B. Dry Stack Stone Wall Tools

You won’t need a lot of expensive wall tools to build a stone wall.

Here is a list of landscaping tools you will need to protect yourself and work with the materials.

I’m sure that a lot of these tools are already in your garage.

Good impact resistance high dexterity gloves, safety glasses, knee pads, and steel toe boots is the minimum you should have.

It hurts if you drop a 50lb rock on them.

When working with the stone, tiny pieces will fly off at a very high rate if you are chipping and splitting the stones.

Wear long pants to protect your legs as well.

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Brick sets or chisels - You will need these to split and trim the rocks.
Brush - For sweeping off surfaces.
Caution tape or ribbon - This should be used to mark off your excavation site.
Hammers - Dead blow hammer (rubber mallet), small sledge hammer 3lbs or 5 lbs.
Hand tamper - For packing in sub-base and back fill materials.
Level - 3 or 4 ft is preferred.
Pick-axe - These are handy to have if you have a rocky yard.
Rakes - A bow rake is essential, a wide landscape rake is a bonus.
Sharp knife - For cutting fabric and edging.
Shovels - A spade as well as a square nosed shovel.
String level and string - For checking grades over distances between stakes.
Tamper - You can use a hand tamper or rent a vibratory plate tamper from most equipment rental places. You will only need it for a short time to pack in the sub-base. (Approx. $40 to $60 per day.)

Wheelbarrow - If you don’t already have one, purchase a good quality one with an inflatable tire.
Wooden stakes - 10 or so should be enough (2 to 3 ft long).

These are the most basic tools required to build a wall. There are other tools that are available but for the do-it-yourself these will get the job done with a minimal investment.

Check out other pictures of tools in the Tool Shed if you are unsure about what a tool is, or stock up your shed if you need something new in yours.

Grab your wall tools and let's move on to selecting and estimating materials.

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Table of Contents: Dry Stack Stone Wall

Introduction: Dry Stack Stone Wall

A. Wall Site

B. Wall Tools

C. Wall Materials

D. Wall Site Preparation

E. Base Stone Preparation

F. Stacking Stones

G. Capping Stones

H. Chinking, Completing Wall & Clean-up

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