I want to build a short (18 inches to 2 feet high) and very simple retaining wall. Are there any materials I can buy from Home Depot or Lowes to accomplish this? Also, I prefer not to use mortar. I wonder if anyone has any instructions or advice…
Thanks!
Less than2` wall can use HD bought retaining wall bricks to build it. Outer edge of the bricks locks the wall from cave in.
Laying up masonry w/o mortar has its advantages- the wall can weep and release pressure from water building up behind it. There are many miles of it in my home town, some of them several feet high. But they were using pretty big chunks of cut limestone.
I want a couple of raised beds… at least a couple maybe more once I get started.
I know you are asking about retaining wall, but I bet you will be planting something behind that retaining wall. I know I would.
It may be a year or two before I take on that project… still considering options… below is a example of one that is at the top of my list. Raised bed made with concrete retaining wall blocks (not real sure the actual name of those)… but it looks pretty good, is going to last longer than me, and you have a place to sit on the edge if you want to sit and work it, no mortar no problem with drainage, customizable on size shape and height.
Perhaps more expensive than some other options, but probably worth it.
TNHunter
Some blocks have a ‘lip’ on the back and sort of interlock with the row below.
And others you can secure with a tube of blue for stone and masonry.
Have done all 3 ways
Probably works ok for common gardening or a flower bed but I would not put a tree or anything that has aggressive roots like bamboo or raspberry. Just be sure it’s what you want by considering first what you want to plant. If it’s nearby aggressive tree roots you are trying to avoid you may want an air layer between the bottom of your raised bed and the ground surface. I had that situation where my wife wanted to grow tomatoes and I wanted a Raspberry bed next door to a 3’ diameter western cedar tree. I constructed a long narrow raised bed with a 2” air layer and my wife’s Tomato beds with a 2” air layer.
In both cases I used common vinyl roofing from HD to rest on top of my masonry bricks inside each structure. So the raspberry roots stay inside and my wife’s tomatoe beds escape the raging invasive roots of the cedar tree. See pic below.
There are walls made of stone bowling ball sized that are centuries old with no mortar
(no freezing and thawing after water gets in during winter spring
weakening the structure of the wall)
If that is your style your after I would call a place that sells gravel, and soil in the phone book
cheaper getting it there they should deliver also for cheap call around, and check reviews online…
You could also place moss on it, and feed them with yogurt.
Sorry no Instructions from me
but keep in mind at least calling a place
first in the phone book to see if the prices are lower then home depot
Gabion walls are are a option for retaining walls if you don’t want to use mortar. They are metal cages that you fill with loose rock. You can make your own from cattle panel but there are also many pre-made cages with varying dimensions available online that you can have shipped. Good luck!
Thanks for the idea! So, just to clarify, you placed masonry brick on the soil to make the “floor” of the raised bed, and then placed a sheet of corrugated PVC plastic roofing on top of the brick to keep the roots in / out? Did you do anything along the sides of the raised beds to contain roots? How deep are the beds for the raspberries? Thanks!!
Thanks for the idea re: Gabion walls. I had forgotten about those and might want to use them in my front yard.
Your vinyl roofing bed looks creative. Is that 4" black pvc with 1" holes drilled for metal conduit? And then metal wavy rebar added for rigidity?
Sorry that question was for Dennis!
