Case Study

Natural Stone Retaining Wall & Driveway Entrance

A failing slope beside the garage rebuilt with a hand-laid natural fieldstone retaining wall, stone steps, and a clean driveway entrance.

Mex Landscaping masons hand-laying a natural fieldstone retaining wall — Our masons laying the fieldstone wall by hand

Finished natural fieldstone retaining wall with stone steps — The finished wall and stone steps

Completed driveway and stone entrance framed by the new fieldstone wall — Completed driveway and entrance

The problem

The slope beside the garage was failing, and a failing slope next to a driveway is not a cosmetic issue. Left alone, it sheds soil onto the pavement, undermines the edge of the drive, and gets worse with every freeze-thaw cycle. The property needed the grade held back permanently, and the owners wanted it done in a material that suited the house rather than a wall that would read as a repair.

The build

We rebuilt the slope with a hand-laid natural fieldstone retaining wall. Fieldstone walls are the slow way to do it: each stone is selected and placed by a mason rather than stacked from a pallet of identical block, which is exactly why the finished wall looks like it has always been part of the property. Behind the face of the wall is what makes it last: a proper excavated footing, compacted base, and drainage so water moves through and away instead of building pressure behind the stone.

The result

The finished project holds the grade with a wall that adds to the property instead of apologizing for a problem: natural stone steps tie the levels together, and the driveway entrance now reads as a clean, deliberate arrival to the home. It is the difference between fixing a slope and improving the property while you are at it.