Building A Rock Retaining Wall At Home

Try to cut the ditch into native soil rather than loose added soil as the former provides a more stable foundation for the wall.

Building a rock retaining wall at home.

Dig a trench that s below the frost line and 2 feet wider than. How to build a short retaining wall this 2 retaining wall is a great architectural element that also serves a purpose to keep dirt from a sloping yard from going into the driveway. The wide base needs to go back into the slope at least half as wide as the wall is tall. Self stacking concrete blocks make building a sturdy retaining wall a much simpler diy project.

Building a retaining wall is suitable for diyers as long as the wall is a maximum of 3 feet tall in most areas. In other words for a four foot wall two feet wide. Avoid having downspouts pointed at the retaining wall and if it s against the house keep soil and mulch well below the siding. This makes your rock wall into a 50 year wall.

Ask a stone yard to help determine how much material you ll need and have it delivered as close to the site as possible. Prepare the footing photo by russell kaye. Using a tape measure decide the length and the width of your retaining wall then mark off the area with the garden stakes and string. The success of your retaining wall depends on a level base.

This ditch will act as the wall s footing and prevent the rocks from sliding forward due to pressure from the earth behind. To build a natural dry stone retaining wall prepare the site. 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. To create a solid foundation dig a trench for the first course of your interlocking retaining wall blocks to sit in and make sure the ground remains even throughout.

Once built you ll have a rock solid retaining wall without all the heavy mortar lines. This footing is similar to a concrete retaining wall just not as engineered. A wall that leans into the soil it retains is less likely to be pushed outward by soil pressure than a plain old vertical wall. Anything taller should be handled by professionals.

How to build a rock wall 1. Plan for good drainage proper width height ratio and distance between tiers. Design and build your retaining wall to slope at a minimum rate of. 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.

Without this simple footing the rocks have a tendency to move.