A Done with That® Project by Koper, America’s #1 Connected ContractorTM, Free Augmented Article©
A stone retaining wall for a Michigan home is one of the most striking improvements you can make to your yard. Practically permanent, the wall adds functional beauty to any yard, enhancing its appearance while preventing a bank or slope from eroding.
Here in Michigan, retaining walls (sometimes called hardscapes) are commonly used to secure a land mass from moving, can be decorative and work as a needed barrier. Building a stone retaining wall is a major undertaking, but you can minimize the labor involved by using stones that you can pick up easily.
By using a mortarless, or dry stone, building technique, you let gravity and friction bind the stones together. You can stop work at any time and resume work later without further preparation. Stone yards and quarries sell suitable rocks in a variety of textures, shapes and colors. With careful planning and purchasing, you can create uniform rock patterns with the same color or an informal effect with stones of different colors and textures. You can add extra color to any wall by planting sun- or shade-loving plants in its rock crevices.
To anchor your wall, it is best to lay the bottom row of stones in a trench below ground level. A layer of gravel in the trench bottom will provide drainage and — in and around Michigan or other cold regions of the country — gravel will absorb the upward thrust of frost heaves, which might otherwise displace the stones.
Building will go faster if you sort your stones into face stones, fill stones and cap stones. The most angular and attractive-looking stones will be the face stones. They will form the exposed side, or face, of the wall. Set aside large, flat slabs to be the cap stones, which will be used to finish the top of the wall. Use all remaining odds and ends for fill stones, which are placed in the spaces between the face stones and the bank behind them.
If the height of your wall will exceed three feet, you may need a building permit and professional advice on construction techniques and drainage requirements. For walls of three feet or less, observe these simple rules on dimensions and proportions: At the base, add an inch of gravel for each foot of wall height. Taper the thickness of the wall as you build, making sure the thickness at the base is at least one third of the height. For stability and appearance, incline the face of the wall slightly back into the hillside. Make sure the wall slopes in toward the hill from bottom to top by two inches for each foot in height.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
Tools
1. Bricklayer’s hammer
2. Carpenter’s level
3. Spade
4. Garden trowel
5. Brickset
6. Work gloves
7. String
8. Crosscut saw
9. Claw hammer
10. Wooden stakes
11. Safety goggles
12. Folding rule
Rental of skidsteer or excavator may assist on the project.
Materials
1×2 lumber
Stones
Pea gravel
Sand or soil
PLANNING
Check whether your community requires a building permit for the type of retaining wall you are planning to build.
Find out which kinds of stone are locally available before designing your wall.
When ordering unfinished stone, allow at least 25 percent extra for waste and breakage. For finished stone, 10 percent extra is sufficient.
Finding the right stones
Choose stones to suit your budget and design. Remember that the cost of delivery may exceed the cost of the stones themselves. To keep expenses reasonable, use stones that are locally available.
For more formal, closely fitted walls, you will need precut stone from a quarry. For a less formal look, ask whether your quarry has irregular
chunks and slivers left over from shaping cut stones.
With diligence and persistence, you can often find stones for free. Check with crews at local construction and demolition sites for stone rubble. Look for piles of fieldstone that farmers have removed from cultivated fields, or search for water-sculpted rocks in dry creek or river beds.
STEP-BY-STEP
1. Dig a base trench.
2. Add a layer of gravel.
3. Lay the base course.
4. Stagger joints on succeeding courses.
5. Backfill with smaller stones.
6. Add gravel, sand or soil.
7. Lay cap stones.
Building the Wall
1 Dig down about 3 inches into the bank or hillside into which you will build the wall, leaving a 15- to 20-degree slope on the back wall of the cut. At the bottom of the cut, mark out the length of the wall with wooden stakes and string. Use a shovel to dig out a base trench for the wall. Spread a layer of pea gravel on the bottom of the trench.
2 To maintain the slope of the wall, build a pair of triangular templates from 1 x2-inch lumber. Cut vertical boards to the height of the wall and nail each to a horizontal base, setting one board at the desired incline. Drive nails at equal distances and stretch string between matching nails, moving the string up as you build.
3 Place the largest, heaviest stones in the front of the trench with their flattest surfaces facing upward. Lay them on the gravel so their surfaces incline slightly toward• the rear wall of the trench. Fill in the back of the trench with tightly fitting smaller stones, wedging them together to keep the larger stones from shifting.
4 To begin the second course, select face stones from the largest remaining rocks. Lay each face stone on the base course with its best side facing outward. Try each stone in several positions until you find a solid, stable fit. Whenever possible, position each new stone across at least one joint between stones in the course below it.
5 Stabilize each new course of face stones as you build by filling in behind them with smaller rocks. You can fill the remaining, smaller gaps between face and fill stones with a variety of materials, including pea gravel, sand or soil. Gravel or sand can be shoveled into the wall after it is built; soil should be added during construction.
6 If you plan to grow plants in your wall, arrange face stones to leave gaps for plant roots. Shovel soil into larger openings and use a garden trowel to work soil into smaller gaps. Set the plants in these pockets as you build, making sure their roots can reach back and draw nourishment from soil behind the face stones.
7 Use slightly smaller face stones for each successive course. Make sure that each new face stone inclines slightly to the rear, and check from the side after finishing each course to make sure you are maintaining the desired angle on the face. Choose large, flat rocks for the cap
stones; for added stability, set them in a bed of mortar.
If your in Lake Orion, Clarkston, Oakland County, Michigan and would like a free quote please contact us at 248-701-9328 or click here.
America’s #1 Connected ContractorTM, Free Augmented Article©
This article sponsored by Drexel Group, providing industrial, commercial and engineering services. Service areas include: Metro Detroit, Oakland, Macomb, Wayne, Washtenaw, Genesee, Troy, Auburn Hills, Madison Heights, Bloomfield, Birmingham, Washington, Clarkston, Orion, Flint, Saginaw, Davison, Novi, Wixom, Plymouth, Ann Arbor and Michigan.
Perhaps you desire the best retaining wall rates in Oakland County, Michigan call 248-701-9328 for a free quote.
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