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Tools
for the
project
In addition to shovels and levels, these are some essential
hand tools for this type of project. Although
none are motorized, most of them call for hearing
protection, and all require protective eyewear.
Hand
guard
Pick (pick mattock)
This tool combines an ax
head and a pick for chopping
away at hard soil,
roots and rocks before you
shovel the soil out.
Sledgehammer
Its long handle and 10- to
20-pound weight deliver
great force for packing soil
or gravel or pounding down
a high spot in a stone.
Mason’s hammer
Also called a bricklayer’s
hammer, this tool’s flat
face and chisel-shape
blade help to chip off
edges of a stone.
Wrecking bar
It works as a lever to loosen
and lift large boulders
or adjust heavy stones, or
you can use it as a pick to
loosen hard soil.
Mason’s chisel
To score a cut line in
stone, tap the top of a
mason’s chisel with a hammer;
then deliver a heavy
blow to split the stone.
Setting stone
As with any wall construction, the base
course sets the stage for the rest of the
project. For this first layer, you can use
stones that have odd shapes or different
thicknesses, as long as the top surfaces
are all even and level. Just pound
down any high spots using the top end
of a maul (photo C, p. 24). Check for
level front-to-back and side-to-side. (If
you can’t get it perfect, err on the side
of a slightly higher front edge than
back.) Make each course level before
you start the next layer — don’t plan to
compensate for height differences later.
As you install each stone, flip and turn
it until you have a solid fit. You might
need to try a different one for compatibility
with neighboring stones and with
the base. Set the front face of each new
row 1/4 in. back from the previous row
(photo D, p. 25).
Natural stones’ irregular shapes
sometimes make a slight “rocking”
movement unavoidable. You can compensate
by shimming with a stone chip
(called chinking) under the offending
rock (photo E). Where needed, you can
knock off protruding edges of stones
with a maul. Try to avoid leaving gaps
between neighboring stones, but where
they occur, fill vertical spaces with a
stone chip and gravel (photo F).
Use various sizes of levels to check
each stone as you install it, adjusting for
level front-to-back and side-to-side. Continue
to backfill with gravel as you add
each new course. Scott did not install
landscape fabric because it tends to prevent
drainage and to build hydrostatic Adding outcroppings
pressure — especially in clay soil. If your To help support mounds of soil and
soil is very sandy, you can add landscape plants within each tier, Scott placed
fabric between the gravel backfill and the small boulders as outcroppings within
soil behind it. Do not lay fabric directly the tiers (photo I). Strategically set to
against the back of the wall.
support the greatest elevation changes,
For the top course (called capstones), these rocks are partially submerged in
Scott used the thinner (2-in.) stones, the soil to help them stay in position.
being careful to fit the shapes together (One of these boulders was a lucky find:
well (see “Cutting Stone,” p. 25). Once When excavating the patio area, Scott
the entire top course was in place, he discovered a large rock buried right in
folded back the row of capstones and the spot where he had planned for one!)
applied mortar (photo G, p. 26) before A small patio created along the sidewalk
(photo J) provides room for potted
pressing them in place. To prevent
soil from seeping past the top layer of plants or a small sitting area. The flagstone
floor was laid over a 1-in.-thick
stone, you can pack mortar along the
back of the capstone row as well. ) base of compacted granite sand which,
To allow room for a layer of soil and like the gravel used for base in the walls,
plants, stop adding gravel backfill when is angular rather than rounded so it
you’re 5 in. shy of the top of the wall. You locks together and stays in place. Once
may choose to place landscape fabric on the 1-1/2- to 2-in.-thick flagstones were
top of the gravel before adding the soil. in place, gaps between them were filled
with more granite sand.
Building up
The upper walls are constructed like
the first: Dig a trench, pack in a 4-in.-
thick gravel base and install level
courses of stone with 8 to 10 in. of
gravel backfill behind. Dig the trench
deep enough that the top of the base
course is level with (or slightly lower
than) the capstone of the lower wall.
The return walls (the sections that Get the free Proper mobile app at
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beyond their exposed portions (photo H).
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The hidden portions must also be supported
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of base stone.
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APRIL/MAY 2013