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 ...

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 ...

We wanted to fix our sloped yard without spending a fortune, so we built a DIY boulder retaining wall. It’s strong, simple to build, and blends beautifully into the landscape. ‘We are looking at a ...

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 ...

Here's everything you need to know about the tools, materials, and preparation it takes to build a retaining wall out of wood, including when to call a pro.