To build a natural dry stone retaining wall prepare the site.
Building a dry stack stone retaining wall.
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.
For dry stack walls the base should be as wide as the wall is tall.
Use a hand or power tamper to level the base.
For this 18 inch high wall the footing should be at least 18 inches wide.
Each layer of a dry stack wall is called a course.
This ditch will act as the wall s footing and prevent the rocks from sliding forward due to pressure from the earth behind.
Draw the wall to scale and measure the length and height.
When putting your wall together mix the stone sizes throughout the wall rather than using only large stones at the bottom and small toward the top.
Try to cut the ditch into native soil rather than loose added soil as the former provides a more stable foundation for the wall.
Plan for good drainage proper width height ratio and distance between tiers.
Excavate to a depth of 6 inches along the entire base of the stone retaining wall using the string marker as a guide.
Lay high quality stones and use a geotextile backing to ensure the wall lasts a long time.
Higher walls should be engineered for stability.