Building Stone Walls Do It Yourself

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.

Building stone walls do it yourself.

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. Build up the corners and ends first as you would if you were laying bricks. Dry fit each stone first to see that the vertical joints are staggered and the outside faces just touch the line. Use a spirit level to ensure the quoins are vertical.

Move the line up the wall as you build using it as a guide until you reach the finished wall height which must be. Remove the stone spread a trowelful of mortar on the wall and tamp the stone into it with a mallet. 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. Anything taller should be handled by professionals.

It was a rare clear morning during a rainy spring in. Building stone walls is gratifying and the product will last into future generations. Before you actually get started building the wall you need to decide on the location and layout. Building a retaining wall is suitable for diyers as long as the wall is a maximum of 3 feet tall in most areas.

Try to cut the ditch into native soil rather than loose added soil as the former provides a more stable foundation for the wall. This ditch will act as the wall s footing and prevent the rocks from sliding forward due to pressure from the earth behind. If you want to divide your lawn from your garden mark the border of your property or slow the advance of an invading hoard building a stone wall by hand is a practical and even beautiful solution. After spreading the mortar but before laying the next stone use the trowel edge to cut the mortar even with wall face.

Build up the wall photo by russell kaye. Step 1 plan the wall. My introduction to building a stone wall like beginnings in so many homesteading skills came unexpectedly urgently and at the wrong time. So here s how to go out and build a really permanent monument to yourself.

Nothing is more basic than building with rocks and there are simple stone walls still standing after thousands of years. Building a stacked stone wall is like doing a jig saw puzzle without a picture. Retaining walls that are dry stacked should have large stones if possible and slope toward whatever they are retaining. Check with your city s utility office to learn about the location of any buried pipes or cables where you plan to dig for your wall in america you can call 811 to get this information from the department of transportation.

Reposition the line higher up the stakes and start the second course from a corner.