Walls
We Build Retaining Walls In And Around Asheville
At Shining Rock Stoneworks, we take pride in our retaining wall construction and repair work. Our retaining walls are a testament to techniques that have withstood the test of time for millennia. We’re also lucky to live in the modern era, with everything from carbide hand tools, which cut through stone with only a few strokes, to excavators and skid steers.
Using locally sourced stone, we chisel each piece until the faces meet smoothly. Our dry-stacked walls use maximum face-to-face contact. Mortared work features consistent joints or a dry-stacked look.
To ensure superior drainage and flexibility against frost heave, our walls are supported from behind by heartstone. This element, which constitutes a secondary wall of its own, enhances the longevity and resilience of the structure, allowing it to endure for generations.
Given sufficient shade and moisture, moss can be encouraged to grow on the stones. Full sun allows trailing plants, flowers, or shrubs trail across the top.
Dry-stacked boulder retainer wall, Thurland Avenue, Asheville
In excavating for this wall, we uncovered the neighborhood ash pit—layers of ash from the era when every home relied on wood or coal for heating. We dug until solid ground, then used massive boulders, weighing up to a ton, to construct the impressive structure. It stands as a powerful testament to the past and a lasting symbol of strength and endurance.
Dry-laid fieldstone retaining wall, Montford, Asheville
This retainer wall, like all of our walls, is built on good clay-rich soil and backed with tightly laid heartstone, and gravel behind that. No plastic landscape fabric is required behind such a wall; it will stand as long as the centuries-old walls we have studied.
Fieldstone Wall and Bridge Stonework
Dry-stacked fieldstone wall detail, Montford
We were able to use smaller stones for this short wall, but even those stones with small faces extend back deeply to help anchor the retainer wall and prevent movement; vertical joints are “broken” by the stones in the next course for further longevity. All joints are tight, with maximum contact between sides, tops, and bottoms along the entirety of each stone.
