Those who wish to obtain basic construction skills should better start with the rock masonry on the example of how to build a rock wall.
A rock wall construction is quite an expensive and troublesome deal. However, as a result such a structure can stand more than one hundred years. Proper installation, carried out according to acceptable rules will transform your home into a fortress. So, how to build a rock wall?
Rock wall benefits
Such constructions are often used for several reasons:
- The great strength and durability. This material is virtually perpetual, since it does not suffer from the sun or wind, or by sudden changes in temperature. Correctly built structures can stand more than a hundred years, and will still look like they were laid a month ago;
- This material does not burn and is not afraid of chemical exposure. Its resistance to various adverse factors makes its structure the safest among all possible constructions.
- Magnificent decorative qualities. It looks very solid, emphasizing the taste and wealth of homeowners. Its coloring and styling techniques can be very different. There are dozens of ways to create decorative rock walls, so they will not seem boring;
- It is natural, environmentally friendly material, looks prettier than concrete or plastic, and combined with various elements of landscape design.
Its disadvantage is the high price. This is the main reason why such constructions are quite rare phenomenon. Usually it is used only for facing or supporting pillars of the construction, although walls completely made of rock masonry are also met.
How to build a rock wall?
Construction of a rock wall is quite time-consuming process, requiring certain skills and patience. This work should be carried out in several stages.
Approximate instructions:
- The foundation construction. Each wall needs a basis. Its depth should be at least 5 ft under supporting pillars and at least 3 ft under openings, or otherwise your construction will not have proper strength. For pouring you can use conventional concrete mix. Often a foundation is accompanied with a framework of reinforcement;
- A few days after laying the foundation perform a formwork for supporting pillars. This formwork is placed on a foundation and attached to a grillage. After that, you can start laying itself;
- Pick up rocks of the same diameter. As a solution you can take the cement-sand mixture in a ratio of 1:3. The sand must be of medium size, there should be no clay impurities;
- The solution is laid on a concrete base, after which rocks are placed there by a flat side on outside. Stones are closely adjusted to each other, and gaps between them are immediately sealed with cement solution.
- 5. After this working process, the outer rock surface is cleaned from solution traces by a stiff brush and then your wall may look aesthetically pleasing.
Rock walls how to build “Dry” and “wet” masonry?
Builders practice “wet” and “dry” masonry, using a solution based on:
- construction adhesive;
- sand-cement mixture;
- clay kneading.
How to build rock walls with dry masonry? Garden fences with dry masonry look very natural, especially if there is ground covered the back side for the similarity of natural terraces. Stones are gradually overgrown with shoots and get a picturesque landscape, reminiscent of ruins of an ancient fortress or castle.
Hewn rocks of the same size should be better put in 2-3 levels without any solution to careful fitting of each block according to the shape of the neighboring material. For the “dry” laying you can use only large stones of any shape close to the cube one. Knowing how to build a rock wall, you should remember not only about the adjustment of each stone to each other, but the calibration of each building material to form a wall in the width and height. If a rock wall is made for filling up the back side with the ground, it is important to align only the front surface with the help of a plumb.
The largest stones are placed on a lower level, but rows should be necessarily present. This process is a bit like the connection of puzzle pieces, and the dry masonry differs with nothing more. Voids or joints between stone blocks can be filled with compacted soil, if it is the low laying in a garden border or flower fence. A bottom row of stones sometimes is partially dug into the ground, like a foundation.
How to build rock wall constructions with wet masonry? For buildings taller than 2 ft you should use wet masonry only on the basis of binder solution. If these natural stones are used for low fences in agricultural buildings of mixed type, for example, as a basis of adobe masonry, it is also possible to attach a clay mixture with the addition of dry cement.