How To Build a Prefab Stone Wall

Stone walls add timeless natural beauty, privacy, and stability to any landscape. They’re traditionally built by hand over a few weeks, but prefabricated stone walls might be a good choice if you want a more efficient alternative.

This Old House‘s Roger Cook visits Troy Guinther’s stone yard, Natural Stone Wall Solutions. Then, Kevin O’Connor joins Cook to help demonstrate the installation process.

Traditional vs. Prefab Stone Walls

Building stone walls by hand is a labor-intensive process. You’d have to prepare a foundation, lay a base course, carefully stack and fit your stones, fill gaps, and check for proper drainage before capping the wall.

Prefabs, on the other hand, keep quality and appearance consistent. They cost 25–50% less than most stone and veneer walls, and according to Guinther, they can also be installed 25 times faster. “For a job which would probably take you two to three weeks at least on site, we’re going to be able to come and install it that morning,” he says.

Building the Stone Wall

Prefab walls are available in multiple stone types, from Rockport granite to New England flat. Once you choose one, the team builds and reinforces the wall section by section before shipping it to your home for installation.

Choosing the Stone

Guinther’s client chose New England round fieldstone, which is one of the many reclaimed options he provides. “We use completely natural bulk fieldstone from old farmsites. New developments, they save all the old walls,” he comments. Reclaimed stone is both more eco-friendly and complements the natural environment.

Wall Construction

Masons at the stone yard use a proprietary process to build the wall with molds and forms. Each prefab section weighs about 6,000 pounds.

Once everything’s in place, workers reinforce the wall with a grid of #5 rebar and pour 4,000 psi (pounds per square inch) concrete on the back of the wall. Each wall piece also comes with a geogrid detached at the time of installation, which can help reinforce and stabilize the underlying soil.

Transportation and Installation

The prefab sections are transported to the job site on specially equipped trucks. Guinther developed a custom lifting frame that allows installers to take each section from the back. By leaving the stone face and top alone, they can preserve the stone’s natural moss and patina.

Installing the Stone Wall

Site Preparation

Preparing a prefab stone wall is similar to preparing a scratch-built wall. You or your installer will mark the wall’s location with chalk lines, then dig a 2-foot-deep trench for a foundation. Finally, they’ll add and compact ¾-inch stone for drainage and a solid base.

Wall Placement

The installation process is where the prefab method shines. Guinther’s team lifts each section off the truck with their crane and lowers them into place within the chalk lines.

The team constantly checks and adjusts the wall level for a snug, puzzle-piece-like fit. They’ll also use a tamping bar to backfill more ¾-inch stone around the wall for stability.

Once everything’s in place, Guinther checks for any exposed joints and fills them in with additional rock for a seamless appearance.