Natural rock retaining wall...

[MistyBlue]

That looks fantastic! I love the wave to the shape of it and the size/shape of the rocks used.
I'm in CT and wehave rock walls galore...most older than dirt. I have some built on my property, most dry walls. But some of them need work, better stacking or to b restacked in spots. I've tried with the smaller/shorter one around the island in my driveway and have come to the conclusion that it's a lot harder than it looks. :laughing:

 

[mike69440]

Not my best work, a project in progress.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/89163-busy-wife-weekend-16.html

 

[Alien]

Nice feature wall and I like your reasoning behind it.:thumbsup:

 

[EddieWalker]

That sure is purrrdy.:thumbsup:

I agree!!!

Eddie

 

[ChiefLoneWolf]

.... and finally have some grass growing.

Jeez, this is beautiful. Just dreaming I'll be doing something similar one day. Thanks for sharing.

 

[rswyan]

I used commercial grade fabric.

Was it woven or non-woven ?

Reason I ask is I'm about to do a similar project .... place here sells both .... and I have some of both.

My understanding is that woven is typically used under roadways to keep the stone from sinking and the non-woven is generally used in landscaping applications. I'd imagine that one could use either one in a wall like this.

BTW - beautiful job.

 

[JerryK]

It looked like it was just fibers laid every which way, and not a heavy woven fabric like they use on the interstates. It is fairly tough stuff, but you can knock holes in it positioning the boulders. I 'chinked' the voids between the rocks with smaller rocks and then filled what was left with red mulch. I am in the process [ probably last years ] of replacing the red mulch with granite chips. I had a big chipmunk poking his head out at me and giving me a hard time as I drove by in my truck. So, I am going to 'try' to evict him before he tunnels and tears up all my fabric.... He is gone now, was just passing thru... but once they figure they have a home, they are hard to get rid of...

 

[rswyan]

It looked like it was just fibers laid every which way, and not a heavy woven fabric like they use on the interstates. It is fairly tough stuff, but you can knock holes in it positioning the boulders.

Right ....yeah, sounds exactly like the non-woven stuff I have .... I've torn up plenty of it

I 'chinked' the voids between the rocks with smaller rocks and then filled what was left with red mulch. I am in the process [ probably last years ] of replacing the red mulch with granite chips.

I've gone thru and mostly graded and sorted the rocks I have into various sizes .... even with pulling out smaller, rounded rocks for a couple of dry creek beds I'm doing I still have plenty of small stuff (fist to softball sized) to chink with ....

I think I have enough rock right now to do the entire wall, which is probably 70 or 80' in length.

I had a big chipmunk poking his head out at me and giving me a hard time as I drove by in my truck.

LOL ....

So, I am going to 'try' to evict him before he tunnels and tears up all my fabric.... He is gone now, was just passing thru... but once they figure they have a home, they are hard to get rid of ...

I hear ya .... we've got them and all sorts of other critters that like diggin' around here .... as all the holes dug in my screened topsoil pile shows ....

The terrain I'm working with is a bit different than yours, which appears to have been largely above grade initially. I'm cut into a bank at a total depth of 5' to 7' and I'm down past the 1' topsoil layer and the 2' sandy loam layer into hard, undisturbed clay/shale .... it's almost like concrete. Bucket on the loader pretty much won't touch it with having the toothbar on.

I've cut into the bank and have a drop off that ranges from 1' to about 3' or 4' .... I've tapered the cut back into the hillside a bit so the wall, when built, will lean into the hillside. All the topsoil has been removed from the slope and will added back in once I get the wall up high enough .... so figure another 1' or so of height, making the tallest point probably 5' ....

You can see the area I'm working with here:

Retaining Wall

I'm planning on using my loader to move, stack, and place the larger boulders and rocks - the largest of which are probably 30" or so in diameter. Wish I had a mini-ex (with a thumb) here to aid in placing the rocks, but that likely ain't going to happen. I'll probably throw the backhoe on and use it to shove stuff around and help with the positioning.

Had figured to use fabric just to avoid any soil leaking thru at some future point, although there won't really be any loose, undisturbed soil behind the wall - except at the top, when I add the topsoil back in ....

I'm also planning to make the wall high enough so that there is a bit of a swale on the top side, so that no surface runoff ever actually reaches the top side of the wall .... it will be channeled away from it before it ever gets there.

I've thought about leaving enough room behind the base layer of rocks on the bottom to throw in some gravel and 4" perforated flex pipe with a soil sock to drain any water that might wind up there .... but still haven't decided if I really need to do that.

One thing I do know - just after chucking around the smaller rocks for the dry creek beds - is that I do not want to have rebuild this wall at some later point due to poor design.

Just out of curiosity - how long did it take you to build your wall ?

I was hoping that I could get ours done in a couple of days - which is probably over-optimistic by 100% or more .... :laughing:

 

[JerryK]

Took me almost two weeks to build, including puting in the grass seed. Most of the time moving the rocks here and there, over and over.. It would have been easier if the rocks were more uniform, but had to work with what I had. I dug down and removed the sod about four to six inches, making sure not to disturb any soil I did not have to. With some of the larger rocks I dug a little deeper. The main thing is to keep the soil compacted so the wall will settle as little as possible, but it will settle over time. Everything is leaned back into the bank, and I packed the dirt pretty good behind the rocks [ tamped with a big steel tamper ] as I built the layers. Don't look like much of a wall, but it took about 10 yards of dirt to fill in behind it. I folded all the extra fabric back in behind in spots. Give the chipmunks more to chew thru.....

 

[wrooster]

More ideas for you...

ps:
Details on the fire pit construction are here:
Taller tires on a BX? - Page 4

Wrooster

 

[rswyan]

Took me almost two weeks to build, including puting in the grass seed. Most of the time moving the rocks here and there, over and over..

LOL .... it looks like it - meaning that it looks like considerable care, time and effort was given to achieving an aesthetic result - it's a work of art ....

I'm not sure if I'll have the patience, time or energy to achieve as good a result ....

It would have been easier if the rocks were more uniform, but had to work with what I had.

Yup, same here .... I imagine it will be a lot of "puzzle-solving" ....

I'm hoping that sorting and grading the rocks will allow me to avoid moving the rocks repeatedly .... at least with the bigger ones ....

If I had to guess, I imagine that I have something on the order of 75 to 125 rocks/boulders that are way too large/heavy to be moved by hand .... and maybe another 150 or so that I could move by hand, but are potential nut-busters ....

I've already managed to trip and fall into the bucket edge on the loader while trying to chuck one of the latter into the bucket .... ain't looking to repeat that experience ....

I dug down and removed the sod about four to six inches, making sure not to disturb any soil I did not have to. With some of the larger rocks I dug a little deeper. The main thing is to keep the soil compacted so the wall will settle as little as possible, but it will settle over time.

Yeah .... the "soil" I will be working with is pretty undisturbed .... in some places it looks like it's well on its way to becoming rock ....

I think for me, the way to avoid excess settling is to ensure that there is little water lying or retained at the base course of stone - fill in around the stones with clay or loam and then slope away from the base to move the water away.

Everything is leaned back into the bank, and I packed the dirt pretty good behind the rocks [ tamped with a big steel tamper ] as I built the layers. Don't look like much of a wall, but it took about 10 yards of dirt to fill in behind it. I folded all the extra fabric back in behind in spots.

That's one of the differences - you had to add soil and fill in behind it - and I removed soil to create the cut - probably something on the order of 5 to 10 yards ....

My "fill" is mostly already there .... the only thing I'll be adding is 4" to 8" of topsoil - on top of the clay and sandy loam that's already there.

Of course, some of that may fall into whatever voids exist behind the wall, between the wall and the undisturbed soil - unless I fill in with some washed 57 gravel (might be better for drainage ....)

The other thing I might do is run the (porous) non-woven up behind the rocks to contain the clay/sandy loam behind the wall .... and then place some woven (from an old pool cover) or solid 6 mil poly at the top, under the topsoil - to prevent the topsoil from falling in and working it's way down behind the wall.

Give the chipmunks more to chew thru.....

LOL .... keep 'em busy .... so they're not chewing on something more critical .... :thumbsup:

Thanks for the input and info !

 

[rswyan]

More ideas for you...

Thanks - beautiful stuff ....

I'm a big fan of the look of dry-stacked, flat stone .... unfortunately, most of the stone I mine here isn't flat (probably less than 10% is flat) - which means that for a lot of stuff the economics just don't work ....

The front of our home has a stone (and brick) facing - where stones were split, and the split was faced outward - personally I hate it. I've been thinking for a long time that I would like to replace it with a dry-stacked look similar to your walls.

Just curious - are the walls largely dry-stacked, with the tops and a few other critical points being the only things mortared ?

ps:
Details on the fire pit construction are here:
Taller tires on a BX? - Page 4

Wrooster

Outstanding !

BTW - I noticed the part about you cleaning/etching the fireplace with muriatic acid :thumbsup: - I'm in the middle of doing a dry creekbed and have been wanting to do that to the rock I'm using - most of which is covered with dirt (makes 'em all look the same - light brown) .... and it will allow me to get rid of the gallon of muriatic acid up in the garage that seems to be weeping/leaking ....

 

[wrooster]

I'm a big fan of the look of dry-stacked, flat stone .... unfortunately, most of the stone I mine here isn't flat (probably less than 10% is flat) - which means that for a lot of stuff the economics just don't work ....

Pick up a stone in your left hand, with the short edge/grain facing up, and with your right hand swing a mason's hammer at the midpoint.

Repeat the process a few hundred times on the rest of the stone. :mur:

Your forearms will look great in a couple of weeks. :dance1:

The front of our home has a stone (and brick) facing - where stones were split, and the split was faced outward - personally I hate it. I've been thinking for a long time that I would like to replace it with a dry-stacked look similar to your walls.

It just takes time, and a couple of pallets worth of stone.

Just curious - are the walls largely dry-stacked, with the tops and a few other critical points being the only things mortared ?

That is correct, good observation. Ensure you have the drainage situation sorted out, start on a good compacted base, and work your way up, mortaring every 3 or 4 or 5th course, depending. Mortar the top course -- note that you may want to tint the top mortar so it doesn't end up looking like a concrete project.

BTW - I noticed the part about you cleaning/etching the fireplace with muriatic acid :thumbsup: - I'm in the middle of doing a dry creekbed and have been wanting to do that to the rock I'm using - most of which is covered with dirt (makes 'em all look the same - light brown) .... and it will allow me to get rid of the gallon of muriatic acid up in the garage that seems to be weeping/leaking ....

Uggghh -- personally I would never, ever store muriatic acid indoors. I buy a gallon, and either use it all up or if not store it outdoors somewhere. Otherwise I would lay awake in bed all night wondering if the jug was leaking -- and permanently scaring the slab in the garage or workshop.

Wrooster

 

[rswyan]

Pick up a stone in your left hand, with the short edge/grain facing up, and with your right hand swing a mason's hammer at the midpoint.

Repeat the process a few hundred times on the rest of the stone.

Your forearms will look great in a couple of weeks.

LOL .... yeah ....

I have the mason's hammer (Grandpa's) ..... I have the rock .... but I don't really have the time or energy .... at least not right at the moment ....

It just takes time, and a couple of pallets worth of stone.

No doubt ....

That is correct, good observation. Ensure you have the drainage situation sorted out, start on a good compacted base, and work your way up, mortaring every 3 or 4 or 5th course, depending. Mortar the top course -- note that you may want to tint the top mortar so it doesn't end up looking like a concrete project.

Thanks - got it.

Uggghh -- personally I would never, ever store muriatic acid indoors. I buy a gallon, and either use it all up or if not store it outdoors somewhere. Otherwise I would lay awake in bed all night wondering if the jug was leaking -- and permanently scaring the slab in the garage or workshop.

Well, it's not really indoors .... it's in the garage .... and that floor needs replaced anyways ....

It's actually a jug that we inherited from my parents .... has to be 15 to 20 years old at least .... I have it stored in a plastic cabinet, which has a 1" well in the bottom .... as long as it don't completely go, the cabinet will catch the seepage ....

I really would like to get rid of it asap though .... made me nervous just to pick it up to put it in the cabinet ....