A Guide to Dry Stone Walling

Dry stone walling is one of the oldest country crafts. These structures form one of the most striking features of the rural landscape, whether meandering through a field or gracing a home. In this hands-on guide, landscaper Andy Radford explores the history of dry stone walls and explains how and why they were originally built. He also offers step-by-step instruction, enhanced with explanatory photos and diagrams, showing you how to build or repair a wall, whether a hillside boundary or a garden feature. The book’s contents include finding suitable stone; tools of the trade; basic walling techniques; building or repairing a curved wall; walling on slopes; and gapping, retaining walls, and variations. Andy Radford has been building dry stone walls for nearly two decades; he is a consultant, designer, and contractor and runs his own landscaping business in Wales.