It sincerely breaks my heart every time i see a wall built with stone blocks courtesy of big box stores inspired by diy cable tv.
Dry stack rock retaining wall.
There are two common methods of building retaining walls.
Building a retaining wall is suitable for diyers as long as the wall is a maximum of 3 feet tall in most areas.
Anything taller should be handled by professionals.
There is no need to build a foundation below the frost line because the loose stones can shift slightly to accommodate frost heave.
Dig a ditch the length of the wall that is about a foot wide and 8 to 12 inches 20 5 cm 30 5 cm below the ground level.
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.
With concrete less time is spent choosing the correct stones to lay without leaving large gaps.
A natural spot for dry stack walls is certainly as part of a garden either as an edge to a garden bed or a retaining wall.
Incorporate the wall into a gentle slope or create a raised planting bed and use the rock wall to retain the elevated soil.
But since the technique has a distinctly natural vibe dry stack walls also work well as hardscape elements on their own such as this bench.
Dry stack walls are built without mortar the stones are stacked one on top of the other.
Excavate to a depth of 6 inches along the entire base of the stone retaining wall using the string marker as a guide.
How to build a natural dry stacked stone free standing or retaining rock wall.
And i love rock walls.
Big small retaining free standing.
Try and stick with odd numbered layers of rock.
This ditch will act as the wall s footing and prevent the rocks from sliding forward due to pressure from the earth behind.
For this 18 inch high wall the footing should be at least 18 inches wide.
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.
This makes them naturally draining which is important when using a wall to retain soil.
Try to cut the ditch into native soil rather than loose added soil as the former provides a more stable foundation for the wall.
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.
One with concrete and mortar and one without dry stacking.
Use existing topographical features in the yard to enhance the dry stacked rock wall.
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.