Stone walls are classic New England fixtures. They’re beautiful, rustic, and evocative of some of the richest periods in U.S. history. Originally, their popularity had nothing to do with aesthetics; like most New England traditions, stone walls began as a product of practicality.

When the early American settlers tilled their land for farming, they uncovered much of the stone that had been deposited by melting glaciers way back at the end of the last Ice Age. They collected this stone in piles, and, as time permitted, they stacked it along their property lines.

It used to be that wherever you saw stone walls there had once been an old farm or farmland, but today, with the growing stone wall trend, that’s not always the case. New stone walls and other stone fixtures evocative of the traditional New England stone wall are springing up in the Northeast and nationwide.

Cost of Stone Walls

With their growing popularity and the cost of construction itself, stone walls tend to be pricey. According to Paul Fredella, owner of Upper Valley Landscape Services in Newbury, Vermont, they are considered among “the high end in hardscapes as every stone has to be worked into place just right in order to get a high-quality product.”

Likewise, Joe Rolfe of Stone Mountain Masonry in Belmont, New Hampshire, attributes 50 percent of the work he does to stone wall construction, and he claims that 99 percent of his clients are high-end residences.

Dave Palmer, of Palmer Landscaping and Design in Middlebury, Vermont, said, “We’ve built walls that encircle an entire property and cost as much as $250,000.”

The final cost of stone walls depends on a number of factors, ranging from the type of wall built and the terrain it’s built on, to the size of the wall and type of stone required. But Dave Palmer said a fair estimate for a mid-grade quality stone wall is $55 to $75 per finished face foot.

Variety of Stone

Stone is available in myriad varieties including sandstone, granite, limestone, mica schist, quartz, slate, etc. The type of stone one uses is largely a matter of personal preference. Most masons recommend choosing a stone native to the region.

“The variety of stone is almost endless. The majority of people choose an indigenous stone to match the landscape,” said Rolfe.

Not only will a native stone blend more easily with the landscape, but it will also reduce the shipping cost of having to transport stone from outside the region. In the Champlain Valley, for example, masons like Palmer frequently favor a native panton stone also known as Champlain Black. Quarried from the sea walls of Lake Champlain, this stone contains a variety of fossils, providing a unique appearance where no two pebbles within a stone are the same. Although using this stone near its native lake makes perfect sense as it compliments the environment, it may not be the stone of choice in an area outside the state.

Certain types of stone such as round field stones lend a more rustic appearance to a wall than perhaps those with a flat-faced veneer, which are more formal. When building a retaining wall, it is best to choose a stone that is hard and resistant to water, as opposed to a shale or mica that
may crumble.

Construction

Constructing stone walls involves several phases, including: design, site preparation, foundation construction, and wall construction. If you’re considering having a stone wall built on your property, pay close attention to the steps below so that you can follow them yourself or discuss them with prospective masons. This will show that you’re well educated on the topic and help ensure that you get good work done at a fair price.

Design

Determine Use. “If the stone wall is being built mostly for aesthetic reasons, you don’t need to be as concerned with its structural functionality,” said Rolfe. A retaining wall, however, involves more complex structural considerations, such as the hydraulic pressure applied to its backside from the soil as it becomes wet. “This is a big concern that has to be considered during the design process. The width and height need to be in proportion to the amount of soil the wall is retaining,” he said.

Account for Natural Features. Work with the natural features of the landscape as much as possible, as it can greatly reduce cost. “You can save a lot of money incorporating natural aspects of the landscape, rather than trying to create vistas from scratch,” said Fredella.

Wet or Dry? Stone walls can either be wet or dry. A dry stone wall is constructed without mortar and relies on the weight and friction of the stone to hold it together. The stability of a wet wall comes from cement mortar used between the stones. When considering these choices, think about the budget and the purpose of the wall. “A wet wall is certainly a little bit more decorative and formal and comes with a higher budget,” said Fredella. “When you do wet stonework, the foundation has to be much better prepared to prevent cracking. A dry stone wall can move with the frost so it is a little bit more forgiving.”

Site Preparation

Concentrate on Drainage. Proper drainage is the key to maintaining the life of a wall, especially a retaining wall. “If you don’t have proper drainage, water will come in behind the wall, freeze, and in five to 10 years cause the wall to topple,” said Fredella. He recommends using a full 48 inches of drainage material such as crushed gravel or pea stone behind the wall as well as perforated drainage pipes, so water coming off the bank will hit the drainage material and move to either side of the wall. “In this way, it drops down below the wall, but never actually freezes behind it,” he said. The wetter the site, the more elaborate the drainage will have to be, which in turn may increase cost.

Excavate Topsoil. To ensure proper drainage, excavate all topsoil with water-holding capacity from the site of the foundation. Usually this means excavating between 12 to 18 inches below grade. Rolfe also recommends starting the wall on top of crushed stone. “You want to have a base material like crushed stone that will wick away water,” he explained.

Foundation Construction

Avoid Air Pockets. Before digging your foundation, which is usually about a foot deep, and laying a 12 inch base of gravel on which to build your wall, make sure the soil at the bottom of your foundation is compacted evenly to prevent air pockets. Also get rid of all organic matter from the soil base, such as old stumps, which can rot over time and create a sag in the wall.

Create Level Base. It is important—even on a slope—to establish a good level base. “If working on a slope, each stone needs to be stepped into the bank and then built off of it as opposed to running with the grade. You need to maintain a flat foundation at all times,” said Fredella.

Establish Proper Dimensions. Generally, the height of the retaining wall determines the width of the base. The base of the wall typically should be half that of the height, so a retaining wall four feet high should have a base that is two feet wide.

Wall Construction

Watch the Lines. As you lay each layer of stone, keep the top of the stones level so that if you ran a string from the top of a layer’s first stone to the top of its last stone, every stone in between would be touching it. According to Sid Grose of S & G Masonry of Lebanon, New Hampshire, “If you get the top lines nice and true, it will mask any little imperfections down the face.”

Avoid Running Seams. For structural integrity, make sure the seams or joints of the wall do not line up in one spot. Each new tier should lap a joint, just like a brick wall.

Be Aware of Stone Placement. Place the stones tightly together, and make sure you display the face of the stone, or the nicest and biggest area of the stone. The squarer the stone, the nicer the face.

Taper the Wall Back. Every wall and especially a retaining wall is made sturdier when it’s tapered back slightly.

Once you have a completed stone wall, you will have added value to your property, so long as the wall was constructed with care. No one wants to own land with a crumbled stone wall on the premises—unless of course it was built by farmers a hundred years ago.