking progress on the ground, their involvement keeps projects moving in the right direction.

Terraforce® is proud to have this kind of leadership behind its projects across South Africa and beyond.

Terraforce® shares insights and connects with industry professionals at the InnovateX CPD event, held at the Houghton Ho...
08/05/2026

Terraforce® shares insights and connects with industry professionals at the InnovateX CPD event, held at the Houghton Hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa. A successful day of engagement, learning and networking with fellow professionals in the built environment sector.

Terraforce® Retaining Walls Support Access Road at ESCCOM, EswatiniAn S-shaped access road and parking area behind the n...
08/05/2026

Terraforce® Retaining Walls Support Access Road at ESCCOM, Eswatini

An S-shaped access road and parking area behind the new ESCCOM head office in Ezulwini, Eswatini, called for a retaining solution that could handle steep cut slopes of 70 to 75 degrees. Terraforce® was selected over a gabion alternative for being both aesthetically more pleasing and structurally more sound.

The project made use of Terraforce® L12 Rock face blocks across 890 square metres, totalling 10,600 blocks, with a further 224 square metres of base blocks built in situ below ground using 2,600 blocks. Walls were constructed as a single-skin, concrete-reinforced system up to 2m in height, transitioning to keyed sections beyond that point, with soilcrete (a 3% soil-stabilised concrete mix) used wet within the blocks.

Groundwater veins on site presented a construction challenge, requiring careful management throughout the build. Construction ran from September 2022 to November 2023.

Bongumusa Magutshwa, facilities manager, expressed that the client was very happy with the completed result: "We love the rock face finish chosen and how the walls add to the overall aesthetics of the building and surrounds."

As Terraforce®'s licensed manufacturer in Eswatini, EFS Construction supplied the blocks, and as the brand's recommended contractor, also carried out the installation.

Project Team
Client: Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology
Engineer: Eswatini Consulting Engineers
Main Contractor: Construction Associates / CS
Sub-Contractor: EFS Construction

Selected Terraforce® products are manufactured under license by Brownsey Block, Vancouver Island:

Art Wiersma
Tel: +1 250-246-4393
Email: [email protected]

Terraforce Retaining Walls® blocks offer a distinct advantage over other retaining systems: they are available in three ...
07/21/2026

Terraforce Retaining Walls® blocks offer a distinct advantage over other retaining systems: they are available in three finishes, are hollow and therefore fully plantable, and their shape allows wall designs to incorporate sharp or gentle curves that easily follow any slope's natural contours.

Making full use of these features, TD Contractors in Esperance, Western Australia installed Terraforce® L11 blocks in charcoal, rock face finish facing outwards, with a central curvature and three partly feathered terraces. The result is a gorgeous backdrop for a lush green lawn and a paved firepit cove.

Steps leading to the first terrace were built directly into the wall design, also using L range blocks, tying the whole structure together seamlessly. Blocks supplied by Terraforce® licensed manufacturer by The Block Makers, Western Australia.

Selected Terraforce® products are manufactured under license by Brownsey Block, Vancouver Island:

Art Wiersma
Tel: +1 250-246-4393
Email: [email protected]

Terraforce® round face walls at the Caledon Caltex petrol station, planted with vygies (Aizoaceae), creating a green bou...
07/17/2026

Terraforce® round face walls at the Caledon Caltex petrol station, planted with vygies (Aizoaceae), creating a green boundary.

More than just a retaining structure, this wall doubles as a green belt - softening the hard edges of a busy roadside stop and turning a functional boundary into a living, colourful feature. The vygies thrive in the engineered growing medium within the Terraforce Retaining Walls® blocks, requiring minimal water while adding seasonal bursts of colour and helping to bind and stabilise the soil naturally.

It's a great example of how retaining walls can do double duty: providing structural support while contributing to greener, more attractive urban and roadside spaces.

Selected Terraforce® products are manufactured under license by Brownsey Block, Vancouver Island:

Art Wiersma
Tel: +1 250-246-4393
Email: [email protected]

Spotted: A striking example of engineered slope stabilisation in the Western Cape! This Terraforce Retaining Walls® roun...
07/15/2026

Spotted: A striking example of engineered slope stabilisation in the Western Cape!

This Terraforce Retaining Walls® round face retaining wall is hard at work providing cut slope erosion control and stabilisation at the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Environment in Gansbaai, Western Cape, South Africa.

Cut slopes are particularly vulnerable to erosion and instability, especially in coastal environments exposed to wind and rain. The Terraforce® round face block system offers both the structural strength to hold back the slope and a natural aesthetic that complements the surrounding landscape.

Another example of Terraforce® solving real-world stabilisation challenges, one wall at a time.

A Hospital Shaped by Its Landscape: Terraforce Retaining Walls® at Mediclinic StellenboschThe new Mediclinic Stellenbosc...
07/08/2026

A Hospital Shaped by Its Landscape: Terraforce Retaining Walls® at Mediclinic Stellenbosch

The new Mediclinic Stellenbosch building site along the R44 dropped six metres from mountainside to road, and instead of fighting that slope, the design worked with it. Terraforce® held back the bank along the natural gradient, cutting the excavation needed for the basement and opening up natural light for the co-located day clinic.

The site came with its own set of rules. Nearby Brandwacht House, a local heritage landmark, shaped the build lines to keep the historic house visible from the road, while 50 and 100-year flood lines and clay soil conditions decided exactly where the building could sit. Terraforce® gave the design the flexibility to work within all of it, curving the wall along the natural contour instead of cutting hard lines into the slope.

There's a sustainability story here too. Groundwater on site is earmarked for irrigation and toilet flushing, and the building's north-south orientation maximises daylight into public spaces while limiting heat gain, so only the east and west elevations needed additional screening. On the west facade, that screening echoes the trees along the nearby river, tying the building back into its landscape.

Architect Jonck sums up the philosophy simply: the design lets Mother Nature flow through the building. Wide windows framing the Hottentots Holland mountains complete the effect, giving patients a view associated with easier recovery.

Terraforce® was part of making that connection between building and landscape possible.

Selected Terraforce® products are manufactured under license by Brownsey Block, Vancouver Island:

Art Wiersma
Tel: +1 250-246-4393
Email: [email protected]

Address

9385 Trans Canada Highway
Chemainus, BC
V0R1K4

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 4pm

Telephone

+12502464393

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