DIY Rock Wall Saves Money

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Selecting your stone

For either project, one of your biggest decisions will be selecting stone.

Granite and mica schist abound in New England while limestone dominates Kentucky and the Midwest. There’s agate, shale, quartz, sandstone, slate and granite. Some come basically flat; some come chunky or rounded.

Dill loves granite. “It’s hard to work with, but it’s beautiful,” he says. With his walls, he likes to mix things up. “People often want their stretch of wall to all look the same. To me, that’s not really interesting.” Listening to lively Irish music, he blends stone and color with easy abandon.

Owen works primarily with local limestone. Pick the hardest you can find or you’ll face problems with flaking and breaking, he says.

Natural rock from your own land is an obvious first choice. When buying, find where the product comes from and don’t purchase strip-mined stone, says Robert Thorson, director of The Stone Wall Initiative in Storrs, Connecticut.

One option is purchasing fresh stone from an active quarry. Excavation in bedrock or glacial soils can provide materials for a stone wall, too, Thorson says. The Big Dig in Boston, for example, produced boulders that were later used for walls. To find a local quarry, check the yellow pages in the phone book or search the Internet for your town’s name and “quarry.”

Regional stone blends with its surroundings and is typically less expensive. To determine how much you’ll need, multiply height by length by depth of your proposed project – then round up for good measure. 

Basic principles

Experts differ in their opinions on building dry-stack walls, but they agree on the basics. If you want your wall to last, build it no taller than 4 feet. If your slope is too large for this size of retaining wall, consider building more than one wall.

Check with local zoning and land-use regulations before getting started.

For supplies, you’ll need a brick hammer to knock off edges and tap stones solidly in place; a stone hammer and chisel to break larger stones; a shovel, rake and hoe; a garden hose or mason line; line level; and stakes. In addition to wall stones, you will need washed gravel and stone dust.

Before you start, consider these guiding principles:

Don’t be in a hurry. This is something you want to last.

Stay safe. Wear hard-toe boots, eye protection, leather gloves and a lifting belt. Lift with legs bent and back straight.

For best results, mix sizes of stones throughout your wall.

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