How to Build a Retaining Wall from Stone without Mortar

I show you my tips on how to build a sturdy, free-standing, dry stack retaining wall. No mortar. No concrete. Just technique and gravity used for this fieldstone stacked wall near Hardwick, NJ.
Your landscaping can be beautiful and compliment your plants and patio with a natural stone retaining wall. Anyone can do as long as they follow the ancient rules of dry stone walling. Building an authentic dry stack wall can be greatly satisfying. This video was created in response to our very popular "How to Build a Dry Stack Wall" video. See here: • How to Build a Dry Sta...
Here are the 10 steps you need to do to make your own:
Step 1: Determine your location and height desired.
Step 2: Excavate 6-10" below the final grade height, plus 4-6" additional on the front and back of the wall.
Step 3: Install 3-4" of crushed gravel.
Step 4: Install the bottom (base) course.
Step 5: Build the corners.
Step 6: Install the wall courses.
Step 7: Install the flattest stones as the wall cap.
Step 8: Grade the soil around the wall to bury bottom (base) course.
Step 9: Take pictures.
Step 10: Make your friends envious by posting your new wall on your favorite channel!
We hope this was helpful for you. Please reach out to us if you have any questions about you dry stack retaining wall. Sierra would be more than happy to install as many dry stack walls in your outdoor living area as you require. Please go to our website below and fill out the form to contact us directly.
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Number 1 question we get asked answered here:
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Here is a blog we wrote discussing costs for different retaining wall styles.
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[@nodrogskram1857]

I’ve been in landscaping for years and that is the best dry stack I’ve ever seen. Well done

[@thebackyardexpert]

Thank you!

[@lawn-n-orderlandscaping1389]

its a good one for sure

[@rncharrison]

You can’t have seen many because it’s a pretty terrible example.

[@mikeyconcepcion4097]

There's such a simple elegance to dry-stack stone walls and I love the idea that you don't need mortar to make the wall strong and long-lasting. Thanks for the inspiration!

[@richardgorton2498]

Your team produces a beautiful product, nicely locked and with crisp edges. Wished we had slate (PA blue stone) in southern Utah. Will be fabbing with irregular stones which are about 6" - 10" in width and 4 to 6 in height. Wall will be 18" - 24" high,1.5 deep, backfilled with gravel then soil. Wall forms along the periphery of a sloping driveway. Product coming from various quarries in and around Iron County - Red Rock country.

[@tombstone4986]

Very well done! The production and the actual wall. Excellent work altogether.

[@wnybricky1559]

Really nice work guys

[@thebackyardexpert]

Thanks for watching!. Be sure to check out tomorrows video to see how everything came in after 1 year.

[@1975dbryant]

Well done, absolutely beautiful work. Trying to teach myself how to be a professional stoner just like you guy’s🫵🏻😊

[@bartramdancers1861]

I'm trying to teach myself this technique to repair/replace the wall around our terrace (190 year old PA farmhouse) it's Pennsylvania blue stone and maybe Wissahickon schist. It needs to hold, not freestanding. I will keep looking for more videos, but this really helped!

[@Orphanlast]

Good work. I'm a trained Stone Mason. I like that the joints are rather tight, for a walling project. I'd love to get involved with some walling projects. I've mainly done the Veneer work. I MIGHT post some of my work on my youtube channel... currently, I have illustration tutorials on my channel. But my boss keeps having idiots come down from out of state, saying they're "the best in the business" and yet they show up on my current job witt 1/16th of an inch joints, and it's clear that they've never laida stone in their life. Just last friday we got our 18th new guy. He only laid 5 stone that day. And they all looked like garbage. And he didn't even factor in that he was working on a horizontal corner, above a threshold... so... his corners suck. He's not a stone mason. He was confused when I asked "where's your tools"... when he started asking me where he can get a saw. I had to explain that a Stone Mason prides himsele with what he can achieve with his toolset, in combination with his skillset... and he just "left them at home"? I asked what was the plan, to come down and buy all the tools all over again? Generally... everything he said and did indicated he had no idea what the internal culture of stone masons are. He kept asking me for help, but Stone Masons are usually working by the square foot, how much they can get done. And even though I'm being paid hourly, stone masons always behave as though they're on the square foot. That way, there's no culture shock when you're no longer hourly. Stone Masons worry about what they're working on. They'll help others, to a point, but too much time spent with another mason can hurt the pocket book. And here this guy is. Saying he wants me to teach him. I told him "You better tell me working with stone is the thing you live and breath. That it's the think you think of when you wake up, and it's the thing you want to be your hobby. Yeah, so instead of an xbox, you get a bell hammer, a chisel, a tracer, and a chipping hammer from Trow and Holden." He never did. So I told him "If working with stone isn't any of those things for you, then teaching you is a waste of time. This a trade, not a job. You can't learn it on a dare, on a weekend." So, of the 18 people that have tried out for this job, only 5 have made the cut. I think if I started teaching hod tenders, and filming it for my channel, I can show off my work, and I can also have an instructional, for my boss, so he can show people what type of work we're doing, and how we do it... even a discussion of Stone Masonry culture would probably REALLY help my boss in the hiring process.

[@shanecrawford6023]

Thank you for this video, looking at using your technique.🇨🇦

[@stevenrickett4333]

Nice job. It looks sturdier than the house.

[@CAESAR_PUTIN_LOVERS]

Ver nice job Robrt, thank you dear.

[@edpi4564]

Its pretty cool man....nice work..

[@thecoyotelab]

Thanks a lot! Exactly what I needed.

[@divineangel606]

it looks very pretty

[@westhavenor9513]

Wall looks nice too

[@doctorpete1]

nice job!

[@jairamragbir437]

nice,a work of art with my pet rock.🙏🌹💎🍾🌴♥️🇹🇹

[@plembonicities6263]

Beautiful work! If you are building a small garden boundary about 10" to 12" high, can you run the stone side to side or do you still have to run them in? Thanks for posting this, it is very helpful!

[@ChrisS-ep5qy]

Thanks Bro

[@jmherbst87]

I'm a DIYer taking on a dry stacked wall in our backyard. I chose the "long stack" field stones from a rockyard near me because we liked the look and the large size. I've watched a few of your videos and I'm wondering how much care I should give to chiseling these stones to be flat on top and bottom? Should I lay them mostly as is just ensuring wobble is removed by shimming? Or should I chisel on them a ton to get the lumps out? Some are pretty huge and seem to take me a long time to remove even the smaller lumps. Thanks!! Really helpful videos !

[@lawn-n-orderlandscaping1389]

top and bottom lumps arent a big deal, as long as it sits well and doesnt wobble. Huge lumps are an issue but not small ones. Youre working with rocks, not trying to make bricks.

[@Tobester1808]

It looks like you used clean gravel (3/4"?) as a base layer, but I notice most landscapers use road base (gravel with fines mixed through). Can you talk about why you use clean gravel? Also, how deep is your gravel base?

[@angulosalv]

Can I ask how much would you charge for that 4 pallet wall??

[@robrandolph9463]

Nice videos , thanks for answering my question

[@b-118-]

Thanks for this. Would it be possible to build a wall of similar height and thickness from stacked broken cinder blocks and concrete rubbles?

[@thebackyardexpert]

Love the reuse idea. So long as you follow the same construction rules it will be stable. Aesthetic is up to you. Update us with some pics!

[@b-118-]

@@thebackyardexpert thanks! Will share pictures when I do try it out

[@lionjunkdrawer2386]

i have read that you never want to use gravel because acts like ball bearings for dry stone walls. is it ok at the base like that? you also said you would backfill a retaining wall with gravel i would think it would be the same issue.

[@thebackyardexpert]

Thanks for watching. Not concerned on the base. You are correct a piece of gravel in between 2 flat stones is a bad thing. If we place behind a wall we use scrap rock to block the voids to prevent the gravel from migrating. The only time we use gravel is if we are building something above and need to endure full compaction or if there is a ground water issue and we need to expedite the water migration.

[@robrandolph9463]

Do you put cement on the top layer ?? Would seem that the final top layer would loose stones over time or and if you sit on the wall

[@thebackyardexpert]

Thanks for watching! The top stones were specifically selected for their weight and fit to address this. Sitting on the wall has not been an issue. The family uses it as part of their “floor is lava” routine. Certainly if installed poorly these are issues to address.

[@johno2535]

My question is to use a wall to hold back dirt, do you need drainage pipe and geotextile fabric to keep the soil from leeching through the front of the wall? Or does the water drain through the face of the wall?

[@Outrunninaround.]

Behind the wall there should be a back fill of 3/4 clean limestone. Just like the rock he’s using for the base. Water filters behind, through and underneath. This eliminated static pressure causing the wall to collapse. Just like railroad tracks sit on rocks and support trains, your wall interlocks and sits in stone.

[@dwclharris]

Well done Robert! I am about to build small free standing walls 1’ x1’ on both sides of our driveway for border accent. I am thinking of what size stone to use. Large for the ends & corner. Smaller for main wall area. Can you use 4” pieces in the main wall area or should you use all one piece stones 1’? Thank you

[@thebackyardexpert]

Sounds like a personal preference. Thanks for watching

[@standup6231]

Nice! Why didn’t you put a footing for this wall? Did you start building off the crushed stone?

[@thebackyardexpert]

Yes, the crushed stone is the base in dry construction.

[@emilypark4824]

Retaining means can you sit on top of of? I feel like stones move when pushed when trying to sit .

[@thebackyardexpert]

Thanks for watching. Great question. If not installed properly yes they will move. These do not. Kids and sometimes the adults walk and sit on them all the time.

[@stuartfarrell6729]

can ths metod be done on a 1 foot wide wall only going as high at 18 inches

[@thebackyardexpert]

Short answer is yes, but 12" wide will probably only work with a traditional retaining wall where there is soil on one side. If freestanding like this video I would say stay closer to 18" in width.

[@stuartfarrell6729]

@@thebackyardexpert thank you and yes one side will be backed

[@georgemaxted2957]

Hi what's the price per sqft on stone work? I know a guy in dallas making 4-6k a day from stone walling edit: great video too, thankyou for the insight.

[@thebackyardexpert]

Our craftsmen average 20-30 sq ft per day, slower on corners. Multiplied by the day rate, etc. Sounds like your friend has a good model figured out.

[@kastironwoman6009]

Are walls perpendicular? No slope at all? Is that because the wall is short and most of the rocks are flat and more stackable??

[@thebackyardexpert]

If you are referring to wall batter? You are correct. We would normally aim for a 1:6 batter, but in this scenario having the walls be plum was a design element. This created some extra needs as far as tying the faces together but so far so good.

[@robindthompson]

Will this approach withstand 90mph wind storms we get in mountains. Or will stones fly?

[@thebackyardexpert]

Great question. Hard to answer without knowing the specific location. A well built wall can withstand tremendous forces. Typically there is some land buffering that occurs so direct high impact winds are unlikely. Building on the edge of an exposed cliff above tree line? I would say use really huge rocks. Let me know if you test this. It would be a great video.

[@robindthompson]

@@thebackyardexpert I'm up at 7,800 feet elevation, in the foothills above Boulder CO. So we get pretty strong wind storms here. Put it this way, my shed has hurricane anchors.

[@thebackyardexpert]

@@robindthompson Sounds like an awesome setting. I wouldn't be overly concerned with the wind moving the rocks if they are heavy enough and built well. I'd be more concerned about harsh weather causing erosion. I would also look at incorporating wind breaks into the design if possible.

[@nadeemahmad4637]

Hmy bi lgana ata hy

[@thuggineternal]

Why the background music tho....whyyy..

[@REGA3141]

Magnum Opus.

[@thebackyardexpert]

Thank you!

[@_IlIlIlIlIlIlIl_]

Would $300 be only for contractors only what about outside consumers or the public

[@lawn-n-orderlandscaping1389]

contractor pricing is based on how may pallets you buy. Two pallets isn't going to drop it any. Best off calling your local stoneyard and see what theyre currently priced at.

[@madcowusa4277]

Distracting music.