Our exterior renovation has more steps than a So You Think You Can Dance routine. And I am back to show you another one. We started with formulating a plan, then committing tree murder, performing a little bush-whacking and finally commissioning Yard Dude Eric to execute dirt relocation. So what are we up to now?
We’re up to the wall.
A wall made from stone. Just like my abs. Yeah. Right.
Actually the stone was pulled from underground when Eric the Yard Dude was grading our slope. As he dug ditches for the sprinkler system (insert heel kick of joy here) lots and lots of rocks were pulled outta the ground and set aside for the stacked stone wall.
And not only did Eric the Yard Dude pull out the valuable (about $450 worth) of rock outta the ground and set it aside, he also prepped the area for my boyfriend to hone his dry stacked stone wall building skills. This wall was going to be established on the left hand side of the yard. And it needed to slightly curve. Curvy lines are easier on the eyes…just ask Catherine Zeta Jones. She seems to get good feedback for hers.
Anyhoo…You can see below how the yard drops off about 3 feet to the leveled out area. That lower leveled area would be our lawn. The curvy s-shaped wall would hold back the upper soil and a gardening bed as well as hold up our driveway. Those are handy 🙂
After work one day, I came home to this:
Jeremy had been working really hard to use our free resource to create the wall. You can see he took creative license and placed some stones facing outward…which actually worked out great because they took up more surface area. And it adds interest. If I were OCD I probably would have complained that they weren’t all unified. But alas, I am not. And alas, I don’t care. And alas, I am a lass…just threw that in for fun.
Okay – now my boyfriend did consult with fellow redneck Eric before doing the wall. Eric even helped him get started. And this is what he learned:
The wall needs to start slightly below the level of the yard…so dig down a bit. Some sites recommend that you lay landscaping paper and gravel for drainage purposes but we didn’t. We are rebels like that. After you dig down a little, lay one of your biggest stones for the base. After that, you must mix and match stones to find what creates a solid and level layer. If you can, overlap the edges of the stones as you stack. Every two levels or so, anchor the wall with a stone that is long and skinny and juts into the hill. Backfill as you go. Use smaller rocks to shim a stone if it happens to wobble. Try to the get the creases to NOT line up. Always place a big flat rock on top for the capstone. The height of a dry stacked stone wall should be no higher than 3 – 3.5 feet….otherwise they can be like Michael Jackson’s drug record…a little unstable.
He was completely annoyed that I was taking a photo. You might say that I was “driving him up the wall’…heehee! And he was filthy. Just the way I like him 🙂
As he was coming to an end of our free stone, I got a shot in progress. You can see how that hunk of burnin love was backfilling as he found the stone with the right fit.
And here is an after shot…ready for sod.
The wall isn’t 100% complete. We still need a little more stone to finish it out. But for now it works.
You might be wondering what we did if we found a stone that didn’t quite fit the bill. Well, we gathered them up and dumped them over on the opposite side of the yard. You see, we live on a hill next to a little creek. And so all the rainwater runs down our yard into the wee stream. With all that runoff we need to form a little drainage bed so that the water has a place to go without creating a sloppy muddy mess. Thus a stone bed for thou. and thus. and thee. and for shalt.
And because pictures speak a gazoogle words…here is our yard B.C. (before curbappeal):
and here is the front yard D.A. (during alterations):
Next jazzy step – sod. And everyone loves a little grass…I sure do. So stay tuned because this front yard renovation is far from over. In the mean time…tell me…
What makes you wanna bang your head against a stone wall?
Is it hearing that a dancer got on the hot tamale train? Is it your hubbies addiction to Call of Duty 4? Is it reading blogs about yard renos? Do tell…
FABULOUS!! I love it!
lookin good my friend! LOOKING GOOOOOOOD! Hot tamale train for you!
Your yard is going to look as hot as Britney circa 2001. How did you get to your garage before you started the makeover?
Oh! nevermind! I saw in an old pic that your driveway is curvy 🙂
Hi Suzanne – it is kinda hard to see it in the B.C. photo because of the angle of the hill, but our driveway runs along the righthand side of the yard (if you are facing the house). It actually separates our lot from our only neighbor…which is nice because we never question where the property line lays.
XO – Katie
Looks like a winner!!
Want to come do my yard when you’re finished? Can I just rent your boyfriend? Ha!
Retaining walls are a lot of work, and yours looks fab. I’m sweating just reading about the work though, we scrapped our retaining wall after thinking about digging that trench.
Your yard is looking great so far! Can’t wait to see the finished product!
Katie, this DA looks fantastic! I was having a hard time visualizing the plan, love to see the progress! Great job Katie and hard-working boyfriend! : )
hands down, the hot tamale train makes me want to bang my head against a stone wall! There’s just something about seeing an expressionless, creaseless, botoxed face screaming ‘hot tamale train! Woo-hoo!’ with just duck-lips moving. Weird.
I gave you the Honest Scrap award today on my blog!
Did you have to get any permission/permits to
regrade your lot? I’m just wondering if your
town makes you do paperwork.
The wall looks great. I live in NE PA in an area with lots of dry stacked stone walls. There is one on our street that is free-standing (i.e. not holding back dirt)that is about 5 ‘ high and 2’ thick. It is amazing.
Off topic- can you believe what TOH did to the youngsters??
I love how he mixed up the ways the stones face! I’ve never seen that before but it’s fabulous! 🙂
So much work but it shows. Its looking fabulous.
Hi SamiJ –
Fortunately we live in redneckville USA where there aren’t many restrictions on, well, just about anything. We did make sure that Eric was qualified and licensed to do everything that he moved and that the proper paperwork (like papers for the backflow regulator for our sprinkler system) were all filed nicely away in our Home Improvements folder. And we also did lots of research on how renovating our yard can effect erosion, water flow, and what our environmental responsibility is in terms of plantings and removal. Overall, we did not change the water flow of our yard…we merely altered the slope to be less steep and our plan to remove trees will be better for Mother Earth in the long run because we are planting 6-7X the number of plants, trees, and shrubs in their place.
Hope this answers your question!
XO – Katie
People who steal your lunch out of the fridge at work! I was really looking forward to pad thai leftovers today. Nerds!
Holy crap that is quite a project! It looks great, you guys did a nice job.
Looks awesome! Can’t wait to see the rest of the project!
What makes me bang my head against the wall? Well, the fact that I can’t remember to water the two house plants in my apartment. Seriously, how dare they try and die on me?!
Head meets rock wall for the following: Mary Murphy’s “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” “WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” “Botox! Hot tamale train! SCREAMING!!!!!!!!!!!!” (But I still watch, which may be more disturbing…) and reading about yard reno’s when I live in an apartment. Insert Sad Face banging against Rock Wall here.
I love the yard! I can’t wait to see it all finished! You go BP!
Horray for a free retaining wall! It looks great and I really like, despite my ocd tendancies, the flat facing stones too! Yay, boyfriend!
I think the hot tamale train MUST go. The screaming, overrated. Not catchy, only painful for all involved. She’s well intended but COME ON.
Katie –
Thanks — I’m hoping to do something similar
to my back yard. It’s is very resassuring to
see your fantastic results! Love the wall, love
the slope & the curb appeal is through the roof!
What drives me up a wall? My totall indecisiveness, that’s what!! I won’t bug you for photoshop help since you’re so swamped, but I just cannot figure out a good wall color for our living/dining room. Drives me BATTY! And because I’m convinced I can’t hang anything until we paint, we STILL have bare walls. Jeesh. It never ends!