Building A Natural Stone Retaining Wall

Learn to build a simple dry stack retaining wall for the garden using natural field stone.

Building a natural stone retaining wall.

Prepare the footing photo by russell kaye. You can build a stone wall with natural fieldstone that you have on your property provided the stones are flat enough for stacking. Plan for good drainage proper width height ratio and distance between tiers. To build a natural dry stone retaining wall prepare the site.

1 cubic yard per 5 wall roll of soil blocking fabric at least 4 wide if the elevation of the footing drops more than approximately 6 step the footing down by making a. Once built you ll have a rock solid retaining wall without all the heavy mortar lines. Natural boulders ideally rectangular. Building retaining walls prevents this soil erosion and helps disguise the unattractive remains from excavation into a hillside.

Other materials that could be used for such a project include landscape timbers railroad ties and cinder blocks. Great for making inexpensive raised beds out of rocks. One pallet will build a 3 x10 wall coarse gravel size 5 7 stone approx. Lay high quality stones and use a geotextile backing to ensure the wall lasts a long time.

For this 18 inch high wall the footing should be at least 18 inches wide. Excavate to a depth of 6 inches along the entire base of the stone retaining wall using the string marker as a guide. This tutorial is designed for beginners interested in building stone retaining walls using a dry stack method but it also works for retaining block and flagstone walls. Use a hand or power tamper to level the base.

For dry stack walls the base should be as wide as the wall is tall. Flat or cut stones are much easier to work with than fieldstone and will make a sturdier wall. How to build a rock wall 1. Dig a trench that s below the frost line and 2 feet wider than.

If you have to buy stone choose a flat stone such as flagstone or a cut stone like ashlar.