Stone Wall – its 6 [Types, Construction & Advantages]

The stone wall is a wall that is constructed with stones with or without mortar to enclose a field, and dry stone structures are stable because of their unique construction method.
For a very long time, stone is a traditional building material used in constructing buildings, and the buildings constructed using stone walls have a thickness of at least 500mm.

A stone wall style and construction method will depend on the type of stone available. These are used as an external-facing for cavity walls in the modern world for good appearance, and this wall is relatively durable.

Construction of Stone Wall:

There are following six steps in the construction of such walls as given below:

1. Prepare The Footing
2. Lay The Base Course
3. Build-Up the Wall
4. Mark the Stone
5. Cut the Stone
6. Tool the Joints

Prepare The Footing:

Below the frost line, dig a trench and make it 2 feet more comprehensive than the wall and line it with landscape fabric overlapped 12 inches than add a 6 inches layer of ¾-inch stone and a plate compactor, tamp it.

Until the footing is about 8 inches below the grade, add and temp more layers and drive two stakes separated by a distance equal to the width of the wall about a foot beyond each end of the straight wall section.

Lay The Base Course:

With a mason’s line set just above grade, connect the stakes and place the first stone at a corner and position the next stone against the first face to the line. When the first course is laid, repeat on the opposite side and with smaller rocks fill between the two rows and with the tops of the face stones set flush & with a bed of mortar top this course.

Build-Up the Wall:

Reposition the line higher up the stakes and from a corner starts the second course and see that the vertical joints are staggered, and the outside faces touch the line dry-fit each stone first.

Spreads a trowelful of mortar on the wall and a mallet tamps the stone into it, and visible edges of face stones should reset only on rock, not cannon.

Mark the Stone:

To make a stone fit, you will have to cut it and use a pencil to mark the sections of the stone you want to remove, and for this cutting process, you will need safety glasses, a 3-inch carbide, and a 3-pound hand sled.

Cut the Stone:

Now place the marked stone on the ground and set the chisel’s carbide tip on the pencil line and downward aim it slightly, then strike the chisel and reposition it and strike it again and repeat until the stone is fitted correctly.

Tool the Joints:

Between the capstones with a brick jointer, trowel the joints, and channel away water to make them slightly concave. Then, apply a concrete wedge along the base course, front, and back to keep the wall from shifting. To make each wedge 6 inches high and 12 inches wide, use a brick trowel and, with backfill, hide them.

Types of Stone Wall:

There are the following types of these walls such as;

1. Field Stone Wall
2. Pennsylvania Field Stone Wall
3. Colonial Stone Wall
4. Split Face/ Mosiac Wall
5. Veneer Wall
6. Modular Block Wall

Field Stone Wall:

Fieldstone is harvested from the field or ground, and they are generally more rounded and have been tumbled in the environment for centuries. As a result, fieldstone is cheaper than the other wall stone, and when it gets sorted into more consistent batches of shape, size, and color, the price will go up.

Any stone wall fieldstone is suitable, and fieldstone walls can be either dry laid or set with mortar. For large-scale walls, they are well suited.

Pennsylvania Field Stone Wall:

These stones are flat stones and a type of fieldstone common to our local supply yards, and it will cost more per ton than the general fieldstone.

Pennsylvania fieldstone wall is usually set in mortar to keep the small stones from getting knocked out.

Colonial Stone Wall:

This wall is also a flat stone, and this stone comes from the bluestone quarries and is produced from cast-off pieces. Colonial stone faces are very flat, and with a chisel and hammer as a softer stone, it is easy to work.

These stones can be used to produce a very tight-fitting, clean, and consistent finish, and it has a dry-laid appearance.

Split Face/ Mosiac Wall:

Split face walls refer to some freshly broken fieldstone, and to face the wall, the stone has one very flat size that is used, and the wall must be mortared together, and the mortar is holding the form and not the weight of the stone.

It is easier to achieve a clean, flat finish by using split face stone and mortar.

Veneer Wall:

A veneer wall is a wall in which the face stones have adhered to a structural concrete base, and these walls are used in houses and foundations.

To achieve a clean finish, veneer stones are easy to cut and piece together.

Modular Block Wall:

To make masonry walls, concrete wall blocks are a manufactured product, and these blocks come from a wide variety of styles with different engineering systems and specifications.

They are dry laid systems and can be constructed much faster, and concrete block walls can look excellent and practical, and more cost-effective.

Advantages of Stone Wall:

There are the following advantages of this wall such as:

1. Have a natural look and feel.
2. This wall can increase the value of the property.
3. These walls give a beautiful backyard patio.
4. The stone wall cladding is easy to maintain.
5. The stone wall insulates property from weather extremities.
6. The stone walls are attractive.
7. Good thermal regulation.
8. The stone wall is durable and robust.
9. Natural and environmentally friendly.

Disadvantages of Stone Wall:

There are the following disadvantages of the stone wall such as;

1. Require a structured substrate which results in extra cost.
2. For protection needs to be sealed.
3. The stone wall has poor insulation.
4. The method of building is difficult for the stone wall.