How to Build a Dry Stone Wall

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Building stone walls is gratifying, and the product will last into future generations.
Building stone walls is gratifying, and the product will last into future generations.
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A plumb line gets you started with even courses when building on uneven ground (dashed line shows ground level).
A plumb line gets you started with even courses when building on uneven ground (dashed line shows ground level).
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Where to find your stones.
Where to find your stones.
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An example of a good stone wall and one with adjecent joints called
An example of a good stone wall and one with adjecent joints called "runs."
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Tools for wall building.
Tools for wall building.
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More tools for wall building.
More tools for wall building.
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Tie stones literally keep a wall tied together from front to back.
Tie stones literally keep a wall tied together from front to back.
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Tie stones are especially important at corners. They are shown here shaded.
Tie stones are especially important at corners. They are shown here shaded.
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Tie stones are shown here overlapping in the courses.
Tie stones are shown here overlapping in the courses.
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Come fire, hail or high water, a properly built stone wall will be there for your great-grandkids to remember you by.
Come fire, hail or high water, a properly built stone wall will be there for your great-grandkids to remember you by.

Learning how to build a dry stone wall takes a little bit of time, muscle and some trial and error, but the beauty that results from building with natural stone and your own two hands is second to none.

If you stop and think about it, it seems that, written word aside, the most enduring monuments to man’s creativity and hard work are built of stone. The Pyramids, in Egypt, the Great Walls of China and Peru, temples most everywhere from Latin America to India, the castles of Europe, and the mile upon mile of stone walls running through our own New England countryside were all laid by hand and without a speck of mortar.

They endure in part because rock is as near a definition of “forever” as exists. But more important is their main construction ingredient — gravity. In a properly built stone wall each rock sits square on the ones below it, and so long as gravity keeps pulling, that wall is going to stay put.

So, here’s how to go out and build a really permanent monument to yourself. Do it right — square, plumb, and well-tied throughout — and the wall will be standing long after you and I and all our other accomplishments and failings are forgotten.

First, get a pair of well-fitting steel-toed boots with ankle-, or better yet, calf-length uppers made from stiff, thick leather. Next, buy a pair of horsehide work gloves or a pair molded of rubber with grit imbedded into the palm and fingers. These gloves work well when gripping stones, and the boots will keep your toes from getting dented when you drop a boulder on your foot — which is bound to happen at one time or another. Finally, be sure you have the needed time and ambition.

  • Published on Oct 1, 1991
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