How2Day: Natural Stone Retaining Wall Ideas

A natural stone retaining wall will add beauty to your yard or landscaping project. Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
Retaining walls are helpful landscaping tools that hold dirt in place on a slope or hill that would otherwise slide down during heavy rain. They can also be used in an unfinished crawlspace below a house to support the dirt walls that must bear the weight of the whole structure. Natural stone retaining walls are attractive additions to your home, and there are many ways to update their classic look or make installation easier.

For the lowest cost and most natural look, use different size stones carefully stacked together to create a rubble wall from natural stone pieces, says The Family Handyman. Buying small irregular or broken pieces of stone will cost less than perfectly cut slabs, and smaller gravel can be used to fill in any gaps. Rubble walls can generally hold back a small amount of dirt and bear a light load, but steep hills or easily saturated soil may knock down a simple rubble wall. Adding mortar and weight bearing timbers or metal posts can increase its strength.

Cut stone slabs create a more uniform look and don't require mortar, according to The Family Handyman website. Each stone will weigh between 50 and 100 lbs., depending on its height and material, making lifting them into place difficult without mechanical help. A well dug gravel base is required as well with a cut natural stone wall. For a more one-of-a-kind look, vary the types of stone and sizes of the blocks used in the walls, or add a decorative mosaic with mortar and small chips of stone every 10 feet along the wall.

Footers that are dug deep and wide enough to create a sturdy foundation for the wall, then filled with small gravel, will prevent much of the damage that causes a stone retaining wall to fail. The experts at This Old House say that a gravel bed will prevent frost from shifting the ground below the wall and knocking it over. It will also encourage proper draining, preventing a buildup of water behind the wall in the soil. Choosing to simply build the retaining wall on the surface of the ground will require you to use more metal or stone support posts and mortar.

Natural stone retaining walls built from rubble or cut stone simply stacked upon each other may be more attractive, but adding mortar between the stones will greatly increase its strength. Retaining walls that are expected to bear heavy loads or support steep slopes may require mortar, says This Old House. A professional landscape architect can perform calculations if you are unsure if the natural stone retaining wall you have in mind will be strong enough to hold back a specific area of your property.

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