We have some moderately serious grading issues we are trying to resolve. The back of our yard slopes 5-6 ft down over approx 12 ft where is flattens out for the last 10-12 ft to the house. We will be raising the grade from the house to the main slope and plan on cutting into that slope and having a stone retaining wall built out of small boulders.

We've gotten several quotes on getting the job done. Interestingly, when the "Unilock" type retaining walls were discussed, the contractors all mentioned installing a drain at the base of the wall to move the water away. In the boulder plans, the contractors don't include this and indicate that that type of wall doesn't require the same type of drainage system. The last two said that the combination of the improved grading and the retaining wall will create a valley that will move the water to a low spot away from the house naturally.

Because I am a novice at these things, should I insist on drain tile at the base of a boulder wall in the same manner as proposed with a Unilock wall?