Even if you don t plan to sit on your wall 3 feet is about as high as i would recommend building any dry stacked wall.
Stacked rock retaining wall design.
Based on our example in figure a 1 we have the forces due to soil pressure due to water and surcharge load to consider.
Excavate to a depth of 6 inches along the entire base of the stone retaining wall using the string marker as a guide.
For this 18 inch high wall the footing should be at least 18 inches wide.
Another advantage of dry stacked stone walls is that you can create planting pockets for small rock garden plants such as sedums.
The exact depth of the.
This is known as a gravity wall.
A stacked stone retaining wall relies on its own weight its setback leverage and the wall s mass to stand up.
Prepare a solid foundation or base.
Higher walls should be engineered for stability.
Dry stack walls also drain well allowing water to pass through the wall itself.
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.
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.
It s a matter of physics and good engineering that.
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.
For every every one foot in height you ll want to lay the base a foot in from the wall s face.
The spaces between stones in the retaining wall allow water to drain through relieving pressure.
Use a hand or power tamper to level the base.
A dry stacked stone wall looks so natural.
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.