General Tips and Rules

1. The base course of boulders should be buried a minimum of 1/3 the height of the boulder.
2. Compactable base material is not required under boulder walls.
3. Boulders should be placed so that you avoid large gaps and they are all touching.
4. The base course of boulders should be set on the beginning edge of the "Dewitt" filter fabric.
5. It is very important to backfill and firmly pack soil after each row of boulders.
6. Avoid using boulders that are too small in the base or middle of the wall.
7. A set back of 3.5" for every 1' is optimum,(a 30% slope) for the front of the wall.
8. Use Pallet forks for a Bobcat for placing large boulders.
9. The top row of boulders should be reasonably level, but varied for a natural look.
10. Leave the finish grade a little high to account for settling.
11. The filter fabric should be run all the way up the back side of the wall.
12. To cut the excess fabric off the top, use a handheld torch. Hold he fabric at the top and run the torch along the top course of boulders. This will leave a nice, clean cut and save on blades.
13. Use larger base boulders at the bottom for stability of the wall, varied sized boulders above the base course and smaller boulders for filling the voids of the larger boulders.
    
    

Tools and Materials

1. Ball cart or machine to move boulders
2. Hand tamper
3. "Dewitt" filter fabric
4. Varied sized boulders
5. Handheld torch