Why gravel behind a dry stone wall?

Hello everyone,

I am currently building a dry stone wall. The wall has wide, open joints in every row.

My question: Do I really have to backfill with gravel up to the entire height (as stated in many instructions)? Since I have open joints everywhere, water can drain away, so why would I need gravel all the way up (wall height 1m)? Wouldn't it be sufficient in this case to backfill with about 20cm of gravel?

By the way, I am asking because I have a 20m long wall and there is about 40cm of space behind it to the soil. I would need a lot of gravel if I had to backfill all of that.

Thanks for your advice and tips.

Best regards

Simon

I am currently building a dry stone wall. The wall has wide, open joints in all rows. My question: Do I really have to backfill with gravel up to the entire height (as stated in many instructions)? [...] By the way, I am asking because I have a 20m long wall and behind it, up to the ground, about 40cm of space. I would need a lot of gravel if I were to backfill all of it.

??? You want to put a dry stone wall with a 40 cm air gap in front of a soil mass??? Besides, dry stone walling is something not every master mason masters - I really can’t imagine that working successfully “by instructions” from a novice.

Try it out. If there is waterlogging, you will notice it in your plants behind the wall.

What is a dry stone wall?

A wall without mortar, concrete, cement, etc.

, this is our dry stone wall. It's actually nothing spectacular in the garden. We only filled it with soil. It is 60cm or 40cm high, at 1m it could already become critical or you would then have to use stones that fit better than the rather coarse granite we have.