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How To's

Natural Fieldstone Installation

Approx Coverage Formula:

length of wall X width of wall X 1′ height = ______ cubic feet

Tools/Materials Required:

  • Heavy hammer
  • Trowel
  • Sand and Cement
  • Measuring tape
  • Level
  • Chisel
  • Weed Fabric
  • Pick and Shovel
  • Fieldstone
  • Limestone 2A (for base)
  • Limestone Sand (for leveling)
  • Limestone 2B (for backfill)
  • Drain pipe (if needed)
  • Transport Method of Product

Dry Wall Installation:

Dig a trench about 12″ deep and 18″ wide (or as wide as your largest stone). Install Limestone 2A and compact to within 3-5″ of surface. Place your largest stones in the trench end to end. For the best results, lay all stones down flat. After the base course has been laid, start stacking fieldstone, working from one end to the other. Step your wall back 2″ for every one foot of height. Install weed fabric between existing soil and backfill with Limestone 2B to keep debris from filtering into the Limestone 2B. Backfill and compact as courses are laid. Stagger joints to avoid a weak wall. Occasionally turn a long stone into the hillside to act as an anchor or “bond” stone; this will help sturdy the wall. Save flatter pieces of stone to use as caps.

Mortared Installation:

Dig a trench for a footing below the frost line (approximately 18″ deep) and 12″ wide (or as wide as your largest base stone). Place 2″ of Limestone 2A (also referred to as Limestone 2RC) into trench and compact and level it. Either use a pre-mixed mortar or mix your own using 1-part Portland Cement and 2-parts sand. Mix the mortar with enough water to make it a workable consistency so that when a trowel-full is placed on a flat surface, it will not sag or slump down. Using a trowel, place a couple of inches of mortar on the stone footing and begin laying the stone, filling cavities between stones with mortar as you go. Overlap joints. Make sure a full bead of mortar is used for each stone. Keep the face of stone as clean as possible. Use a damp sponge to wipe off excess mortar after the joint is rakes or troweled. To finish joint, wipe with an old brush.