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The Age-old Custom of
Stone wall Construction
has Never been Fresher.
by Kim Gifford
photos by Hal Winters
Stone walls are classic New England fixtures.
They’re beautiful, rustic, and evocative of some of
the richest periods in U.S. history. Originally,
their popularity had nothing to do with aesthetics;
like most New England traditions, stone walls began
as a product of practicality.
When the early American settlers tilled their land
for farming, they uncovered much of the stone that
had been deposited by melting glaciers way back at
the end of the last Ice Age. They collected this
stone in piles, and, as time permitted, they stacked
it along their property lines.
It used to be that wherever you saw stone walls
there had once been an old farm or farmland, but
today, with the growing stone wall trend, that’s not
always the case. New stone walls and other stone
fixtures evocative of the traditional New England
stone wall are springing up in the Northeast and
nationwide.
Cost of Stone Walls
With their growing popularity and the cost of
construction itself, stone walls tend to be pricey.
According to Paul Fredella, owner of Upper Valley
Landscape Services in Newbury, Vermont, they are
considered among “the high end in hardscapes as
every stone has to be worked into place just right
in order to get a high-quality product.”
Likewise, Joe Rolfe of Stone Mountain Masonry in
Belmont, New Hampshire, attributes 50 percent of the
work he does to stone wall construction, and he
claims that 99 percent of his clients are high-end
residences.
Dave Palmer, of Palmer Landscaping and Design in
Middlebury, Vermont, said, “We’ve built walls that
encircle an entire property and cost as much as
$250,000.”
The final cost of stone walls depends on a number of
factors, ranging from the type of wall built and the
terrain it’s built on, to the size of the wall and
type of stone required. But Dave Palmer said a fair
estimate for a mid-grade quality stone wall is $55
to $75 per finished face foot.
Variety of Stone
Stone is available in myriad varieties including
sandstone, granite, limestone, mica schist, quartz,
slate, etc. The type of stone one uses is largely a
matter of personal preference. Most masons recommend
choosing a stone native to the region.
“The variety of stone is almost endless. The
majority of people choose an indigenous stone to
match the landscape,” said Rolfe.
Not only will a native stone blend more easily with
the landscape, but it will also reduce the shipping
cost of having to transport stone from outside the
region. In the Champlain Valley, for example, masons
like Palmer frequently favor a native panton stone
also known as Champlain Black. Quarried from the sea
walls of Lake Champlain, this stone contains a
variety of fossils, providing a unique appearance
where no two pebbles within a stone are the same.
Although using this stone near its native lake makes
perfect sense as it compliments the environment, it
may not be the stone of choice in an area outside
the state.
Certain types of stone such as round field stones
lend a more rustic appearance to a wall than perhaps
those with a flat-faced veneer, which are more
formal. When building a retaining wall, it is best
to choose a stone that is hard and resistant to
water, as opposed to a shale or mica that
may crumble.
Construction
Constructing stone walls involves several phases,
including: design, site preparation, foundation
construction, and wall construction. If you’re
considering having a stone wall built on your
property, pay close attention to the steps below so
that you can follow them yourself or discuss them
with prospective masons. This will show that you’re
well educated on the topic and help ensure that you
get good work done at a fair price.
Design
Determine Use. “If the stone wall is being built
mostly for aesthetic reasons, you don’t need to be
as concerned with its structural functionality,”
said Rolfe. A retaining wall, however, involves more
complex structural considerations, such as the
hydraulic pressure applied to its backside from the
soil as it becomes wet. “This is a big concern that
has to be considered during the design process. The
width and height need to be in proportion to the
amount of soil the wall is retaining,” he said.
Account for Natural Features. Work with the natural
features of the landscape as much as possible, as it
can greatly reduce cost. “You can save a lot of
money incorporating natural aspects of the
landscape, rather than trying to create vistas from
scratch,” said Fredella.
Wet or Dry? Stone walls can either be wet or dry. A
dry stone wall is constructed without mortar and
relies on the weight and friction of the stone to
hold it together. The stability of a wet wall comes
from cement mortar used between the stones. When
considering these choices, think about the budget
and the purpose of the wall. “A wet wall is
certainly a little bit more decorative and formal
and comes with a higher budget,” said Fredella.
“When you do wet stonework, the foundation has to be
much better prepared to prevent cracking. A dry
stone wall can move with the frost so it is a little
bit more forgiving.”
Site Preparation
Concentrate on Drainage. Proper drainage is the key
to maintaining the life of a wall, especially a
retaining wall. “If you don’t have proper drainage,
water will come in behind the wall, freeze, and in
five to 10 years cause the wall to topple,” said
Fredella. He recommends using a full 48 inches of
drainage material such as crushed gravel or pea
stone behind the wall as well as perforated drainage
pipes, so water coming off the bank will hit the
drainage material and move to either side of the
wall. “In this way, it drops down below the wall,
but never actually freezes behind it,” he said. The
wetter the site, the more elaborate the drainage
will have to be, which in turn may increase cost.
Excavate Topsoil. To ensure proper drainage,
excavate all topsoil with water-holding capacity
from the site of the foundation. Usually this means
excavating between 12 to 18 inches below grade.
Rolfe also recommends starting the wall on top of
crushed stone. “You want to have a base material
like crushed stone that will wick away water,” he
explained.
Foundation Construction
Avoid Air Pockets. Before digging your foundation,
which is usually about a foot deep, and laying a 12
inch base of gravel on which to build your wall,
make sure the soil at the bottom of your foundation
is compacted evenly to prevent air pockets. Also get
rid of all organic matter from the soil base, such
as old stumps, which can rot over time and create a
sag in the wall.
Create Level Base. It is important—even on a
slope—to establish a good level base. “If working on
a slope, each stone needs to be stepped into the
bank and then built off of it as opposed to running
with the grade. You need to maintain a flat
foundation at all times,” said Fredella.
Establish Proper Dimensions. Generally, the height
of the retaining wall determines the width of the
base. The base of the wall typically should be half
that of the height, so a retaining wall four feet
high should have a base that is two feet wide.
Wall Construction
Watch the Lines. As you lay each layer of stone,
keep the top of the stones level so that if you ran
a string from the top of a layer’s first stone to
the top of its last stone, every stone in between
would be touching it. According to Sid Grose of S &
G Masonry of Lebanon, New Hampshire, “If you get the
top lines nice and true, it will mask any little
imperfections down the face.”
Avoid Running Seams. For structural integrity, make
sure the seams or joints of the wall do not line up
in one spot. Each new tier should lap a joint, just
like a brick wall.
Be Aware of Stone Placement. Place the stones
tightly together, and make sure you display the face
of the stone, or the nicest and biggest area of the
stone. The squarer the stone, the nicer the face.
Taper the Wall Back. Every wall and especially a
retaining wall is made sturdier when it’s tapered
back slightly.
Once you have a completed stone wall, you will have
added value to your property, so long as the wall
was constructed with care. No one wants to own land
with a crumbled stone wall on the premises—unless of
course it was built by farmers a hundred years ago.
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