How to Install an Interlocking Paver Retaining Wall

Lay a garden hose on the ground to indicate the retaining wall's location. Use the garden hose as a guide as you begin digging a trench, using a shovel. Make the trench 4 inches deep and wide enough for the interlocking pavers to fit easily within it.

Lay a level in the trench at two or three locations. Remove soil from the high spots so the trench is completely flat. Use a hand tamper to tamp down the trench's soil.

Rest a 1/2-inch brick chisel's edge against a paver's lip. Hit the chisel's end with a hammer to remove the lip. Remove the lips of all the pavers being installed in the retaining wall's base row. This makes leveling the base row easier.

Set the first paver in the trench, on either the left or right side. Place a small level on the paver. Level the paver by tapping the high end down with a rubber mallet. Install two or three more pavers along the trench. Place them tightly together so their sides touch.

Lay a level across the three or four installed pavers. Place sand underneath low pavers to straighten the base line. Continue laying more pavers once you are satisfied they are level. Lay three to four pavers at a time, and then check their placement with a level until the entire base row is complete.

Measure the width of a paver and divide this measurement in half. Draw a straight line down the paver with chalk to indicate the center. Cut the paver in half, using a wet saw. Use the cut paver as the first paver in the second layer. This offsets the pavers, just as you see in a brick wall, and makes the retaining wall sturdier.

Continue laying pavers across the second row. Push each paver's lip tightly against the bottom paver's back edge. Once the second row is complete, begin laying the third row. Start the third row with a full paver. Stop adding rows once the retaining wall is either at your desired height or reaches 4 feet high.

Lay landscape fabric strips up the retaining wall's back to prevent soil from emerging between the cracks. Temporarily drape the strips over the top pavers to hold them in place.

Fill the 6 inches behind the retaining wall with gravel to increase drainage. This is especially important for walls taller than 2-1/2 feet. Fill the space behind the gravel with soil. Cover the gravel with 6 inches of soil so you can plant grass or flowers.

Spray the soil with water from a garden hose. The water causes the soil to settle. Add more soil if necessary. Cut off the excess landscape fabric with a pair of scissors.