Walls without mortar. Walls without limit.
A dry-laid wall built right will outlast the house. We build them the way Vermont farmers did in the 1840s — gravity, friction, and the patience to find the right stone for every gap.
— What goes wrong with dry-laid walls
It looks easy. It is not.
A dry-laid wall has no mortar holding it together — only the geometry of the stones and the skill of the mason. Built by someone who learned on the job, the wall lasts five winters. Built right, it outlasts grandchildren.
No batter on the face.
A dry-laid wall must lean back into the slope (typically 1″ per foot of height). Built plumb, it falls forward in three winters.
Too few through-stones.
Long stones running the full thickness of the wall tie front to back. A wall without enough through-stones splits down the middle.
Soft stone in the cap.
The cap takes weather, foot traffic, and the brunt of frost. A soft sandstone cap is gone in a decade. Granite or hard schist is forever.
Joints stacked vertically.
Vertical joints between courses create a fault line that propagates with frost. A proper dry-laid wall breaks every joint — half-stone offset, every course.
— Dry-laid walls, by the numbers
— What’s included
A dry-laid wall, built to last.
Whether it’s a 30-foot garden wall or a 300-foot retaining system, every dry-laid wall we build follows the same fundamentals.
Site survey + design
Wall position, height, length, and footing footprint marked on site. Material specified by source quarry.
Excavation + base prep
Frost-line trench (48″), compacted gravel base, geotextile fabric for retaining applications.
Through-stones every 24″
Long stones running the full wall thickness, locking front face to back face.
Hand-fit stone-to-stone
Every stone shaped (or selected) to fit its specific position. No two stones the same.
Drainage detail
For retaining walls — daylighted French drain behind the wall, weep holes through the face.
Hard-stone cap
Granite or dense schist on top. Either flat-laid for sitting or peaked for visual interest.
Two-winter guarantee
We come back in spring of years one and two, replace any stone that has shifted, no charge.
— How a dry-laid wall gets built
Four steps. Four to twelve weeks.
A 30-ft garden wall installs in 4–6 working days; a 300-ft retaining system can run 6–10 weeks depending on cut depth and stone delivery.
Site visit
Two-hour walk of the property with the architect. We listen, you talk. We measure light, slope, drainage, and existing material. No PowerPoint.
Design
Hand-drawn schematic on tracing paper, then full construction drawings — material specs, sections, footing detail. Two reviews built in.
Quote
Fixed-price proposal, line-itemed by trade. Stone, timber, plants, labor, equipment, drainage. You see the math. Change orders signed before any change happens.
Build
Our in-house crew, on site every working day. Weekly progress photos. The architect walks the site at every major milestone. We don’t leave until the punch list is empty.
— Recent dry-laid work
Three recent stone walls.
Lakefront master plan, 2½ acres.
Three terraced rooms stepping down to Lake Champlain. 240 ft of dry-laid stone wall, cedar pavilion, native pollinator beds.
Read project →
Seven-terrace hilltop garden.
Re-grading a north-facing slope into seven dry-stone-walled terraces of perennials, fruit trees, and a 60-foot meditation walk.
Read project →
1,400 sq ft contemporary courtyard.
Bluestone paving, cedar slat screening, a small reflecting pool, and three Japanese maples for autumn color.
Read project →Under 60 ft, 24–36″ tall
$8K–$28Ktypical install
Most garden walls run $300–$450 per linear foot for a 24–36″ height. Add for cap stone, custom curves, or built-in seating.
Over 60 ft or over 36″ tall
$28K–$120Kengineered scope
Retaining walls require frost-line footings, drainage, and (over 4 ft) engineering review. Pricing scales with height, length, and grade conditions.
— Dry-laid wall questions
What we hear from clients.
How long will a dry-laid wall last?
Built right, a dry-laid wall outlasts the house it surrounds. We routinely repair walls that were laid in the 1830s and 1840s — still standing, just needing the cap re-set after a tree fell. The lifespan is effectively indefinite if the footing and drainage are correct.
Why doesn’t it fall over?
Three things: gravity, friction, and the batter (lean back into the slope). Each stone weighs the stone above it down into place; the friction between stones resists sliding; the slight lean back into the slope means any movement is into stability, not away from it. A well-built dry-laid wall is more stable than a mortared wall over time, because it can flex with frost.
What stone do you use?
Vermont schist (Panton or Goshen), Vermont granite, or local fieldstone — depending on the site and the look. We avoid Pennsylvania bluestone (too soft) and limestone (spalls in our climate). Stone source is specified in writing in every quote.
Can you build a wall on a slope?
Yes. In fact, most of our walls are on slopes — that’s where retaining walls live. The technique is the same; the engineering changes (deeper footings, more through-stones, drainage design) based on the grade and the height.
Do you build seating or built-in features?
Often. Built-in benches, niches for plantings, mortared stone caps for seating, integrated lighting in the wall — all of these can be designed into a dry-laid wall. Specify during the design phase; harder to retrofit.
What’s the warranty?
Two springs. We come back in May of year one and year two, walk the wall, and re-set any stone that has shifted. No charge. After that, it’s effectively maintenance-free if the drainage and footing were done right.