Building A Stacked Stone Retaining Wall
Backfilling the wall with rock promotes drainage through the wall and prevents soil from pushing.
Building a stacked stone retaining wall. Dry stack walls also drain well allowing water to pass through the wall itself. Take the measurements to a stone supply yard. This helps reduce hydrostatic pressure imposed by wet soil behind the wall which is the most common cause of retaining wall failure. The easiest way to build a stone retaining wall is to use the dry stack method that requires no mortar between stones and does not need a concrete footing like mortared walls do.
How high do you want the. The ideal height for a dry stacked retaining wall is 18 to 22 inches so you can sit on it when your gardening chores are done. Determine the length height and location of the retaining wall. Survey the area where you want to build the wall and draw out a plan.
Establish the face of the retaining wall by hammering a piece of rebar into the ground at both ends. Higher walls should be engineered for stability. Even if you don t plan to sit on your wall 3 feet is about as high as i would recommend building any dry stacked wall. Choose the location to build the dry stacked stone wall and use landscape marking spray paint to outline the location and shape of the rock wall.
The depth and amount of base material has a lot to do with the type of soil and size of the wall. So in my case the stone was cut to 12 wide making the base 24 wide. Preparing the base for the wall. Mark the area where your wall s base will be.
How to build a good base for front or backyard landscaping dry stacked stone retaining wall the base should be dug out at least twice as wide as the width of the stone. How to build a dry stack stone retaining wall step 1. An average step. Step 2 use a shovel a square tipped spade works best to edge around the painted line.