TL DR: Post Pics of your rock wall projects.
I love rock walls, especially dry-set. I consider myself a beginner at best but that doesn't stop me from attempting big jobs. A few weeks ago, my uncle was nice enough to sneak his Case 580e back-hoe over to my house. We had plans to dig out a hill and thus continue the driveway through the backyard in an effort to create oodles of usable space (cough cough a place to park my toys cough). This project lead to another project - retaining wall.
During the excavation we dug up more rocks and ledge than we knew what to do with. I had enough rock to build a 63' long x roughly 4' high wall (with a radius) and still have a huge pile left over.
I battled the wall for days. Hauling huge rocks into place and then spending hours wedging them with a bar into the right spot. After knocking down 2 previous attempts I was finally satisfied with my progress. Though, never one to drag something out (I had to go back to work at some point), I ultimately decided to bring a mason in to help me finish.
Well, step one of working with the mason was to pull all the rocks away from the wall. No ego here, I was happy to have someone with the ability to see through the challenges of building a rock wall. For the third time, I dismantled my hard work.
My goal in working with the mason was to 1) get it done right the first time and 2) learn something new. I also wanted to retain a sort of rustic look so as to blend it in with the rest of the 100+ year old rock walls around my house. They agreed, and said that a rustic look would be easily achievable because the majority of the rock available was ledge, which I guess is hard to work with in regards to chinking. We also agreed that they would use cement behind the rocks in an effort to lock them in. What I was not too keen on, but went with their professional opinion, was cementing the cap. I did not have enough flat rocks and we flowed the height of the wall with the land. Ultimately, I am ok with this compromise because I know kids will be up, down and around this thing. Frankly, the cement is already fading and the eye is not drawn to it.
Working with them was a good experience. More importantly, I couldn’t have done any of this without my uncle and his talent on the machine. Even the masons were in disbelief with his ability to maneuver huge (like 7 tons huge) rock.
I’ll get some better pictures of the wall (this one looks very bad and doesn't do the size, scope or style justice – but oh well). I am still cleaning up the road and filling some gaps here and there, but let’s see some pictures and share some stories of your rock walls – pros or hobbyist, I can appreciate it all!
I love rock walls, especially dry-set. I consider myself a beginner at best but that doesn't stop me from attempting big jobs. A few weeks ago, my uncle was nice enough to sneak his Case 580e back-hoe over to my house. We had plans to dig out a hill and thus continue the driveway through the backyard in an effort to create oodles of usable space (cough cough a place to park my toys cough). This project lead to another project - retaining wall.
During the excavation we dug up more rocks and ledge than we knew what to do with. I had enough rock to build a 63' long x roughly 4' high wall (with a radius) and still have a huge pile left over.
I battled the wall for days. Hauling huge rocks into place and then spending hours wedging them with a bar into the right spot. After knocking down 2 previous attempts I was finally satisfied with my progress. Though, never one to drag something out (I had to go back to work at some point), I ultimately decided to bring a mason in to help me finish.
Well, step one of working with the mason was to pull all the rocks away from the wall. No ego here, I was happy to have someone with the ability to see through the challenges of building a rock wall. For the third time, I dismantled my hard work.
My goal in working with the mason was to 1) get it done right the first time and 2) learn something new. I also wanted to retain a sort of rustic look so as to blend it in with the rest of the 100+ year old rock walls around my house. They agreed, and said that a rustic look would be easily achievable because the majority of the rock available was ledge, which I guess is hard to work with in regards to chinking. We also agreed that they would use cement behind the rocks in an effort to lock them in. What I was not too keen on, but went with their professional opinion, was cementing the cap. I did not have enough flat rocks and we flowed the height of the wall with the land. Ultimately, I am ok with this compromise because I know kids will be up, down and around this thing. Frankly, the cement is already fading and the eye is not drawn to it.
Working with them was a good experience. More importantly, I couldn’t have done any of this without my uncle and his talent on the machine. Even the masons were in disbelief with his ability to maneuver huge (like 7 tons huge) rock.
I’ll get some better pictures of the wall (this one looks very bad and doesn't do the size, scope or style justice – but oh well). I am still cleaning up the road and filling some gaps here and there, but let’s see some pictures and share some stories of your rock walls – pros or hobbyist, I can appreciate it all!
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