Pennsylvania stone wall project...:)

[Tollster]

Just finished terracing 2 hills in my yard using Pennsylvania fieldstone. 39 pallets at 3000lbs apiece. Highest point on walls is about 48" with and average of 36". I hired some of the hands that pick it from the fields. After looking at how they stack the pallets, I figured it was better than I can do. Price was 20.00 a pallet for building the wall. They put 3 slate stair ways in and 1 bench. It would have taken me a very, VERY, long time to do on my own(120,000 LBS of rock). After laying out the curves with a garden hose, I marked the line with ground marking paint, then cut the leading edge using a flate spade. I then removed the sod from the trench area using my BX 23 BH to a depth of about 3-4". Leveling the Backhoe with the outriggers to ensure the base was level for the first course.
The 5 hands laid 17 pallets in 7 hours the first day, the 22 pallets in 6 hours the following weekend. Seemed I held them up the first day using the backhoe...go figure?
My wife and I are very pleased with the wall, and the price. We threw in a nice tip, a charcol grill fired meal, plenty of gatorade, and a bottle of mezcal.

[srossman]

Originally Posted by Tollster

Just finished terracing 2 hills in my yard using Pennsylvania fieldstone. 39 pallets at 3000lbs apiece. Highest point on walls is about 48" with and average of 36". I hired some of the hands that pick it from the fields. After looking at how they stack the pallets, I figured it was better than I can do. Price was 20.00 a pallet for building the wall. They put 3 slate stair ways in and 1 bench. It would have taken me a very, VERY, long time to do on my own(120,000 LBS of rock). After laying out the curves with a garden hose, I marked the line with ground marking paint, then cut the leading edge using a flate spade. I then removed the sod from the trench area using my BX 23 BH to a depth of about 3-4". Leveling the Backhoe with the outriggers to ensure the base was level for the first course.
The 5 hands laid 17 pallets in 7 hours the first day, the 22 pallets in 6 hours the following weekend. Seemed I held them up the first day using the backhoe...go figure?
My wife and I are very pleased with the wall, and the price. We threw in a nice tip, a charcol grill fired meal, plenty of gatorade, and a bottle of mezcal.

Where are the pictures?

[tlbuser]

Originally Posted by Tollster

Price was 20.00 a pallet for building the wall. They put 3 slate stair ways in and 1 bench. It would have taken me a very, VERY, long time to do on my own(120,000 LBS of rock). The 5 hands laid 17 pallets in 7 hours the first day, the 22 pallets in 6 hours the following weekend. We threw in a nice tip, a charcol grill fired meal, plenty of gatorade, and a bottle of mezcal.

20.00 a pallet ??? How far into Pa. are you? It's ten times that much locally Good for you to recognize the extra effort the "hired help" gave you.

BTW, where are the pics??

[riptides]

Crap. At THOSE prices, I'll pay for the hotels and meals for their families. And I am only a state away.

Unreal.

I just had qutes of 2.5k-4k to lay flagstone. Just lay it. The area is prepared and the materials are on site.

This is a three day job - MAX, with a crew, two days.


Guess what I am doing in my spare time.


-Rant.
-Mike Z.

[kubuddha]

Tollster, what is the price per pallet and where do I buy the stone? Post some pictures!

[Tollster]

I have pics on my home computer, I had to merge the pictures in photshop due to the length of the wall. I looked around at the local stone yards at pallets and they wanted 139.00 per pallet for 3000lbs. The I was out riding my motorcycle in the country and saw where they where harvesting the stone from a local farm. I stopped in and asked how much a pallet if they load and I haul. Price was 80.00 a pallet. Thats where I met the workers and hired them on as they where off memorial day weekend and the following saturday.
I made allot of trips but cut out allot of overhead and the middle man...Total was around 4k for 260' of wall install. I backfilled on my own with 2b, roughly 16 tons. Still waiting for my account to stabilize before I order the topsoil triaxles.
My wife was apprehensive about the second wall, but at that price I had to move. Funny thing is, those hands had never built a wall before. I cannot wait for ya''ll to see the pics. I watch them from a distance and they did not pick up the first rock they came to, they actually found the ones that fit, which is why I wanted to show some courtousy. If I had hire someone else I kind of feel like it would not have been as nice and 4 times as much. Customer service seems to be lacking aorund these parts. Close to wilkes-barre red-rock area in NEPA.
Heres the pics I promised.

[srossman]

WOW. It looks to me like they did a great job. The wall really sets off the rest of the area. Nice looking property you have there.

[BTDT]

Very nice. Pond pic looks real peaceful. Any plans for a gazebo or something down there? Were the guys that layed the stone masons or something, a stone and cement gazebo there sure would be nice.

[Dog Lover]

Fabulous looking job on the walls. Very nice.

[Tollster]

Thanks guys, it was a good find and I often do not have much luck with finding much help. We would like to put a gazebo type structure over the seat and grow some wysteria. Along with some type of japanese garden and trees. Both hills are full sun, well drained shale type. So we have had little luck growing much. You can see the grass is burned and its only early june. On the upper wall we plan on screening out the neighbor with some evergreen type shrubs and trees. I would like to have a couple of ordimental evergreens and perhaps some red twig dogwood to liven up the winter scene. Then we plan on placing a quit bench in the middle of the upper wall overlooking the yard. IIts hard to see how massive the walls are from tjose shots as theres nothing to really reference in the pics. Here are a couple more of the finer detailed work.