How to build a boulder retaining wall: 3 easy steps

Boulder walls are attractive and functional and in this video I outline a 3 step process that makes building them a breeze. Get many years of enjoyment out of a properly constructed boulder wall.
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[@suburbanacreage]

MOUSEPROOF your house without any traps, poison, or killing a single mouse. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmK2npx-npmApJosi=JhcCZ-_Sdr_dQHBj

[@Noel-io9ze]

Rock walls are such a classic and sophisticated look. They make me think of England, Ireland, and Scotland.

[@ginar8963]

Thank you for sharing this video! I am in the process and almost done with my wall. I did think it would be a good idea to secure the top. However ,all the other videos show adhesive on flat, premade stone. I love the wiggle method, I know this will work just perfect. Thanks again. 🙏🏻

[@suburbanacreage]

Glad you found value and thanks for watching!

[@mattessmotorsport9344]

Brilliant thanks

[@campbelljt3]

I have been collecting my boulders and flat rocks. I am building my rock wall. Thanks for the video. Your thoughts and ideas will help me.

[@suburbanacreage]

Great to hear! Good luck and enjoy the free workout!

[@purplefunkything]

Yea it’s A LOT of work but we’ll done - looks awesome. Might put up a vid of mine 🤔

[@Raynor21]

What city was this done in? Curious about frost/freezing and heaving

[@mitchellbarnow1709]

I think that I’ll leave this one to the pros. Thanks for the great tutorial.

[@shawnmichaelmckay7007]

Step 1) Material checklist and measurements.

[@jeffreywickens3379]

It looks great. But I wonder, is there only a shell of rocks on the outer edge of your wall, with crushed rock behind, or did you stack rocks front to back, the whole width of the wall? I have been building lava rock walls here in Hawaii, and they are difficult and time-consuming to make, because the rocks had such irregular shapes, that it's hard to get them to stack together.

[@suburbanacreage]

Just one row of boulders makes up the face of the wall. Thanks for watching Jeff!

[@robertbergeron3695]

Where did you get those stones from? I really like the colors!

[@suburbanacreage]

My friend had a rock pile that I was fortunate enough to be able to pick from. I wanted a variety of colors to keep it interesting, glad it turned out okay!

[@suburbanacreage]

I used my Gorilla cart a lot for this project and boy do I love a Minnesota company’s product. Check out my video review of it here: Best garden cart: Gorilla cart! Use the tip at the end to get one for half price. kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4q6anRqjtR3m80

[@HawaiianAttitude]

about how much do the boulders cost for a job that size?

[@suburbanacreage]

The boulders aren’t the main cost, it’s transporting them that sucks. You can easily find people giving away rocks for little to no money on Marketplace, but you have to haul them. I rented the Home Depot truck and knew a farmer with a rock pile so I sourced my own for this project.

Nice! Seems pretty easy. Looks original too.

[@suburbanacreage]

Very easy! Hard work physically, but anyone can do it.

@suburbanacre OH I know that... That's the work I love to do! Outside manual labor. - Plumber/Landscaper.

[@linhan3987]

May I know where you bought the boulders?

[@suburbanacreage]

Check out your local landscape company. Anyone that sells crushed rock, black dirt, sand, or gravel should also sell boulders. FB marketplace can be a good spot too. Lots of people are trying to get rid of them, FOR FREE! Transporting them is the hard part. Good luck!

[@dmills7375]

Thanks for the video. This helps tremendously. I’m taking this on and your project help me see that it is totally doable. 👍

[@suburbanacreage]

@dmills7375 it’s very doable and get ready for a full body workout! CrossFit? No need, just build a Boulder wall. Yours will turn out great, come back in and let me know how it turned out.

[@dmills7375]

Turned out great. I ended up with a 2’ x 48’ wall completed in a weekend. I procrastinated MUCH longer than it took me to actually do the work. It’s not perfect and only time will tell how well if it holds up. I was quoted a price of $5K to have someone build it for me and it cost me about $1k for rocks and drainage gravel. Couldn’t have done it without you. One question for you. I see the drainage gravel in the cracks between the rocks in many places. You only notice it when you’re up close. Did you have that problem too? Thanks again.

[@suburbanacreage]

Glad you got it done and it turned out well. I tried to find smaller pieces of rock to fill in the voids between boulders. Unfortunately, they don’t fit together perfect like legos, but that’s also the appeal and aesthetic. Embrace the imperfections!

[@atox4957]

Do one about a border wall next

[@CoulterStoneMasonry]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/foSQdKyFnsl6n5Isi=emzJY_ocbNodCHMl Here’s the start of my double face dry stack wall with mostly irregular round stones.

[@suburbanacreage]

First video, congrats on that! You seem to actually know what you’re doing unlike me. The double face aspect would be way too hard, I struggled enough with my single face. I like the string to keep it straight.

[@CoulterStoneMasonry]

@@suburbanacreage I find the double face easier, it’s less of a balancing act than the single stack.

[@CoulterStoneMasonry]

@@suburbanacreage thank you! I think the single stacks are more difficult!

[@PJBHolden]

I want to build one but I don’t want to dig a trench

[@EricGallina]

You don’t need to dig a trench. Dry stone walls can stand on their own on solid footing. Build the wall as an A-frame, crossing the stones at the face (so the joints don’t align) and have them push against one another front to rear. The key is building a wide base and placing through stones intermittently front to rear to keep everything together naturally. There’s no need for mortar or glue

[@yunfenglu6619]

I had a retaining wall just like this until rats and chipmunks destroyed it by burrowing behind . Rocks just slid off one by one.

[@suburbanacreage]

Chipmunks are brutal. Destructive little guys that just don’t quit.

[@kylewittet3717]

Adhesive? Nope. Do it correctly and it is not needed.

[@rupertcadell2685]

Mortarless is so much more beautiful

[@Noel-io9ze]

And what is correctly? Serious question because I'm wanting to build this type of wall.

[@Noel-io9ze]

And what is correctly? Serious question as I plan to build my own wall.

[@timmcintyre3066]

Oh dear... reality check, your wall looks terrible and you've made a number of basic mistakes, starting with finding the right face on your rocks. Always lay the rock length ways into the wall - use hearting to pack in behind the rock so there is no rocking, excuse the pun. Use conduit to get an even rock face when doing a curved wall. Even on a smal wall get the right batter. I gave up watching after about 2 minutes and just skipped through the rest. Gravel and weed mat behind the wall, really...? Also a few basic rock shaping tools would go a long way to improving the walls appearance. I love my pitching chisel!

[@suburbanacreage]

Great tips and rock solid advice, pun intended. Thanks for watching and contributing to the conversation.

[@alyoisis]

Amen.

[@tldrttyl]

The wall looks great to me

[@user-cd2ig6lp8o]

Send this guy to Mexico border to build wall 😂