How to Build Natural Stone Retaining Walls
When you build natural stone retaining walls to keep your flowerbed in line or to keep the steep edge of your property from falling over, you are creating a visual design as well as a structural one. Sometimes, larger scale projects should be done by a professional, as they will have the resources and architectural design experience to keep large retaining walls in place. For smaller retaining walls, use these guides to help you. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Build a Retaining Wall
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1
Determine the position of the retaining wall, including how wide and tall it will be. Choose the natural stone material for the project and purchase the right amount by calculating the area of the wall with a measuring tape(height of the wall times the length of the wall.) Check with your city's ordinances to be sure that you are meeting any building codes that may be in place and have the necessary building permits.
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2
Dig a trench that is slightly wider than the natural stone you will place in it. It should be four to six inches deep, or at least half the height of the natural stone you will use. Use a level to keep this surface even throughout. Tap down the dirt to keep it level.
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3
Build the wall by starting with a layer of natural stone that works as your foundation. Lay this stone into the excavated trench you have dug and tap it with a hammer to be sure every stone is level throughout the first row.
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4
Score one of the natural stones with a stone chisel on all four sides where you will strike it with a hammer to break the stone in half. You need to cut one stone for each side of the stone wall end for every other row in this manner which will be used as your starting piece. You do this because you need the rows to be offset to each other, which will create the stability in the retaining wall.
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Place these half pieces of stone on either end of the second row, making sure each one is level. If they are not level, check to be sure the first row of the retaining wall is level and adjust accordingly
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Interlock the natural stone piece by piece to create the second row of the retaining wall, filling in the space between the two half sized end pieces. Check for the stones to be level with each placement.
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7
Repeat this process so that each row contains level natural stones that interlock with each other, forming a tight retaining wall without gaps. Remember to start every other row with half natural stone pieces fitted at the ends of the rows. Continue doing this until you reach the desired height of the retaining wall.
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8
Backfill dirt into the trenches on both sides of the retaining wall to give it strength. Level off the dirt so that it is level. Landscape as you would like to.
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Tips & Warnings
For large retaining walls, hire a professional company to design the wall for you to insure it has enough strength to support the structures on it.
