Q. I want to build a retaining wall that’s going to look great for years. At my last house, I had a short retaining wall around a patio that started to lean out toward the lawn. The little wall was ...

For thousands of years, builders have used retaining walls to create flat vertical walls or gently sloping terraces on hillsides. While constructing a solid, lasting retaining wall might look ...

Using a deadman retaining wall, you can build a crosstie retaining wall for a simple, economical way to terrace uneven ground and reduce dirt erosion. Dirt is not exempt from the law of gravity. It ...

This is the last of three stories on terracing hillsides. To read the first two stories, "Slippery slopes" and "Know your hillside," go to sfgate.com and type in Deborah K. Rich. "Almost all ...

Dear James: I’m planning a veggie garden on my sloping lot so I need a retaining wall. I have used timbers before, but blocks might hold up better. Which method do you prefer? -- Steve W. Dear Steve: ...

A dry stone wall is a purposeful pile of rocks, held in place by friction and gravity rather than mortar. It’s one of the oldest building methods known to mankind, used over millennia to construct ...

Whether really tall, or relatively tiny—those picturesque, surprisingly short stone walls scattered about New England, for example—humans have long been fascinated with structures that delineate and ...