To build a natural dry stone retaining wall prepare the site.
Natural stone wall diy.
Flat or cut stones are much easier to work with than fieldstone and will make a sturdier wall.
You can build a stone wall with natural fieldstone that you have on your property provided the stones are flat enough for stacking.
Dig a trench that s below the frost line and 2 feet wider than.
Plan for good drainage proper width height ratio and distance between tiers.
If you have to buy stone choose a flat stone such as flagstone or a cut stone like ashlar.
Prepare the footing photo by russell kaye.
Lay high quality stones and use a geotextile backing to ensure the wall lasts a long time.
How to build a block retaining wall self stacking concrete blocks make building a sturdy retaining wall a much simpler diy project.
Once built you ll have a rock solid retaining wall without all the heavy mortar lines.
Integrate stone steps and a stone retaining wall into a challenging backyard slope to make the space more usable.
After spreading the mortar but before laying the next stone use the trowel edge to cut the mortar even with wall face.
This prevents mortar from running down the face of the wall.
Stone retaining wall tips.