Top Retaining Walls Lower Hutt builds dry stone retaining walls in Lower Hutt, the oldest way there is to hold ground back. A dry stone wall uses no mortar at all. Every stone gets chosen so its shape and weight lock it against the ones around it, and the wall stands because of how it was put together rather than what is gluing it.
The wall has two faces with smaller stone packed between them, and long through stones set at intervals tying both faces into one structure. Courses lean back into the bank slightly, and each stone bridges the joint below it so no vertical line ever runs through the wall.
Built properly it will stand for a century. Built carelessly it looks identical on day one and slumps within a few winters, which makes this one of the few jobs where the skill of the person laying it matters more than the material.
| Method | No mortar, stone locked by shape and weight |
|---|---|
| Structure | Two faces with hearting between, tied by through stones |
| Batter | Leans back into the bank as it rises |
| Height | Best under about 1.2m |
| Drainage | Complete, water passes through the wall |
| Stone | Wellington greywacke or reclaimed local stone |
| Life | Very long when it is built correctly |
Low terraces, garden walls and bush edge boundaries. It sits beautifully on the older sections around Petone and Eastbourne, where the housing stock goes back a long way and a manufactured face looks out of place against a 1900s cottage.
We keep dry stone under about 1.2m. Taller than that and the engineering argument for a mortared or reinforced structure becomes hard to resist, and consent requirements arrive anyway.
Complete drainage. Water passes straight through the whole structure, so pressure never builds and there is no outlet that can block. Small plants colonise the joints and the wall gets better looking every year instead of worse.
You also get a wall that can be taken apart and rebuilt with the same stone if you ever need to move it or change the layout.
Every wall we build gets drainage. At least 300mm of clean free draining metal, a perforated coil at the base running to a real outlet, and geotextile over the top so silt cannot block it. It is not an optional line on our quotes.
Not if it is built right. The skill is in stone selection and in the through stones tying the faces together. It is a craft job and we price it as one.
We would not recommend it, and at that height you need consent and an engineer anyway. Use block or poured concrete for the structure and face it in stone if you want the look.
Some plants will colonise, yes. Most owners plant the joints deliberately. If you want it kept clean it needs occasional attention.
Our old wall was rotten right through and leaning into the neighbour's place. They pulled the lot out, put proper drainage behind the new one and had it finished in three days. Swept the site clean every afternoon before they left too. Tidiest crew we have ever had here by a long way.
They sorted the consent, which was the bit I was dreading. Dealt with the council so I never had to, and kept me in the loop the whole way through. The driveway sits right above it and has not shifted a millimetre.
Steep section, shocking access, and they still made it look easy. They suggested two smaller walls instead of one big one, which saved us thousands in engineering fees. The terrace in between is now my favourite part of the whole garden.
Call [PHONE] or answer three quick questions. The site visit and the written quote cost you nothing.
