How to Build a Sloped Retaining Wall With Blocks

Certain features in the garden, such as a dirt hill, can be dangerous during a heavy rain storm. Water running off the hill can cause erosion -- the removal of the nutrient rich top soil from the hill. While planting ground cover such as clover or turf may stop some erosion, a retaining wall ensures that any runoff stays out of the rest of the garden. A sloping retaining wall also supports the wall from collapse.

Landscape paint
Shovel
Filler material
Tamper
2-inch by 4-inch board
Cement block
4-foot level
Torpedo level
Rubber mallet
Pins
Gravel

Instructions

- 1
  Mark off the area in front of your planned wall with landscape paint.
- 2
  Dig a trench that is 4 to 6 inches deep and 24 to 28 inches wide and 12 inches from the front of your slope. Set a level on the excavated area and remove soil as necessary to make it level.
- 3
  Tamper the trench to make it flat.
- 4
  Fill the trench with 4 to 6 inches of base material so that it is 1 inch from the top of the trench. Tamper down the soil.
- 5
  Run a 2-inch by 4-inch board over the compacted material to make it smooth.
- 6
  Set down the first row of cement blocks. Place a 4-foot level on top, going from left to right. Tap the blocks with a rubber mallet until level. Place a torpedo level going from front to back on each block, and tap the block again to make sure it is level from front to back.
- 7
  Pound 3 retaining pins into the middle of the cement block to secure it to the ground.
- 8
  Set the second course of blocks on top of the first, recessing the second row 1/3 of the blocks' size. Pound pins into the blocks to secure them to the row beneath.
- 9
  Fill in behind the first and second row of blocks with gravel then set the third row in place. Continue this process until the wall is at your desired height.

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