Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Building a Wall...Outdoor Wednesday


I will not likely ever do a
project like this one. It is
way too involved and requires one
to sweat...

O.k, so I have done my share of
sweating while helping Mikey the past
few weeks as we pulled weeds, planted and
mulched. However, the wall that
my brother, Allan, is building is
huge. It requires a lot of knowledge
and the willingness to take the
time to do it well.

If I look at a completed wall it
honestly never occurs to me to
wonder about its construction.

I simply decide if I like the way
it looks or not.

However, its appearance is very dependent
upon the foundation laid and the behind
the scenes preparation. (Oh, you can
guess the analogies I could draw from
all of this...but I won't.)

Let's just enjoy the process, shall we?

In this case, the wall is holding back
tons of dirt.
Well, not the stone wall
that you see, it is the retaining wall
behind the stone that actually does the
work.


Inside the dirt and bolted firmly to the
retaining wall and the house are cables.
Large, firm cables.

Between the retaining wall and the stonework
is a layer of gravel.


Finally, you get to the stone which is fitted
so tightly together that no material such as
concrete or mortar is necessary. It is a huge
puzzle.
The stones lying around are the pieces
to this amazing puzzle.
Each one will have a place.
It is Allan's job
to make them fit.

I have to say, I think he is doing a wonderful
job. The wall is coming along so well.





Now, just before we arrived a truck had delivered
four of these piles of stone.

That is approximately
one and a half piles more than he anticipates needing.

I expect there will be a few more stone walls on the
property. They will look wonderful and make for
a very cohesive look.


Hosted by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.
Happy Outdoor Wednesday to you!
Hosted by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.
I hope you'll visit many of the
Outdoor posts.

♥♥Becky K.♥♥

22 comments:

Terri Steffes said...

That is totally amazing, to see what goes into such a structure.

Carol said...

Wow, Allen is so talented! I love the doors you featured yesterday & the rock wall is amazing!

Crystal said...

Now that is a stone wall. It is amazing what goes behind those pretty stone walls.
I built a smaller one at our last house. We had so much stone from the construction, I thought why not use it. It does take a long time to fit them together. Not really something I plan on doing again.
Thanks for sharing and visiting my blog.
Crystal

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

I love it!

Vee said...

It certainly is hiding a lot of unattractive and that is a very good thing. I'm going to be showing my daughter this post as she's been working on her stone wall for several years now. She built me a little one, and it's toppling. Needless to say, I'm going to have her back to see what she can do.

Well done down there!!

Pat@Back Porch Musings said...

It just amazes me, how these walls are put together! Great photos!!

Blue Creek Home said...

I love that stone wall! We have an ugly wood retaining wall that's 8ft x 75ft. Sure wish we could stone it, but it would break the bank!
Rhon

Barbara said...

Becky, Wow what a great job you all are doing on the wall. I can see why it is a sweating job.
I took a peek at your bother's doors and carving, I love the fish.

Thanks for stopping in, please hurry back.
Barbara

Barb said...

Becky, this is awesome. I have admired these beautiful walls so many times.

Barb

Glenda/MidSouth said...

The wall looks great. Not a project I would attempt.
Glenda

Mary Bergfeld said...

What amazing work! You captured it well in your photos. Thanks for sharing the with us. Have a wonderful day and enjoy the holiday weekend.

Joyce said...

I just thought they stacked the stone and that was that. It sure will look nice when it is finished and landscaped etc. I am still on R&R this week so have a happy 4th of July with your family.
Joyce

Claudia said...

wow...its obvious that its simply not just stacking rocks.

Thanks for showing the process.

TTFN~~Claudia ♥

stefanie said...

beautiful, but it does look like alot of work, like hard work, at least you only have to do it once

Karen at Nittany Inspirations said...

The wall looks great. Thanks so much for sharing. I'll have to keep in touch.

SmilingSally said...

I love the look of stone walls.

Yes, it does have a vacation kinda feel for us to be in this place.

Christi @ A Southern Life said...

Man, that is a lot of work. I love how it looks in the end though.

Christi

Sandra said...

That is amazing! It looks like a lot of work! Very stunning!
Blessings,
Sandra

Kelly said...

Looks like your brother has a beautiful home.

ellen b. said...

Hi Becky, the wall really does look nice. For projects like this I like to leave for several hours come back home and enjoy seeing the progress. I'm a very impatient project person besides not liking to sweat :0)

JD/ Jill said...

My JIm did a wall like that several years ago, Our wall was not near as high or as wide, and I remember how much work it was...can't imagine how much work and time went into this one.
Thank you for sharing.

Tracy said...

Fantastic wall, Becky! That is a huge project...it's looking so good. Those stones and rocks are wonderful. Hope there's been time to sip lemonade between sweating! Happy Days ((HUGS))