Build a Patio • Traditional Patio • Deck Patio • Finishing Touches • DIY Projects
Building a retaining wall
Building a natural stone wall at the back of your flower
garden not only gives your yard character, but it also makes your garden
seem larger, granting a feeling of depth and value. What’s even better
is that this can be accomplished by two people, as a weekend home
improvement project, and it’s incredibly light on the finances.
Before you start on this project, you will want to ensure that you have
all the tools that are needed for this job. While not all are necessary,
you will find that the proper tools will make the job easier, faster,
and help reduce the risk of injury. The suggested list includes:
- a length of rope or hose, the approximate length you want your wall to
be
- spray paint or marking chalk
- sod cutter
- round shovel
- tamper
- level
- mallet
- wet saw or a circular saw, equipped with a masonry blade
- safety glasses/goggles
- paving base or levelling sand
- limestone planter’s blocks
Once you’ve made sure you have all the needed tools, you may begin. The
first step in creating a new garden (or enhancing an existing one) is to
plot it all out. This is where your rope (or hose) will come in handy.
Take it and stretch it out, using it to mark where you want your wall to
go in and how you want it shaped. Remember to keep it interesting - you
don’t want to go for just a straight, boring wall, but you also want to
be sure to avoid tight curves as well. These are not only hard to build,
but they also tend to make your wall unstable. Instead, try to give your
wall a gentle curve or, if it better suits your property style, a wall
with a few interesting angles can also work well.
Use your spray paint or marking chalk to map out the contours of your
wall on the grass, once you’ve figured out where you want that wall to
be. When that is done, you can then put your rope up and out of the way,
so there is no risk that you might trip over it. You won’t need it again
for this project.
Since you won’t want to be trampling them, your next step in this
project is going to be removing your greenery. If you’re improving on an
existing bed, you will want to remove them completely from the garden,
ensuring to leave a large root ball, with plenty of dirt, on each plant.
If you do that, most plants will do just fine, out of the ground, for a
couple of days. To reduce the risk of stress and further damage, set
them into the shade and be sure to mist frequently, to make sure they
aren’t drying out.
At this time, you will also want to strip the sod away from the
immediate area and roll it back to give you some work space. While this
can be done with a shovel, you’ll find it much neater, easier to work
with, and professional-looking to use a sod cutter. Roll your turf back
and give yourself ample room to work around where the wall is to be
erected.
Now you’re ready to start working on your wall. Once you’ve determined
the elevation that you want the base of your wall, dig a trench roughly
6 inches deeper and wide enough for the blocks to set into. You will
want to use your level as you do this, in order to ensure that you have
an even and balanced base to work with. Once you have this levelled
trench, pour your paving base into it and, firming it with the tamper,
add or subtract whatever base is needed, in order to keep it nice and
level.
Our limestone slabs, called planter’s blocks, usually come in 3 foot
sections and will need to be cut into smaller, more manageable bricks.
This can be done using a circular saw, equipped with a special masonry
blade, or a wet saw. As you cut them into 12”-16” blocks, be sure to
wear your safety glasses, in order to avoid risk of eye injury from
stone chips.
Lay your stone blocks, tapping each into place gently, using your
mallet. Once this first course is laid, the remaining blocks are easily
stacked atop them. The main rule to remember is to stagger each level,
so that the joints are covered by the blocks above it, just like if you
were laying brickwork.
Low walls are generally easy to erect. Taller walls, however, may
require a bit more care to ensure they are well-stabilized and cannot be
toppled over by drainage water or the elements. Additionally, taller
walls may run into difficulty with zoning codes, so it’s always a good
idea to look into that, prior to erecting any wall over 3 feet in
height. This information can usually be found at the city hall or at
your local cooperative extension office.
Once your wall is in place, you will want to remove any excess soil from
the bed, ensuring that it is nice and level. This excess soil can then
be used to stabilize the wall by raising the grade on the opposite side
of the wall, until it is level with the top of your planter’s blocks.
This will help to prevent your wall from shifting, offering it
additional stability.
Now move uphill of the wall and carefully roll your sod back into place.
This is a fairly easy task, the most important thing to remember being
to ensure that, as you roll it back, there are no large gaps remaining,
between your pieces of sod. Fitting it back together neatly will enable
it to grow together and patch up the small gaps with ease, once more
restoring your lawn to its natural state.
Take this opportunity to improve the quality of your garden soil, if
need be, as well. This can be done by adding fertilizers or, if you
choose to do so, you can lay down plastic or layers of newspaper to help
with weed control. Plants should be returned to the garden either before
or after the heat of the day and watered deeply. This is also a good
time to lay down mulch, if this is your intention.
Adding a retaining wall to the back of a flowerbed is an excellent way
to brighten up a dark and dreary spot, add character to your landscaping
and provide a bright backdrop for your beautiful blooms. Sure to capture
attention, this is an excellent family project and is sure to provide a
new accent. The best part is that this project is light on the wallet,
but will make your yard look like a million bucks!
Online Store
Click your flag
|
|