Building a sturdy stone wall doesn’t meant that the wall has to be boring. With the right plan and some skilled stone masons, walls can be intricate, interesting, and last a life time.
As with anything, start with a sturdy foundation. Before pouring the cement for the foundation, rebar is laid in a grid pattern to act as a stabilizer and keep the cement from shifting or cracking over time.
Before the foundation was poured, rebar was also installed standing up to anchor the walls to the foundation. Using rebar instead of cement blocks allows the walls to be thinner with out giving up structural integrity.
The bright orange caps on the rebar prevent any accidental impalements and help make the thin rods more visible. The rebar was also pre-cut to the height of the wall.
The masons move counter clockwise, building one section of the wall at a time. This ensures that each new section matches the previous ones. It also breaks the job down into smaller goals that seem easier to complete.
For the long stretch of level block, string is used to make sure wall is level all the way across. It gives the masons a semi-permanent visual boundary instead of relying on measurements over such a long distance.
While cool or cold weather seems like the best time to get a construction project done, mortar doesn’t always agree. Like anything else, mortar takes longer to dry in cold or wet environments. Heaters are often used to help mortar set faster in cold weather. And I’m sure the masons enjoyed having warm fingers.
This massive project bled into spring, but the finish line is visible. The walls themselves are finished and the flag stones have been laid. Now for pea gravel to help hold the walkway in place.
The fence is also ready to be installed and secured to the stone walls.
The home owners were delighted with the final product. A beautiful, decorative stone wall that will guard their pool for a life time.
