How can I build a cheap retaining wall?

Question

I have little money and need a wall 3 feet by 15 feet. Looks are unimportant and it only needs to last a few years while roots settle into my yard. Advice anyone?

Answer 1

Build your wall using rock and dirt.  Lay each course of rock, one at a time while filling in the cracks and packing dirt as you go.  Use dirt like a stone mason uses mortar.  It will look attractive and will hold.  We use this landscaping technique often to "tier" an otherwise heavily sloped yard.  You can build up to 3 or 4 feet in height as you back-fill the area behind the wall.  To minimize erosion during heavy rainfall, you can plant some creeper or some type of ground-cover.  Surprisingly, erosion is not a rampant as one might expect.

Answer 2

Old car tyres do a nice job. Overlap simular to brick work.

Or lay shade cloth/landscaping cloth over a 45 degree gradient of soil followed by stones and/or wood chips.

Answer 3

You said it is a retaining wall, what will it be retaining? Normally a footer for a retaining wall should extend 2 " on either side of the block you are laying, for example 8x16x8 block should have a 12" wide footer and the depth is determined by the heigth. To pour a 15 foot footer say 8" deep should not take that much concrete, I figure about 16 80lb bags, then you will need rebar every 4 feet upright and rebar in the footer. Then lay your block on the footer, looks like you will need 4 courses of 8x16x8 and 1 course of 4x16x8, so around 60 block and of course mortar.

Shouldn't cost that much, it is a small job.