![]() ![]() The stones should not roll out beneath your weight. When you are done, test your course by walking gently on it. Continue the first course until you reach the end of the wall. Pound the rubble and soil mix until you are satisfied that it is solid. I also recommend adding rubble (those stones you won’t use on the face of your wall) behind the face course to give greater strength to the wall. This is an important step because the dirt becomes the mortar for the wall. Next, shovel dirt behind the stones and tamp the earth into the spaces between, behind, and beneath the stones with top of the sledgehammer. ![]() If it doesn’t fit by the seventh try, use another stone. A rule of thumb, passed down from my wall-building teacher’s mentor, is to try a stone seven different ways. Find a stone that fits well and then continue for a few more feet. I find irregular rocks easier to work with than flat ones with flat rocks you have to be more precise. If the rocks are irregular, then the stones will fit together leaving a triangular gap for the next course to fit into. If you are using rectangular stones, you want the height of adjacent stones to be the same, or of a difference that can be made up with a smaller stone. Set the first stone, shifting it around until it sits securely without being rocked easily, and then fill with the remaining stones. Randomly lay your largest rocks along the front edge of the trench. Take the time to find rocks that lock into place, without leaving gaps. The first course must be very solid and tightly fit because the weight of the wall will rest on it. A straightedged spade will give you a nice, even edge. Start by digging a trench about 4 inches deep and at least 2 feet wide. This can be accomplished by mixing stones of different sizes or by backfilling with a combination of two-thirds rubble to one-third soil. They can taper slightly toward the top, but you’ll want a wall that is at least two rocks wide in most places. For stability, walls should be at least 20 inches wide at the base. The base course is structurally the most important, while the final course, the capstone, is the most challenging. Or you might do a partial cut and fill, which is somewhere between the two. For design reasons, however, you might choose to build a freestanding wall and fill behind it with soil from another site. When you cut and fill, the wall is backed by undisturbed soil, which is more stable than fill. The easiest approach is to cut and fill-that is, dig into the slope where the wall will go and spread the earth below you to create a level terrace. Otherwise, use a garden hose and mark the edge with flour. If it is straight, a board or a string stretched between stakes can be used to mark the line. The first thing to do is to determine the front face of the wall. So you’re all set with your tools, some drinking water, and maybe some tunes to work by. For marking your site and leveling rocks, you’ll need a line level, a few tall stakes, string, some flour, and a 4- or 8-foot level. Most stoneyards will deliver the stones for a slight charge have them placed as close to the site of your retaining wall as possible.Īs for tools, you’ll need a shovel for digging your trench and backfilling, a mattock for attacking the grade, and a small sledgehammer for tamping soil. If your wall is 2 feet high, 1-1/2 feet wide, and 20 feet long, you’ll need roughly 60 cubic feet of stone. To figure out how much stone you’ll need, multiply your wall’s height times the depth times the length. To learn how to put your own together, from start to finish, read on. Want to build your own stone retaining wall, but unsure how to start? If you have an uneven yard, a stone retaining wall can help prevent erosion and provides a nice place to plant. Regretfully, there aren’t many ideal rocks available, so look for angular rocks with the most flat faces. ![]() An ideal rock has six parallel faces (like a brick). Rounded rocks are almost impossible to build into a wall without using copious amounts of mortar. ![]() Look for rocks with angular faces-they stack better and a give a firmer repose. Once you have selected your site, you need to choose your stones. ![]()
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