Building a retaining wall is suitable for diyers as long as the wall is a maximum of 3 feet tall in most areas.
Building a rock retaining wall with mortar.
Using your stakes string and line level.
Cap the wall with a course of flat stones large enough to cover both wythes.
Constructing a wall is backbreaking work but the results will be a structure that will for last for generations.
Adding mortar makes your wall stable and takes the worry away.
Dig a trench that s below the frost line and 2 feet wider than.
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.
Dry stone walls are methodically stacked rock structures that can be damaged by people animals and weather.
Anything taller should be handled by professionals.
They can be stacked without mortar but this requires stacking them just so.
This prevents mortar from running down the face of the wall.
The key to building a wall using mortar is when you apply the mortar it needs to go evenly onto the run of stones that are set.
When you mortar the capstones do not finish the joints.
A stone wall can give your garden timeless appeal.
Prepare the footing photo by russell kaye.
Higher walls should be engineered for stability.
Ask a stone yard to help determine how much material you ll need and have it delivered as close to the site as possible.
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.
After spreading the mortar but before laying the next stone use the trowel edge to cut the mortar even with wall face.
How to build a rock wall 1.
Whether you re looking to build a wall for a raised garden or a small retaining wall a stacked stone wall can offer elegance without a lot of expense.
When the mortar begins to set up stop laying stone and finish the joints.
Once built you ll have a rock solid retaining wall without all the heavy mortar lines.
Stone walls also look better with age.