We recently purchased a home with a dry stacked stone retaining wall for a flower bed. Each time it rains a few the stones fall off and we're having to make repairs. Can anyone make recommendations how to stack the Stones to prevent them from falling down.
txdds, if the stones were stacked flat they would be more stable, but then you would need to get more stones for the empty space.
Nancy G.
Here in UK we call these Dry Stone Walls and there is quite an art to building them, however, as you are NOT building the Great Wall Of China as regards the height, I think you could easy achieve a nice low retaining wall with what we call dry Stone (dry stone means there is no cement slapped in between the stones to hold them in place, just the placement of the stones.
To start from scratch, clear the fallen rubble and stones, dont bother to grade the stones by size as you need to try maybe several stone to fit the right space.
After clearing the ground, you need to dig a ditch / rut, about a foot deep and maybe the same wide. this is for the foundations stones, Make the ditch / rut the size to match the OUTSIDE size you want the bed to be.
To start the foundations, you need to select stones that are large enough to fit into the foot wide ditch, you might have to dig a little deeper in places for some stones, they wont all be the same flat or rounded shapes, The Idea is the set the stones into the soil with a slight slope, the slant or slope MUST be a bit higher at the fron with a slope going to the back.
Every yard or so on each level you need to either use small stones to BED into the bigger stones to fill any holes OR use soil and the handle of your hand trowel to hammer the small stones or packing soil into place,
Dont do the next layer of stones until you have laid the full layer of foundation, when yopu want to lay the next layer, you still want to use larger stones, always have the face (front ) of the wall as straight as possible but slope the back of the stones to the back, you may have to use soil or small stones to give you the slope you need, BUT this slope is there to help the stones that are firmly put in place from falling forward, hence the wall collapses and as your picture shows, there is no wall BUT a nice pile of stones.
It is a wonderful way to use up stones left behind after builders have left and when done well, it should last for hears to come, just make sure when digging the bed, you DONT catch any in-bedded stone as this will weaken the wall structure,
Try a few days of laying the foundation stones and then go onto the next row tilol you rach the desired height. at Corners, try lay the stones as in BRICK fashion, like one layer the ston is laid to the end size of row and the next layer the corner stone lay's from front to side so the stones cant all fall out in the same direction.
Try save the flatter stones for the top layer either lay on there side or flat, this is to give top strength for the wall, it becomes an obsession once you get the hand of it and before you know it, you will be buying in stones to build even more walls LOL.
they are looked on here as a masterpiece, IF done well, but that's the old way for farmers to divide their fields and the walls offer shelter for the animals especially in our severely cold winters, they are also a place for wildlife to hide, build homes and hep pollinate our plants.
There are several books on the subject, Local library DIY stores where you buy sand etc, or book store, look for building Stone walls, how to get started and how to finish off.
Very therapeutic after you start the next row / layer of stones. Every stone has a use, you just feel it in your hand and turn it around, lay aside IF it's not what you need for the space in hand.
Go out and have fun, your wont be wasting any materials except time,
Good Luck and Kid Regards.
WeeNel.
Really simple rule:
Two on one.
One on two
This means the stones always overlap.
The junction of 2 stones in the lower course is overlapped by a stone that rests on both of the lower stones.
If you look at pictures of brick patterns this is called 'running bond'.
