Building A Rock Wall With Mortar

Building a retaining wall is suitable for diyers as long as the wall is a maximum of 3 feet tall in most areas.

Building a rock wall with mortar.

Select flat rocks that are flat on one side to be top stones. New videos added march 2018 much more detail in the masonry playlist at https. This is also ideal for stone columns. Ask a stone yard to help determine how much material you ll need and have it delivered as close to the site as possible.

It must be deeper than the frost line or at least 12 inches deep for a 3 foot high wall. Once built you ll have a rock solid retaining wall without all the heavy mortar lines. Prepare the footing photo by russell kaye. Some good tips about making rock walls that will help build your confidence.

This prevents mortar from running down the face of the wall. Fill in with mortar any gaps between the rocks on the inside of the wall so that there is no air inside the rock wall whatsoever. Dig a trench about 6 inches wider than your wall. Dig a trench that s below the frost line and 2 feet wider than the wall.

Place the top stones as the last layer of rock taking care to make the top of the wall as flat as possible. The key to building a wall using mortar is when you apply the mortar it needs to go evenly onto the run of stones that are set. For projects that don t require a lot of mortar use smaller bags of mortar mix or concrete. If you re building a retaining wall use a blended mason mix which includes the heavy duty mortar type s masonry cement and graded sand.

Anything taller should be handled by professionals. This is high strength contractor grade and pre blended mortar. After spreading the mortar but before laying the next stone use the trowel edge to cut the mortar even with wall face. Tamp the gravel in the bottom of the trench and pour at least 8 inches of concrete.

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. A mortar wall must be built on a firm foundation or its joints will crack. Wipe any excess mortar from the rocks.