A retaining wall must be strong enough to hold back the pressure of a great weight of soil, yet it must be porous enough to allow for drainage. The most popular types of walls are built of stone. In using stone to build a retaining wall, there are two basic types of construction: the dry-wall, which uses earth as a filler between the stones, and the mortar type, which uses cement as a bonding agent.

First, the base of any retaining wall must be sunk below the frost line. This is about 6-12 inches in the northern half of the United States but may be more in some areas. For a flat wall (one without buttresses or projections), the width of the base should equal one-fourth the height of the wall. The wall can taper to a width of about one-fourth of the width of the base.

For buttressed walls, the base should be approximately one-fourth as wide as the wall is to be high. This refers to the widest points, when buttressing is to be used. In the narrower areas, the base may have slimmer proportions

Drainage pipes should be imbedded in the wall at intervals of about 24 inches, and about 6 inches from the lower ground level of the retaining wall,. In some walls, it is possible to eliminate these drains, if the wall itself is porous enough, but any construction using mortar as a bonding agent, makes drainage pipes essential.

In dry-wall construction it is possible (though not advisable) to start the wall at ground level, and not sink it below the frost line. The most inexpensive way to construct a dry wall is to choose local stone, picking large stones for the main ones and smaller stones for the chinks. The largest stones should be used to form the base of the wall with the smaller ones leading to the top.

The side of the wall facing out should be as level as possible. Any obstructions and edges of outside stones should face inward. This gives the wall a better footing on the soil it retains and insures a good appearance. Stones with round surfaces do not form a good wall and should be discarded.

Stones should be placed in a good bond, which simply means that the edges of stones on one course should overlap spaces in the lower courses. Where a stone on an upper course is crooked or does not fit firmly, earth and small stones should be packed in to improve the bond and no vertical crevices should be left.

The wall itself should slope back against the soil that it is retaining. This gives it greater strength. As a rule of thumb, the width of the base should be one-third of the height. Although this degree of slope is not essential, it is the practice in many areas to slope the wall as much as five or six inches for each vertical foot. Soil should be firmly packed into all pockets in the wall and should be continued back into the earth being retained.

Both the strength and attractiveness of a dry stone wall may be enhanced by using it as a wall garden. It may acquire a mossy and aged appearance simply by green-planting in the crevices. More color can be obtained, however, by planting any of several flowering plants, whose strong roots will serve the added function of holding the wall together.

Plants which may be used to good effect are: flowering types such as phlox, garden pinks, sedum, snowy rock cress, azaleas, alyssum, evergreen candytuft, heather, and creeping veronicas; spreading plants such as moss, phlox, lavender and hardy verbenna; small rosettes as well as little tufts that need sun and room for roots like sempervivium, yarrow, dwarf iris and dwarf pinks; and plants you can grow from seed sown among the rocks such as some ivies, bleeding heart and varieties of poppy and phlox. Semperviviums, prostrate, junipers, azaleas and dwarf azaleas could keep a rock wall green all winter long.

Mortared and Concrete Walls

Mortared walls are simpler than dry walls. The mortar serves as the bond so it is not as essential to make the stones match. For a masonry wall, a cement mixture of one part Portland cement and two parts sand makes for a good bonding agent.

Apply the mortar liberally to form a bed for each stone as it is added. Chinks between stones should be well filled with smaller pebbles or gravel. The mortared wall is more permanent than a dry wall and, in fact, easier to build.

The top of every stone wall, whether dry wall, or masonry, needs protection. This is accomplished by using broad, flat stones as capstones. These can either be slate or other flat stones acquired in the course of collecting the material for the wall.

For more great landscaping ideas and resources visit http://landscapehints.com, a popular landscaping website that offers information, tips and free landscaping resources and advice.

If you are planning on adding landscaping rock to your yard, the
following tips will help you with your plans.

First, you need to know what exactly you want to do with your
landscaping. If you are trying to add depth and texture to your
landscape, natural stone is a great choice. The size, color,
textures, and type of rocks vary greatly however. You will have
to narrow them down based upon your design.

For example, small rocks or stones are used for things like
accenting paths or as a border for a garden. Larger rocks or
boulders are permanently placed and can be for decoration or used
as a place to sit and relax.

Planning Rock Placement

In order to be successful with your rock landscaping, you should
place the larger rocks and boulders in places where they will
become focal points. If you are trying to hide a certain area,
do not put the rocks there. Every rock that you place should
have a purpose, based upon balance, looks, and design. You
should not haphazardly place them. Instead, you should plan
exactly where each rock will go ahead of time.

Stones are very natural, so they should look that way. You can
bury part of the base of the rock to give an extremely natural
look. Large boulders can be planted deeper into the ground than
smaller landscaping rocks. Four to six inches is a good general
depth to use as a guide. It will blend in better with the entire
landscape if it is somewhat in the ground, instead of looking
like you just rolled a rock into your yard.

You should dig a hole a little bigger than the size of the rock,
place the rock inside, then fill in the rest of the hole that is
still open with dirt. It’s as simple as that.

When you are thinking about

where to place landscape rocks, you need to consider how they will get to
that position. If you are placing large boulders, you will need
a loader or bobcat. You will have to be careful though, that the
equipment does not destroy any part of your landscape. You may
have to seek out other options if there is no way to bring a
large boulder in.

Overall, you should try to imitate nature with your rock
placement. You should go on a nature hike and observe how rocks
naturally sit in the ground an strive to make your yard look
similar.

The addition of landscape rock in a landscape design can transform a garden and create dramatic images. Visit http://www.plant-care.com/buy-landscaping-rock.html for more on rocks in the landscape.

My dad has been a mason for over 50 years and has been laying flagstone since the late 1960s. He has mostly laid sandstone from Colorado, Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico and he’s dealt with some slate from the East Coast, like Pennsylvania and New York. Owners are usually ecstatic after their flagstone masterpiece is installed. I think you’ll be happy after you install some flagstone around your house.

Flagstone is a sedimentary sandstone rock that is quarried out of mountains. I’ve been to a few quarries and it’s cool to watch them cut out huge chunks of stone and pry off ½ inch to 2 ½ inch thick stones that will eventually end up on or in someone’s house.

Flagstone is usually cemented together with iron, calcium, or silica. Those bonding materials are what make for the many great colors of flagstone. We’ve see colors from red, rose, pink, beige, white, to chocolate. There are also some amazing streaks and patterns in some flagstone that can make a house look like an exotic palace from ancient Egypt or something. If you’re into evolutionary history, we’ve seen stone with ancient leaves, bone prints, and animal foot steps. Imagine how unique your house would be with some exquisite, prehistoric flagstone beautifying your residence?

We’ve had great luck with the durability of flagstone. My dad and I visited a job that he did twenty years ago. The stone aged greatly and even the cement joints that hold the stones in place were in good shape. If you compare the long-term savings of stone over wood, than there’s no competition. Stone wins hands down!

What’s nice is that if you spill some food on stone or some tree sap drips down on it, it just blends right in. You don’t have to worry too much about cleaning it. However, you’ll want to seal your stone every few years. It just keeps it preserved better.

Your house can be decorated with stone anywhere from walls, fireplaces, posts, patios, and even driveways (although that will be a feat). It is even very elegant inside. My father-in-law laid it inside his study and it looks stunning. Everybody remarks about how great it is. He just put a few throw-down rugs over it to give it some soft spots.

If you lay a horizontal surface, you’ll need to decide whether you’ll have pre-cut, or some call it dimensional stone, or irregular stone. Dimensional stone is a little easier to lay, because there are not as many cuts. Most modern looking houses go with dimensional stone. It fits the architectural style better.

However, if your house is older or more traditional, then irregular cut stone is usually a better fit. It costs cheaper, but you’ll have more cuts.

If you’re fairly good as a “do-it-yourselfer,” then laying it yourself will save you thousands of dollars. My dad charges about $10 a square foot for labor, so if you have a 300 square foot patio, then you’ll potentially save $3,000.

If you do contract it out, make sure you get references. We’ve seen many so-called “professionals” lay some pretty shoddy work.

To see free videos, articles, and tutorials on laying flagstone and maintaing it, check out our website at http://www.the-flagstone-experts.com/ You’ll find great information to help you decide what to do with your house or business.