Higher walls should be engineered for stability.
Building a dry stack stone retaining wall.
Here are the basic steps involved in building a dry stack stone wall.
When putting your wall together mix the stone sizes throughout the wall rather than using only large stones at the bottom and small toward the top.
Use a hand or power tamper to level the base.
Try to cut the ditch into native soil rather than loose added soil as the former provides a more stable foundation for the wall.
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.
To build a natural dry stone retaining wall prepare the site.
Lay high quality stones and use a geotextile backing to ensure the wall lasts a long time.
Each layer of a dry stack wall is called a course.
Excavate to a depth of 6 inches along the entire base of the stone retaining wall using the string marker as a guide.
This ditch will act as the wall s footing and prevent the rocks from sliding forward due to pressure from the earth behind.
Plan for good drainage proper width height ratio and distance between tiers.
Draw the wall to scale and measure the length and height.
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.