Stacked Rock Retaining Wall Design

For this 18 inch high wall the footing should be at least 18 inches wide.

Stacked rock retaining wall design.

The spaces between stones in the retaining wall allow water to drain through relieving pressure. A stacked stone retaining wall relies on its own weight its setback leverage and the wall s mass to stand up. How to build a dry stack retaining wall plan out the wall s height and base thickness. The easiest way to build a stone retaining wall is to use the dry stack method that requires no mortar between stones and does not need a concrete footing like mortared walls do.

Based on our example in figure a 1 we have the forces due to soil pressure due to water and surcharge load to consider. Dry stack walls also drain well allowing water to pass through the wall itself. The exact depth of the. It s a matter of physics and good engineering that.

Higher walls should be engineered for stability. This is known as a gravity wall. Another advantage of dry stacked stone walls is that you can create planting pockets for small rock garden plants such as sedums. Use a hand or power tamper to level the base.

For every every one foot in height you ll want to lay the base a foot in from the wall s face. For a stacked block retaining wall that s no higher than four feet a trench filled with three inches of crushed rock will help keep the wall from shifting and settling. While all stone walls are stacked in some fashion here we re referring to walls consisting of smaller flat stones that marry up nicely with each other. A dry stacked stone wall looks so natural.

Prepare a solid foundation or base. The ideal height for a dry stacked retaining wall is 18 to 22 inches so you can sit on it when your gardening chores are done. For dry stack walls the base should be as wide as the wall is tall. These retaining wall designs are reminiscent of the stone walls that run through the woods in the north east designating ancient property lines and farm boundaries.