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.

Water entering a masonry substrate can cause your home to have interior leaks or exterior staining, spalling and efflorescence. Usually the masonry substrate can absorb the liquid water and release it again when it stops raining. However, the masonry could still have staining and efflorescence.

In modern home construction, masonry is used as a veneer. That is, homes and buildings that have brick, stone, stucco or some other masonry exterior are traditional wood or steel buildings on the inside. The veneer is just a cosmetic look. Therefore, improper building practices can cause leaks into the house or around windows and doors. At the more extreme circumstance, improper building practices can cause the structure of the building to become damaged due to water.

Efflorescence

Efflorescence is the whitish staining that is seen on the surface of brick and masonry. This is actually the accumulation of salts from the brick itself. What happens is that the water inside of the brick dissolves the natural salts that are present from the manufacturing of the brick. Then the water evaporates to the surrounding air, leaving the salts on the surface to be seen.

Spalling

Spalling is when the brick or masonry substrate flakes. This can be caused by water freezing inside of the brick and expanding. The expansion causes the brick to break and flake.

Now, to waterproof brick or masonry it must be sealed against water penetration. But be careful. A surface sealer such as acrylics, silicones or epoxies can actually trap water vapor from the inside of the building from getting out. As mentioned before, this can cause spalling.

Brick pavers and concrete sidewalks or driveways come under attack from deicing salts. These salts do extensive damage to the substrate. By sealing the surface, the salts will not be able to do damage to the substrates.

The best way to waterproof and seal a brick or other masonry substrate is with a penetrating siloxane based sealer. The siloxane actually penetrates into the masonry substrate and chemically bonds to it. This fills the pores and prevents liquid water from penetrating. However, siloxanes are 100% breathable. So water vapor from the interior can still escape from the brick. This will reduce spalling.

Siloxanes have the added benefit of not coloring or darkening the substrate. They are clear and do not leave a glossy sheen. Since siloxanes penetrate the masonry and are not on the surface, the original texture of the surface is maintained. And the penetration into the masonry substrate actually protects them from the elements. They will be long lived and give years of maintenance free performance.

This article is written by Aaron Kuertz who’s with Applied Technologies Aaron has been in the waterproofing industry since 1998. Applied Technologies is a manufacturer and supplier to professional waterproofing contractors and homeowners in the United States. For more information about siloxane water repellents for brick visit Applied Technologies.

Flagstone Patio Installation

If you have ever looked into high end landscape installations, you will find that the products are of a natural quality. Man made products are an antithesis to landscaping. The purpose of landscaping is to be in nature. This is why high end landscapes typically use flagstone for the patio and walkways. High end landscapes most often use select flagstone. Select pieces are much larger than average. Then, moss or thyme is planted in flagstone cracks. Moss and Thyme keep out weeds, hold the stones in place, and flower tiny beautiful flowers. Elfin Thyme is preferred because it grows very dense and low to the ground.

To complete this project you will need, a strong back, shovel, pick, boots, gloves, level, two by four, large mason chisel, mini sledge hammer, helper, and a skill saw with diamond blade. You may also need metal landscape edging, bender board, and stakes.

Stone Beauty

Select stones are quite striking. There are shades of glittery gray, brilliant white, deep red, feathery blue, and tortoise green. They somehow shimmer back at you in a friendly way. You can create quite a masterpiece by using multiple stone colors, shapes, and hand picking unique stones. Irish Moss and Elfin Thyme soften the hard stone, cool it, and bring in natural beauty.

Pricing

You can expect to pay around $5.00 per square foot installing yourself. Contractors charge $10.00 to $15.00 per square foot (including material).

How To Install

Dig Out Dirt

First, if necessary, dig out the dirt. Stake out the patio edges and decide how high the patio can be. In most cases, you will need to dig down six inches. The stone will be 2 inches, the gravel base will be 2 inches, and the sand will be two inches.

Install Edging (Optional)

Use metal landscape edging or bender board to hold the edges in place. This step is purely optional. The larger select stones will stay in place well without the edging. Edging is more necessary if you use smaller patio stones.

Compaction

After you dig out the dirt make sure the base is compacted well. You can rent a plate compacter from a construction rental store or you can use a hand tamper. Once the base is compact, add two inches of gravel or road base and compact again.

Gravel And Road Base

For larger jobs road base is the best way to go. State spec road base is a combination or gravel and dirt. It compacts really well to make roads and will work well for your patio. In any case, you can also use fine gravel. The finer gravel will compact tighter and be easier to work with. You should use coarse gravel because it will compact better. Coarse pea gravel is a good choice.

Sand

The stones are not uniform. You need sand to adjust for stone height. Add 2-3 inches of sand on top of the compacted base. Make sure the sand is coarse. Like gravel, coarse sand compacts better.

Install Flagstone

You will need at least two people to lift and place the stone. Use a mini sledge hammer and blue mason chisel with a yellow hand guard to break the stone. This will give you natural breaks. You can also use a skill saw with a diamond blade, but the cuts will not look as natural. Wet saws will be too small to do anything for you. If you ordered correctly, you will have mostly large stones with some smaller stones. This will reduce the cutting time.

To see if the stone is level, it is helpful to have a straight two by four. Lay it on the stone and look for depressions. You can also put a level on the two by four.

The stone should not be perfectly flat. A small slope is needed to help water run off the patio. Every foot of patio should have a ¼ inch slope (at least).

Ordering Stone

One ton of flagstone will cover approximately 80-125 square feet. There are many variables. Stone weight and thickness vary. Check with your stone yard for the exact kind of stone you wish to purchase. Most flagstones will cover 125 square feet with one ton. One variable is the gap between stones. For best results, order select stones. A lot of people throw in some smaller patio stone to fill in smaller gaps. It’s a little less expensive and you don’t have to break up the larger stone.

Ordering Gravel

One ton will cover approximately 80 square feet in a two inch depth.

Ordering Sand

One ton will cover approximately 124 square feet in a two inch depth.

Calculating Tonnage

Length * Width * Height / 27 = Yards Then, each product will weigh a different amount. You should use a different multiplier for each product. A rule of thumb is to use 1.5. So take the yards and multiply by 1.5 to get the tons that you need. There will be more tons than yards. Sand has a multiplier of 1.2 and gravel has a multiplier of 1.4. Flagstone will be around 1.5.

Final Tips

You can also choose a polmeric sand to put between the stone cracks. It looks like sand, but with three light water applications it will dry as hard as concrete. If you have an unstable area, you can install the flagstone on dry cement. Then, water the cement down so that it will harden and cure properly.

For further information, please visit Outdoor Shower and Plant Life

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.

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.

Plants aren’t the only thing you should think about when you are
planning a landscape. Rocks are also very important. They are
beautiful and can be functional as well. You should choose the
correct rocks for your landscaping carefully.

Landscape: Hardscapes and Softscapes

The term Softcapes refers to the living elements of the
landscapes, such as plants and flowers.

Hardscapes, on the other hand, refer to the non-living elements
such as the rocks and stones.

Rocks and Stones

Besides looking nice and adding a natural quality to your
landscaping, rocks are very durable. This makes them great for
walkways and retaining walls, or just to decorate a small pond or
waterfall. The can be functional or just for looks. No matter
what, using rocks or stones will make any landscape more
interesting to look at. The type of rock or stone you choose
will depend on what its use will be.

Rocks are particularly durable and not easily destroyed. They are
perfect to use for pathways and retaining walls. They enhance
the appearance of a pond mini-waterfalls.

Boulders Boulders are normally rather large rocks that work well
for use in water landscapes. They can also be used to mark a
driveway or the entrance of a garden. They can be very
dramatic, and if placed correctly, will attract plenty of
attention. Very large flat boulders can even be used as a place
to sit and enjoy nature.

Flag Stones Flag stones work best for walkways and patios. They
come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes, but they are all
thin and smooth. You can place them in different designs on top
of sand.

River pebbles River pebbles help with water conservations, so
work the best in dry climates. Besides this function, they can
also look nice around plants.

Granite

Granites are very beautiful. They can be made into tables or
benches, or stand alone as decoration.

Other Tips in Choosing the Appropriate Rock

1. You need to take the amount of space that you have into
consideration. Do you have enough room for boulders? Are you
putting too many rocks into a small area? Are they too close
together or far apart? You need to find a balance so there will
be enough interesting rocks or stones, without having too many.

2. The color of the rocks or stones is important. They can come
in shades of red, yellow, white, or brown, gray, etc. You want
the colors to compliment each other and the style of your
landscape.

3. If you want the rocks to look weathered, you should use
porous rock since mosses and other plants will grow well on them.

This makes your landscaping look more natural.

4. To save your feet, you should not use sharp rocks around a
pathway.

5. Choosing rocks that look similar, in shape, color, and
texture, will make your landscaping look more natural.

6. If you dig a small hole for larger rocks before placing them,
they will look like they belong, instead of being placed on top
of grass or mulch.

Be creative when landscaping with rocks and stones in using them for functional and
stylistic purposes in your garden. In general, the more natural
the rocks look, the better.

A marbled home has a completely different charm. Everyone has some kind of crush for a well built home decorated with marble wherever possible. Whether interior or exterior, exclusive marble products can add additional attraction to them. Your neighbors and relative will feel envy from you, just because you are proud owner of a marbled home.

Marbled Homes are most popular these days. Nowadays, no construction is complete without inclusion of  different marble variants. You can experience extensive use of marble in every type of construction. Be it, multistory buildings, residential or commercial complexes, offices or homes, marble products are visible everywhere.

Marble manufacturers are engaged in development of various marble objects suiting construction and beautification needs of people. The varieties of marble products are endless. Marble tiles and slabs are used in construction of old palaces, churches, and government buildings. In ancient architecture, you can also witness extensive use of marble fireplaces, marble staircases, marble water jets, and marble columns. Not only interiors but various marble products are also used to increase the beauty of exteriors.

This old-fashioned trend of using marbles in home construction is back in modern look. Nowadays, there are marble products for almost each corner of your home. Enthusiastic homeowners even opt for varying themes, that means different kind and color of marble in living room, other type and color in bedroom, another in bathrooms and kitchens and so on.

Marble and other stone objects targeted to bathroom and kitchens are among one of the most demanded marble products. Marble manufacturers target this segment and make exclusive products for customers in this segment. Granite slabs, marble slabs, granite countertops, marble bathtubs, marble tiles with rough surfaces are some popular products. Granite slabs and Granite countertops are also popular for use inside kitchens.

Marble columns and molded staircases increase the beauty of your living room to multiple times. Nowadays a new trend of marble furniture is also being popular. Marble slabs are used as flat surfaces with steel frames. It is really a unique piece of furniture that can be a favorite of everybody.

Outdoor landscaping gardens are also incomplete without use of marble. People use marble slabs for making sitting arrangements and marble water-jets increase the beauty of your landscaped garden.

If you are proud owner of such a beautiful marbled home, you must have witnessed the flash of zealousness in eyes of your neighbors or relatives visiting your home. Their zeal is matter of pride for you.