Lay high quality stones and use a geotextile backing to ensure the wall lasts a long time.
Natural stone wall diy.
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.
Integrate stone steps and a stone retaining wall into a challenging backyard slope to make the space more usable.
Flat or cut stones are much easier to work with than fieldstone and will make a sturdier wall.
After spreading the mortar but before laying the next stone use the trowel edge to cut the mortar even with wall face.
Stone retaining wall tips.
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.
How to build a block retaining wall self stacking concrete blocks make building a sturdy retaining wall a much simpler diy project.
Ask a stone yard to help determine how much material you ll need and have it delivered as close to the site as possible.
If you have to buy stone choose a flat stone such as flagstone or a cut stone like ashlar.
You can build a stone wall with natural fieldstone that you have on your property provided the stones are flat enough for stacking.
Prepare the footing photo by russell kaye.
This prevents mortar from running down the face of the wall.