A rock retaining wall is an attractive, long-lasting feature that will add value to your home and property. It’s also a great way to keep plants and flowers from being trampled or damaged by foot traffic.
A rock retaining wall is a type of fence that is built with rocks and stone. It can be used to create a barrier between your yard and the street, or it can be used as a decorative element in the center of your yard. A rock retaining wall can also be used to hold up soil and plants, making it useful for gardeners who want to make sure their plants don’t get too much water or too little sunlight.
How Does it Work?
A rock retaining wall is made up of stones, bricks, or other materials that are stacked on top of each other. These materials are then held together by mortar or cement so that they stay put while providing support for whatever they’re holding up (like dirt).
Retaining walls are an easy way to add some extra curb appeal to your home, and they can also help you with drainage. But if you’re not handy with a hammer and nails, or if you don’t have the time or money to hire someone else to build one for you, there’s another option: build a rock retaining wall.
Unlike masonry walls made from bricks or concrete blocks, rock retaining walls are built from natural materials like boulders and stones. They’re pretty much foolproof because they stay together without any help from mortar or other binding agents. All you need is some basic tools and a few hours of work.
Here’s how to build your own:
1. Start by choosing where to place your retaining wall. Make sure it will be safe don’t put it in areas where it could get flooded or hit by falling branches or trees.
2. Dig out the area where the wall will go down 2-3 feet deep and wide enough so that there is plenty of room for drainage behind it when filled with soil later on down the line.
3. Lay down landscape fabric over the top of this area so that grass won’t grow through cracks between rocks later on down the road after all is said and done.
What is a rock retaining wall?
A rock retaining wall is a structure that holds back earth, soil, and other materials from an area where you want to build. It can range from a few inches high to several feet high and can be made from many different materials. A retaining wall is something that can add stability, beauty, and functionality to a landscape or outdoor area. They may be used around a patio, to create a multi-level garden, to build terraces, or simply to make the land more usable, and ideal for walking or exercising.
how do I Build Rock Retaining Wall?
A rock retaining wall is a structure that is built on the side of a hill or embankment to prevent erosion, land slippage, and landslides. The wall is usually made from concrete or masonry materials such as brick, stone, or concrete blocks.
The process involved in building a rock retaining wall starts with choosing the appropriate location for your project. Then you will need to select the type of material that will be used for construction as well as its dimensions and height based on your needs and preferences. Once this has been done, you can begin creating a foundation using either soil cement mortar (SCM) or metal pipes before installing drainage and then adding stones onto it until reaching near ground level.
Steps involved in Building Rock Retaining Wall
- Dig a trench that is at least 12 inches deep and wide enough to accommodate the width of your wall.
- Lay out the location of your retaining wall by placing stakes in the ground at each corner and marking them with string.
- Excavate 2-3 inches of soil from the base of the trench using an excavator or shovel, depending on how much material you need to remove (the deeper you want your retaining wall to be). Trench depth should be measured from the bottom of the first course up to a desired height of the rock face this will vary depending on slope height, but 5 feet is generally standard for most retaining walls.
Add drainage material behind the wall, such as gravel or small rocks. Then compact the soil.
After building the retaining wall, you will need to add drainage material behind it. This is important to prevent water from pooling and causing erosion. Gravel or small rocks are good drainage materials to use. You can also use other types of materials, such as straw or bark mulch, but these tend to break down more quickly than gravel or large rocks and may not offer enough support for your plants over time.
Finally, compact the soil behind the retaining wall by walking back and forth on it with a heavy object such as a cement block or two pairs of boots until it feels firm underfoot (not squishy).
Lay out the location of your retaining wall and dig a trench in which to place the stones and excavate 2 to 3 inches of soil from the base of the trench.
- Locate the location of your retaining wall.
- Dig a trench in which to place the stones and excavate 2 to 3 inches of soil from the base of your trench.
Trench depth should be measured from the bottom of your first course up to the desired height of your wall.
Trench depth should be measured from the bottom of your first course up to the desired height of your wall. Dig two rows deep for a wall that will stand about two feet tall. Backfill each row with rock and gravel as you go, making sure to tamp them down as you build upward. Repeat these steps with the second row.
Dig two rows deep for a wall that will stand about two feet tall.
Dig two rows deep for a wall that will stand about two feet tall. Make sure the trench is wide enough to support the wall, so you can backfill with rock and gravel. Tamp down the soil as you go for a stable base that won’t settle or shift, then fill each row with rock and gravel. Once both trenches are full, tamp it down again. Repeat these steps for the second row of stones, then continue building from there by placing stones on top of each other until your retaining wall is complete.
Backfill each row with rock and gravel as you go, making sure to tamp them down as you build upward. Repeat these steps with the second row.
To begin, you will need to excavate the area where your wall will be built. The top of this excavation should be level with the surrounding ground, so dig up an area that is at least 3 feet wide and deep.
Now comes the fun part: building. Place a row of large stones across your excavation about 12 inches apart from one another. Tamp down each stone as you go so that it’s completely level with the ground on both sides. Then fill in the back of this first row with gravel and rock, making sure to tamp them down as you go along this will help prevent settling over time. Repeat these steps for each subsequent row until your wall is complete. As always, make sure to keep everything straight and level.
For walls over three feet wide and two high, use deadmen, or anchors, on both ends. Deadmen are 12- to 18-inch-long pieces of rebar driven into the ground at a 45-degree angle outside both ends of your wall.
To build a wall over three feet wide and two high, use deadmen, or anchors, on both ends. Deadmen are 12- to 18-inch-long pieces of rebar driven into the ground at a 45-degree angle outside both ends of your wall.
Deadmen should be placed far enough apart that their tops meet just below the top course of stone in your wall. They must be positioned so that they can support any stones above them as well; if this isn’t possible due to a lack of space between deadman locations, consider adding additional posts for extra support.
Choose stones that will fit together snugly without gaps and lay them one at a time across the length of your wall. Notches in the back can allow for easy placement on top of previous rows or smaller stones below (these notches will be covered by subsequent rows).
Benefits of Building Rock Retaining Wall
The benefits of building a rock retaining wall are endless. It is a great way to add style to your home and make it stand out from others in the neighborhood. You can choose how high you want the wall to be, which will determine how much privacy it provides. If you want your neighbors to see over it, keep it lower; if you want them not to see anything at all, make sure that they aren’t taller than the top of your wall.
Unlike other forms of fencing, rock retaining walls don’t require any maintenance whatsoever once they are built they’ll never need painting or staining because they’re made out of rocks. They also add value to your property when people look at what’s behind them: if there’s nothing worth looking at behind someone else’s house then maybe we shouldn’t bother looking either. But since our homes have beautiful rock retaining walls then we must be okay too.
Materials needed to Build Rock Retaining Wall
The materials needed to build a rock retaining wall include:
- Gravel
- Stone
- Wire mesh (for concrete)
- Rebar (or steel mesh)
Tools needed to Build Rock Retaining Wall
To build a rock retaining wall, you will need the following tools:
- Shovels – These are for digging out the dirt for your retaining wall. You’ll also use it to move dirt around once it’s been dug out.
- Pick or shovel – You can use one or both of these tools to break up large pieces of rock before placing them on your wall. A pick is better if you have very hard rocks like granite because it will help break them into smaller pieces while also minimizing damage to your hands and forearms.
- Rock Hammer – This is used for carving into rocks so they fit together more easily and tightly.
- Wheelbarrow – Used as a moving device for carrying dirt, sand, gravel, and rocks when building your retaining wall
Maintenance tips for Building Rock Retaining Wall
- Keep the wall free of weeds and grass. Weeds and grass growing against the wall will cause it to rot.
- Keep the soil around the rock retaining walls well-drained. Make sure that water does not collect in low spots or behind the wall, as this can cause erosion and also weaken its structure.
- Keep plant growth away from your rock retaining walls by mowing once a week during dry weather and watering when needed so that plants do not grow too close to them. Also, be sure to keep trees at least 10 feet away from your rock retaining walls because they may eventually fall over onto them if they get too close together.
- Remove any debris (such as fallen leaves) that lands on top of your rocks so they don’t become damaged by being crushed beneath other objects like this one here called “debris”. It may be helpful for you to use something like leaf blowers when cleaning off debris from atop large amounts of rocks at one time such as these ones here called “leaf blowers” which are used for cleaning off any type of material like dirt particles or dust off surfaces such as floors inside buildings where people walk around every day wearing shoes fulltime 24/7 365 days per year without stopping except maybe once every couple hours just enough time for lunch breaks etc but never during weekends or holidays which makes sense because nobody wants anyone working those times anyways unless maybe if there’s an emergency situation happening somewhere else in some other country where maybe some hurricanes hit then maybe someone might come help out with their own time since they’re already doing work on those nights anyways without needing extra pay just because other countries have different laws concerning labor practices than we do here domestically inside America – it’s all about respecting differences between cultures.
Wrap Deadmen with wire so they’re held firmly in place against your wall. Choose stones that will fit together snugly without gaps and lay them one at a time across the length of your wall. Notches in the back can allow for easy placement on top of previous rows or smaller stones below (these notches will be covered by subsequent rows).
Lay your first stone across the face of your wall, following its contours. This row should be laid in a single layer, but it’s fine to stagger them if you wish just don’t do any fancy brickwork.
Next, wrap deadmen with wire so they’re held firmly in place against your wall. Choose stones that will fit together snugly without gaps and lay them one at a time across the length of your wall. Notches in the back can allow for easy placement on top of previous rows or smaller stones below (these notches will be covered by subsequent rows).
Final words
The most important part of the wall is making sure the first layer is even and level. This makes it easier to build on top of that initial layer, as well as easier to maintain later on down the road when adding more rocks or plants around your new retaining wall. When laying down rocks make sure they are not too large or small. Make sure they are evenly spaced out so that they do not fall over while building up layers higher up on your wall’s surface area
