How to Build a Block Wall at an Incline

Mark the location of the wall on the ground in front of the hill by placing a row of concrete paver blocks across the base. Spray paint a line 3 inches in front of the blocks and another line 8 inches behind the blocks.

Remove the blocks. Use a shovel to dig a trench 12 inches deep in between the spray-painted lines. Tamp down the soil in the bottom of the trench.

Fill the trench with 3 inches of crushed limestone. Compact it with the tamp.

Drive steel edge restraints into the trench 4 inches away from the back edge.

Pour 3 inches of crushed limestone into the trench between the front edge and the edge restraints. Tamp down the stone.

Place a concrete paver block on top of the crushed limestone at the end of the trench, 3 inches back from the front of the trench. Check the block for level side-to-side and front-to-back. Tap it down lightly with a rubber mallet to level if needed.

Lay the second block next to the first one. Lay the level across both blocks. Level the second block with the first one. Tap down the second block if it's higher than the first block or add more crushed limestone beneath it if it's lower than the first block.

Finish laying the first course of blocks into the trench, following the same process you used to lay the first two blocks.

Put on eye protection, ear protection and gloves. Cut a block in half with a wet saw. This will be the first block in the second course, which will stagger the courses, strengthening them.

Run a thick zigzag bead of masonry adhesive on top of the blocks.

Position one half of the cut block onto the blocks at one end of the wall so that the front edge is set back 1/2 inch from the front edge of the blocks in the first course.

Lay the blocks for the second course on top of the masonry adhesive. Use full-sized blocks for the length of the wall, placing the other half of the cut block at the end of the wall. Set all of the blocks back 1/2 inch from the first course.

Pour 2 inches of crushed limestone into the trench behind the edge restraints. Slope it slightly toward the side of the wall where you want water to drain.

Cover the limestone in the back of the trench with landscaping fabric. Cover the fabric with 1 inch of drainage aggregate.

Cover drain tile -- perforated plastic pipe used for drainage -- with landscaping fabric, then lay it into the trench over the drainage aggregate.

Dig into the hill behind the wall until there is an 8-inch space between the hill and the back of the blocks. Cover the soil with landscaping fabric.

Add two more courses of blocks to the wall, staggering each row and setting each row back 1/2 inch from the preceding row.

Fill the gap between the blocks and the hill with drainage aggregate.

Add two more courses of blocks to the wall.

Place drainage aggregate behind the wall until it's about 3 inches beneath the top of the wall.

Cover the drainage aggregate with landscaping fabric and backfill the wall with dirt.