A long overdue conversation:
Me: - "Hey Stefan! Guess what? The tree is finally gone!"
Stefan: - "Serious? That took a while"
Me: - "Yep, but it's all clear now. Can we keep going?"
Stefan: - "Sure! I can start in two weeks. The wall?"
Me: - "Awesome! Yes, the wall."
Stefan: - "I'd better buy some stone. A LOT of stone!"
Looking back to the original plan it was time to start item 4, the stone wall. This stacked mudstone wall will run most of the length of the southern side of the block and splits it into two levels. The upper level retains in all the large trees and the fence, creating a lower leveled and paved area, level with the house. The wall is split into three sections, such that the top of the wall is always level.
Stefan took no time in getting the Dingo out and tearing up the side yard to start creating the two levels.
After the preparation work was completed, Stefan then dug a trench along the length of the wall, and then using a vibrating plate, compacted stone down into it to form the foundation of the wall. The green string in the picture below is set to the height of the first section of wall.
Once the groundwork was laid, it really becomes one giant three dimensional jigsaw puzzle. Stefan brought in two truckloads of mudstone and began assembling, fixing the stones in place with concrete.
Thirsty work on a hot day! But the results are outstanding. They start off with basic big blocks then cut and grind down others to fit in the wall. The mudstone is pretty soft so it isn't too hard to shape.
In the picture below you can see the three levels of the wall more clearly. There's also a kink in the wall at the bottom to accommodate the three large trees within.
The finished wall below shows the bottom where it connects back in with the side fence. The decking when it's completed will come up about 1/2 way on the front facing side of the wall.
With the wall completed, all the remaining leftover stone was used to build a retaining wall along the fence to keep the dirt off it, as well as creating protective rings around the bases of the large trees. The whole thing was then filled with soil and mulched.
Below is a picture that I took in 2008 in Kyoto Japan at Nijō Castle. I loved the heavy stone wall embattlements with the trees seemingly growing out of the top of them, the sharp edges shaped long ago out of enormous chunks of stone.
Obviously I can't build Samurai castle embattlements in my backyard, but I think the end result achieved is a fair approximation, don't you?
Me: - "Hey Stefan! Guess what? The tree is finally gone!"
Stefan: - "Serious? That took a while"
Me: - "Yep, but it's all clear now. Can we keep going?"
Stefan: - "Sure! I can start in two weeks. The wall?"
Me: - "Awesome! Yes, the wall."
Stefan: - "I'd better buy some stone. A LOT of stone!"
Looking back to the original plan it was time to start item 4, the stone wall. This stacked mudstone wall will run most of the length of the southern side of the block and splits it into two levels. The upper level retains in all the large trees and the fence, creating a lower leveled and paved area, level with the house. The wall is split into three sections, such that the top of the wall is always level.
Stefan took no time in getting the Dingo out and tearing up the side yard to start creating the two levels.
After the preparation work was completed, Stefan then dug a trench along the length of the wall, and then using a vibrating plate, compacted stone down into it to form the foundation of the wall. The green string in the picture below is set to the height of the first section of wall.
Once the groundwork was laid, it really becomes one giant three dimensional jigsaw puzzle. Stefan brought in two truckloads of mudstone and began assembling, fixing the stones in place with concrete.
Thirsty work on a hot day! But the results are outstanding. They start off with basic big blocks then cut and grind down others to fit in the wall. The mudstone is pretty soft so it isn't too hard to shape.
The finished wall below shows the bottom where it connects back in with the side fence. The decking when it's completed will come up about 1/2 way on the front facing side of the wall.
With the wall completed, all the remaining leftover stone was used to build a retaining wall along the fence to keep the dirt off it, as well as creating protective rings around the bases of the large trees. The whole thing was then filled with soil and mulched.
Below is a picture that I took in 2008 in Kyoto Japan at Nijō Castle. I loved the heavy stone wall embattlements with the trees seemingly growing out of the top of them, the sharp edges shaped long ago out of enormous chunks of stone.
Job done and another box ticked!
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