Build a short block retaining wall

Interlocking blocks, no mortar. Holds back a slope or edges a raised bed — kept low, where it is a weekend job.

How long is the wall?

feet

This one needs a trailer

About 5734 lb of materials. That is more than one pickup load — your shopper will need a trailer, and may make 8 trips. The rental is $35.00, it goes to them in full, and we take nothing from it. Only shoppers who can tow will see the run. ⚠️ 1 item on the list has no weight on file, so the real load is a little heavier than this.

Before you start

Call 811 before you dig the trench — it is free and takes a couple of days. Each block is about 25 lb and a 20 ft wall is several tons all told, so lift with your legs and pace yourself. Keep it low: a wall holding back more than about 3 ft of soil needs an engineer, not a weekend.

What to buy — untick anything you have

Stone

85 Retaining wall block, 4 in tall × 12 in faceAll from one pallet so the color matches. Take one to the register to check the lip on the back works with the rest.
20 bags of paver base gravel, 0.5 cu ftThis wall is several tons of stone and gravel. A landscape supply yard sells the gravel loose and delivers.
52 bags of all-purpose gravel, 0.5 cu ft

Hardware

1 roll of landscape fabric, 3 × 50 ft
2 tubes of landscape block adhesive, 10 oz

Tools — already ticked off, since most people have them

Tools

1 Plate compactor
1 Flat spade· most people have this
1 4 ft level· most people have this
1 Rubber mallet· most people have this
1 String line and stakes· most people have this
1 Caulk gun· most people have this

It lands in the shopping form, where you can edit anything and say what you think each thing costs. Nothing is ordered until you send it.

How it goes · about a weekend · confident

Run a string line where the face of the wall goes and dig a trench 12 in wide and deep enough for 6 in of base plus one whole block.
Fill the trench with base gravel in two layers, compacting each, and get it dead level along the string.
Lay the first course on the base and check every block front to back and side to side. This course decides whether the wall is straight.
Stack the next courses with the joints staggered, so each block sits across two below it.
Line the slope behind the wall with fabric and fill the space behind the blocks with drainage gravel as each course goes up.
Glue the top course down with the adhesive and backfill the last few inches with soil.