By far the most common estimate request we receive is for stone retaining walls to border existing garden beds. Installing a retaining wall around your garden bed will not only add elegance to your landscaping but can also provide the added function of keeping grass from growing into your beds. While simply placing boulders, bricks or a natural chopped stone can certainly add beauty to the bed, if you wish to keep grass out of the beds, you should plan on having a mortared stone wall installed with a concrete footing. The footing of any stonework is the most important part of the wall and you should always ask your masonry contractor how they intend to secure the base of the stone wall. Far too often, we are called out to replace stonework that has cracked beyond repair due to improper footing.
Proper installation of a stone retaining wall involves digging a trench for the wall and pouring a concrete base reinforced with rebar. The stonework is then set on top of this concrete base and secured to neighboring stones with mortar. This creates a solid surface and should be level.