Otis in the Suburbs (1 Viewer)

[Otis]

The retaining wall in our yard is ugly.

Having thought about it some more, what I'd like to eventually do is have the entire retaining wall -- it's a lot of square footage -- covered in a stone veneer/cultured stone. I'm sure if I go through a masonry guy it'll be a fortune, and this seems like the kind of thing I might be able to do myself given that the wall is structurally fine and this is just a facing. I've done a time backsplash in a kitchen before -- in principle, this is more or less the same.

Still, materials will be expensive. I'm thinking something like this: LINK or this: LINK

But even in just materials alone, this should be several thousand bucks. This stone veneer ain't cheap. Also, our retaining wall runs beyond our gate and all the way out to the street, though at least the wall angles downwards and thus becomes shorter as it extends to the road. But I think if I'm going to do this, I ought to do the entire wall.

Additionally, I'm thinking I need to cap off the top of the wall with something, like a stone shelf etc. That will serve a few purposes, one being raising the height of the wall so that it's not so easy for crap to run over it, and another being providing a better edge for us to do plantings behind.

Anyone ever do anything like this? Looks pretty straightforward, but I'm just curious to hear experiences with this. We don't have the cash to spend on this right now, but maybe around the summer we'll be in a position to do this, again, assuming I do the labor myself, maybe invite the BILs over for some pizza and beer and stone work.

TIA for any guidance.

 

[squidrope]

The retaining wall in our yard is ugly.

Having thought about it some more, what I'd like to eventually do is have the entire retaining wall -- it's a lot of square footage -- covered in a stone veneer/cultured stone. I'm sure if I go through a masonry guy it'll be a fortune, and this seems like the kind of thing I might be able to do myself given that the wall is structurally fine and this is just a facing. I've done a time backsplash in a kitchen before -- in principle, this is more or less the same.

Still, materials will be expensive. I'm thinking something like this: LINK or this: LINK

But even in just materials alone, this should be several thousand bucks. This stone veneer ain't cheap. Also, our retaining wall runs beyond our gate and all the way out to the street, though at least the wall angles downwards and thus becomes shorter as it extends to the road. But I think if I'm going to do this, I ought to do the entire wall.

Additionally, I'm thinking I need to cap off the top of the wall with something, like a stone shelf etc. That will serve a few purposes, one being raising the height of the wall so that it's not so easy for crap to run over it, and another being providing a better edge for us to do plantings behind.

Anyone ever do anything like this? Looks pretty straightforward, but I'm just curious to hear experiences with this. We don't have the cash to spend on this right now, but maybe around the summer we'll be in a position to do this, again, assuming I do the labor myself, maybe invite the BILs over for some pizza and beer and stone work.

TIA for any guidance.

Water is your enemy here. Be sure that water cannot get between the stone face and the existing wall. If water gets in there it will freeze and all the stone will come tumbling down. The cap will help with this (I might have the cap overhang the face by an inch or 2). Be sure to prevent any water seeping under the cap as well. Not sure how well your soil drains, but I'd probably dig out the earth side of the wall 2' deep by 18" wide and fill with stone to help assure that water drains better and doesn't ruin your work.

 

[mr roboto]

The retaining wall in our yard is ugly.

Having thought about it some more, what I'd like to eventually do is have the entire retaining wall -- it's a lot of square footage -- covered in a stone veneer/cultured stone. I'm sure if I go through a masonry guy it'll be a fortune, and this seems like the kind of thing I might be able to do myself given that the wall is structurally fine and this is just a facing. I've done a time backsplash in a kitchen before -- in principle, this is more or less the same.

Still, materials will be expensive. I'm thinking something like this: LINK or this: LINK

But even in just materials alone, this should be several thousand bucks. This stone veneer ain't cheap. Also, our retaining wall runs beyond our gate and all the way out to the street, though at least the wall angles downwards and thus becomes shorter as it extends to the road. But I think if I'm going to do this, I ought to do the entire wall.

Additionally, I'm thinking I need to cap off the top of the wall with something, like a stone shelf etc. That will serve a few purposes, one being raising the height of the wall so that it's not so easy for crap to run over it, and another being providing a better edge for us to do plantings behind.

Anyone ever do anything like this? Looks pretty straightforward, but I'm just curious to hear experiences with this. We don't have the cash to spend on this right now, but maybe around the summer we'll be in a position to do this, again, assuming I do the labor myself, maybe invite the BILs over for some pizza and beer and stone work.

TIA for any guidance.

Why don't you get someone to acid wash/stain the concrete? It would be a bit more modern maybe, but it should be less expensive than stone and you wouldn't have the water issue. Plus, it would be contrasting with the stone patio. If you picked stone for the wall, would you match it? Try to get close? It may look a bit monochrome or mismatched. Going with a different surface or color may be a better bet.

 

[Otis]

The retaining wall in our yard is ugly.

Having thought about it some more, what I'd like to eventually do is have the entire retaining wall -- it's a lot of square footage -- covered in a stone veneer/cultured stone. I'm sure if I go through a masonry guy it'll be a fortune, and this seems like the kind of thing I might be able to do myself given that the wall is structurally fine and this is just a facing. I've done a time backsplash in a kitchen before -- in principle, this is more or less the same.

Still, materials will be expensive. I'm thinking something like this: LINK or this: LINK

But even in just materials alone, this should be several thousand bucks. This stone veneer ain't cheap. Also, our retaining wall runs beyond our gate and all the way out to the street, though at least the wall angles downwards and thus becomes shorter as it extends to the road. But I think if I'm going to do this, I ought to do the entire wall.

Additionally, I'm thinking I need to cap off the top of the wall with something, like a stone shelf etc. That will serve a few purposes, one being raising the height of the wall so that it's not so easy for crap to run over it, and another being providing a better edge for us to do plantings behind.

Anyone ever do anything like this? Looks pretty straightforward, but I'm just curious to hear experiences with this. We don't have the cash to spend on this right now, but maybe around the summer we'll be in a position to do this, again, assuming I do the labor myself, maybe invite the BILs over for some pizza and beer and stone work.

TIA for any guidance.

Why don't you get someone to acid wash/stain the concrete? It would be a bit more modern maybe, but it should be less expensive than stone and you wouldn't have the water issue. Plus, it would be contrasting with the stone patio. If you picked stone for the wall, would you match it? Try to get close? It may look a bit monochrome or mismatched. Going with a different surface or color may be a better bet.

I think those stone faces just look so much better. I think I'd get a mix -- some of the veneers have a mix of stone colors, where some match up with the colors in the patio, but it also includes other tones, tans, browns, etc. That would be a good mix I think.

 

[Otis]

The retaining wall in our yard is ugly.

Having thought about it some more, what I'd like to eventually do is have the entire retaining wall -- it's a lot of square footage -- covered in a stone veneer/cultured stone. I'm sure if I go through a masonry guy it'll be a fortune, and this seems like the kind of thing I might be able to do myself given that the wall is structurally fine and this is just a facing. I've done a time backsplash in a kitchen before -- in principle, this is more or less the same.

Still, materials will be expensive. I'm thinking something like this: LINK or this: LINK

But even in just materials alone, this should be several thousand bucks. This stone veneer ain't cheap. Also, our retaining wall runs beyond our gate and all the way out to the street, though at least the wall angles downwards and thus becomes shorter as it extends to the road. But I think if I'm going to do this, I ought to do the entire wall.

Additionally, I'm thinking I need to cap off the top of the wall with something, like a stone shelf etc. That will serve a few purposes, one being raising the height of the wall so that it's not so easy for crap to run over it, and another being providing a better edge for us to do plantings behind.

Anyone ever do anything like this? Looks pretty straightforward, but I'm just curious to hear experiences with this. We don't have the cash to spend on this right now, but maybe around the summer we'll be in a position to do this, again, assuming I do the labor myself, maybe invite the BILs over for some pizza and beer and stone work.

TIA for any guidance.

Water is your enemy here. Be sure that water cannot get between the stone face and the existing wall. If water gets in there it will freeze and all the stone will come tumbling down. The cap will help with this (I might have the cap overhang the face by an inch or 2). Be sure to prevent any water seeping under the cap as well. Not sure how well your soil drains, but I'd probably dig out the earth side of the wall 2' deep by 18" wide and fill with stone to help assure that water drains better and doesn't ruin your work.

Yup I was thinking a couple inch overhang too. And yes, agree with all this. Although I care a little less about runoff on a stone wall -- with all the colors mixing and different surfaces, I don't think it will matter nearly as much. The runoff looks particularly bad on the flat clean concrete surface...

 

[squidrope]

The retaining wall in our yard is ugly.

Having thought about it some more, what I'd like to eventually do is have the entire retaining wall -- it's a lot of square footage -- covered in a stone veneer/cultured stone. I'm sure if I go through a masonry guy it'll be a fortune, and this seems like the kind of thing I might be able to do myself given that the wall is structurally fine and this is just a facing. I've done a time backsplash in a kitchen before -- in principle, this is more or less the same.

Still, materials will be expensive. I'm thinking something like this: LINK or this: LINK

But even in just materials alone, this should be several thousand bucks. This stone veneer ain't cheap. Also, our retaining wall runs beyond our gate and all the way out to the street, though at least the wall angles downwards and thus becomes shorter as it extends to the road. But I think if I'm going to do this, I ought to do the entire wall.

Additionally, I'm thinking I need to cap off the top of the wall with something, like a stone shelf etc. That will serve a few purposes, one being raising the height of the wall so that it's not so easy for crap to run over it, and another being providing a better edge for us to do plantings behind.

Anyone ever do anything like this? Looks pretty straightforward, but I'm just curious to hear experiences with this. We don't have the cash to spend on this right now, but maybe around the summer we'll be in a position to do this, again, assuming I do the labor myself, maybe invite the BILs over for some pizza and beer and stone work.

TIA for any guidance.

Water is your enemy here. Be sure that water cannot get between the stone face and the existing wall. If water gets in there it will freeze and all the stone will come tumbling down. The cap will help with this (I might have the cap overhang the face by an inch or 2). Be sure to prevent any water seeping under the cap as well. Not sure how well your soil drains, but I'd probably dig out the earth side of the wall 2' deep by 18" wide and fill with stone to help assure that water drains better and doesn't ruin your work.

Yup I was thinking a couple inch overhang too. And yes, agree with all this. Although I care a little less about runoff on a stone wall -- with all the colors mixing and different surfaces, I don't think it will matter nearly as much. The runoff looks particularly bad on the flat clean concrete surface...

The reason for the stone behind the retaining wall isn't to eliminate run-off staining. It's to prevent water getting under your cap and undoing all the work you'll put into the cap and face.

 

[Otis]

The retaining wall in our yard is ugly.

Having thought about it some more, what I'd like to eventually do is have the entire retaining wall -- it's a lot of square footage -- covered in a stone veneer/cultured stone. I'm sure if I go through a masonry guy it'll be a fortune, and this seems like the kind of thing I might be able to do myself given that the wall is structurally fine and this is just a facing. I've done a time backsplash in a kitchen before -- in principle, this is more or less the same.

Still, materials will be expensive. I'm thinking something like this: LINK or this: LINK

But even in just materials alone, this should be several thousand bucks. This stone veneer ain't cheap. Also, our retaining wall runs beyond our gate and all the way out to the street, though at least the wall angles downwards and thus becomes shorter as it extends to the road. But I think if I'm going to do this, I ought to do the entire wall.

Additionally, I'm thinking I need to cap off the top of the wall with something, like a stone shelf etc. That will serve a few purposes, one being raising the height of the wall so that it's not so easy for crap to run over it, and another being providing a better edge for us to do plantings behind.

Anyone ever do anything like this? Looks pretty straightforward, but I'm just curious to hear experiences with this. We don't have the cash to spend on this right now, but maybe around the summer we'll be in a position to do this, again, assuming I do the labor myself, maybe invite the BILs over for some pizza and beer and stone work.

TIA for any guidance.

Water is your enemy here. Be sure that water cannot get between the stone face and the existing wall. If water gets in there it will freeze and all the stone will come tumbling down. The cap will help with this (I might have the cap overhang the face by an inch or 2). Be sure to prevent any water seeping under the cap as well. Not sure how well your soil drains, but I'd probably dig out the earth side of the wall 2' deep by 18" wide and fill with stone to help assure that water drains better and doesn't ruin your work.

Yup I was thinking a couple inch overhang too. And yes, agree with all this. Although I care a little less about runoff on a stone wall -- with all the colors mixing and different surfaces, I don't think it will matter nearly as much. The runoff looks particularly bad on the flat clean concrete surface...

The reason for the stone behind the retaining wall isn't to eliminate run-off staining. It's to prevent water getting under your cap and undoing all the work you'll put into the cap and face.

Ah right. Got it. I think it would be a nice look too. Added bonus.

 

[Battles]

The retaining wall in our yard is ugly.

Having thought about it some more, what I'd like to eventually do is have the entire retaining wall -- it's a lot of square footage -- covered in a stone veneer/cultured stone. I'm sure if I go through a masonry guy it'll be a fortune, and this seems like the kind of thing I might be able to do myself given that the wall is structurally fine and this is just a facing. I've done a time backsplash in a kitchen before -- in principle, this is more or less the same.

Still, materials will be expensive. I'm thinking something like this: LINK or this: LINK

But even in just materials alone, this should be several thousand bucks. This stone veneer ain't cheap. Also, our retaining wall runs beyond our gate and all the way out to the street, though at least the wall angles downwards and thus becomes shorter as it extends to the road. But I think if I'm going to do this, I ought to do the entire wall.

Additionally, I'm thinking I need to cap off the top of the wall with something, like a stone shelf etc. That will serve a few purposes, one being raising the height of the wall so that it's not so easy for crap to run over it, and another being providing a better edge for us to do plantings behind.

Anyone ever do anything like this? Looks pretty straightforward, but I'm just curious to hear experiences with this. We don't have the cash to spend on this right now, but maybe around the summer we'll be in a position to do this, again, assuming I do the labor myself, maybe invite the BILs over for some pizza and beer and stone work.

TIA for any guidance.

Water is your enemy here. Be sure that water cannot get between the stone face and the existing wall. If water gets in there it will freeze and all the stone will come tumbling down. The cap will help with this (I might have the cap overhang the face by an inch or 2). Be sure to prevent any water seeping under the cap as well. Not sure how well your soil drains, but I'd probably dig out the earth side of the wall 2' deep by 18" wide and fill with stone to help assure that water drains better and doesn't ruin your work.

Most likely the manufacturer will say you can apply the stone directly to the concrete wall, but if you wanted to make the bond better you can screw metal lathe onto the concrete wall before applying the veneer. With the lathe you'd worry less about the stone coming off. Probably fine without it, but if you're doing that much work it may be worth the added insurance.

 

[Otis]

The retaining wall in our yard is ugly.

Having thought about it some more, what I'd like to eventually do is have the entire retaining wall -- it's a lot of square footage -- covered in a stone veneer/cultured stone. I'm sure if I go through a masonry guy it'll be a fortune, and this seems like the kind of thing I might be able to do myself given that the wall is structurally fine and this is just a facing. I've done a time backsplash in a kitchen before -- in principle, this is more or less the same.

Still, materials will be expensive. I'm thinking something like this: LINK or this: LINK

But even in just materials alone, this should be several thousand bucks. This stone veneer ain't cheap. Also, our retaining wall runs beyond our gate and all the way out to the street, though at least the wall angles downwards and thus becomes shorter as it extends to the road. But I think if I'm going to do this, I ought to do the entire wall.

Additionally, I'm thinking I need to cap off the top of the wall with something, like a stone shelf etc. That will serve a few purposes, one being raising the height of the wall so that it's not so easy for crap to run over it, and another being providing a better edge for us to do plantings behind.

Anyone ever do anything like this? Looks pretty straightforward, but I'm just curious to hear experiences with this. We don't have the cash to spend on this right now, but maybe around the summer we'll be in a position to do this, again, assuming I do the labor myself, maybe invite the BILs over for some pizza and beer and stone work.

TIA for any guidance.

Water is your enemy here. Be sure that water cannot get between the stone face and the existing wall. If water gets in there it will freeze and all the stone will come tumbling down. The cap will help with this (I might have the cap overhang the face by an inch or 2). Be sure to prevent any water seeping under the cap as well. Not sure how well your soil drains, but I'd probably dig out the earth side of the wall 2' deep by 18" wide and fill with stone to help assure that water drains better and doesn't ruin your work.

Most likely the manufacturer will say you can apply the stone directly to the concrete wall, but if you wanted to make the bond better you can screw metal lathe onto the concrete wall before applying the veneer. With the lathe you'd worry less about the stone coming off. Probably fine without it, but if you're doing that much work it may be worth the added insurance.

I considered this and may decide to do this, it's not that much more work really.

 

[Britney Spears]

Otis> I'm planning a summer project of:

Ripping out a large existing raised planter that is made out of rotting railroad ties, building a concrete block wall and facing it with stone veneer, and a stone cap atop the wall.

Big project for me and I will post pics so you can follow along.

 

[Otis]

Otis> I'm planning a summer project of:Ripping out a large existing raised planter that is made out of rotting railroad ties, building a concrete block wall and facing it with stone veneer, and a stone cap atop the wall. Big project for me and I will post pics so you can follow along.

Awesome. Maybe I'll follow along and try and do the same....

 

[The Big Guy]

I realize that it isn't DIY, but what if you had a pro come in and do a nice stucco job onto the wall and put a design on it, or make it into a stone face pattern like you are looking for?

 

[Otis]

I realize that it isn't DIY, but what if you had a pro come in and do a nice stucco job onto the wall and put a design on it, or make it into a stone face pattern like you are looking for?

Eh, just won't look nearly as good. I've been looking at some stuff online recently, and the places with that stone veneer just look incredible. We're doing an extension soon enough, and I can't wait to do a different stone veneer on the fireplace and up the chimney in the high- ceilinged family room. Gonna be awesome. :masonrynerd:

 

[The Big Guy]

how different is it?

I have seen the commercials for years and how much different is this then from what you want to do?

 

[Otis]

how different is it?

I have seen the commercials for years and how much different is this then from what you want to do?

Interesting. Hard to tell from these photos, but this looks a lot more cheap --and a lot less like real stone -- than the pics I linked above. I'm assuming this isn't real stone?This is what I'm talking about -- Cultured Stone. Check out all the various options. These look incredible, like the high end stuff you see on multi-million dollar homes. Eventually I'd like to go beyond just doing our retaining wall, and making better use of our hard, which is a hilly, weird terrain, by leveling it out into tiers with various different walkways, stairways, planters, patio areas, and retaining walls. Could really be turned into something incredible by someone who knows what they're doing. Of course, I'm in no place to drop a hundred grand on landscaping and masonry, but one day...

 

[The Big Guy]

Right, so you are looking at mortaring real stone "bricks" to your existing wall rather then making the wall brick-like via the stucco and design style. Both are the same kind of concept, using less then real ways to stone the wall up. I have seen the thing you want to do be done on a variety of the DYI network shows and it does look good, but it is like doing brickwork..long and laborious.

 

[Steelfan7]

how different is it?

I have seen the commercials for years and how much different is this then from what you want to do?

Interesting. Hard to tell from these photos, but this looks a lot more cheap --and a lot less like real stone -- than the pics I linked above. I'm assuming this isn't real stone?This is what I'm talking about -- Cultured Stone. Check out all the various options. These look incredible, like the high end stuff you see on multi-million dollar homes. Eventually I'd like to go beyond just doing our retaining wall, and making better use of our hard, which is a hilly, weird terrain, by leveling it out into tiers with various different walkways, stairways, planters, patio areas, and retaining walls. Could really be turned into something incredible by someone who knows what they're doing. Of course, I'm in no place to drop a hundred grand on landscaping and masonry, but one day...

How did you get your FBG membership? Are you one of those affirmative action members?

 

[Tiger Fan]

just paid to get my entire front yard landscaping done. Dude did it in 1 day, and the only finger I lifted was to sign the check.

 

[Otis]

just paid to get my entire front yard landscaping done. Dude did it in 1 day, and the only finger I lifted was to sign the check.

Cost?Pics?Our front yard is a big hill -- a weird landscape. I have eventually planned to have a pro come in and work on it. It's very green and foresty right now, but if we lose a few trees, open it up and get a little more sun, and start planting things with colors (hydrangeas, flowers, etc.) it could look totally sick. Just requires time and money, like everything else.

 

[Otis]

Right, so you are looking at mortaring real stone "bricks" to your existing wall rather then making the wall brick-like via the stucco and design style. Both are the same kind of concept, using less then real ways to stone the wall up. I have seen the thing you want to do be done on a variety of the DYI network shows and it does look good, but it is like doing brickwork..long and laborious.

Yup I'm sure it's a lot of work. But it's a one-shot deal that will hopefully last and look great till I'm dead. I don't mind that.

 

[Guster]

just paid to get my entire front yard landscaping done. Dude did it in 1 day, and the only finger I lifted was to sign the check.

Cost?Pics?Our front yard is a big hill -- a weird landscape. I have eventually planned to have a pro come in and work on it. It's very green and foresty right now, but if we lose a few trees, open it up and get a little more sun, and start planting things with colors (hydrangeas, flowers, etc.) it could look totally sick. Just requires time and money, like everything else.

You love cutting down trees

 

[Otis]

just paid to get my entire front yard landscaping done. Dude did it in 1 day, and the only finger I lifted was to sign the check.

Cost?Pics?Our front yard is a big hill -- a weird landscape. I have eventually planned to have a pro come in and work on it. It's very green and foresty right now, but if we lose a few trees, open it up and get a little more sun, and start planting things with colors (hydrangeas, flowers, etc.) it could look totally sick. Just requires time and money, like everything else.

You love cutting down trees

 

[Otis]

Recent projects include:

In the past month or two, I built one radiator cover from scratch, and then took all the others, swapped out the old painted front grills for fresh clean gold-colored grills, added new (non warped) tops, and painted. They look a ton better.

Today I tore down the fence in the yard. It was rotting all to hell, but it is useful in that it divides the yard from a drop-off below -- important safety feature for kids. So, instead I'm going to plant low shrubs this spring, which should provide a more natural barrier but will look a ton better.

 

[OC Zed]

Recent projects include:

In the past month or two, I built one radiator cover from scratch, and then took all the others, swapped out the old painted front grills for fresh clean gold-colored grills, added new (non warped) tops, and painted. They look a ton better.

Today I tore down the fence in the yard. It was rotting all to hell, but it is useful in that it divides the yard from a drop-off below -- important safety feature for kids. So, instead I'm going to plant low shrubs this spring, which should provide a more natural barrier but will look a ton better.

Nice job on the radiator cover.

 

[St. Louis Bob]

Recent projects include:

In the past month or two, I built one radiator cover from scratch, and then took all the others, swapped out the old painted front grills for fresh clean gold-colored grills, added new (non warped) tops, and painted. They look a ton better.

Today I tore down the fence in the yard. It was rotting all to hell, but it is useful in that it divides the yard from a drop-off below -- important safety feature for kids. So, instead I'm going to plant low shrubs this spring, which should provide a more natural barrier but will look a ton better.

Nice job on the radiator cover.

MEGA landscaping upgrade pics will be coming from me in a week or so.

 

[Otis]

Recent projects include:

In the past month or two, I built one radiator cover from scratch, and then took all the others, swapped out the old painted front grills for fresh clean gold-colored grills, added new (non warped) tops, and painted. They look a ton better.

Today I tore down the fence in the yard. It was rotting all to hell, but it is useful in that it divides the yard from a drop-off below -- important safety feature for kids. So, instead I'm going to plant low shrubs this spring, which should provide a more natural barrier but will look a ton better.

Nice job on the radiator cover.

MEGA landscaping upgrade pics will be coming from me in a week or so.

Before and after please.Also what's with all you guys doing landscaping upgrades in the dead of winter?

 

[St. Louis Bob]

Recent projects include:

In the past month or two, I built one radiator cover from scratch, and then took all the others, swapped out the old painted front grills for fresh clean gold-colored grills, added new (non warped) tops, and painted. They look a ton better.

Today I tore down the fence in the yard. It was rotting all to hell, but it is useful in that it divides the yard from a drop-off below -- important safety feature for kids. So, instead I'm going to plant low shrubs this spring, which should provide a more natural barrier but will look a ton better.

Nice job on the radiator cover.

MEGA landscaping upgrade pics will be coming from me in a week or so.

Before and after please.Also what's with all you guys doing landscaping upgrades in the dead of winter?

I have the before pics taken although I didn't get one from upstairs, wish I would have. As far as the dead of winter thing, we just moved here in August. It has worked out though because people are slow and are willing to work cheaper.

 

[Britney Spears]

Right, so you are looking at mortaring real stone "bricks" to your existing wall rather then making the wall brick-like via the stucco and design style. Both are the same kind of concept, using less then real ways to stone the wall up. I have seen the thing you want to do be done on a variety of the DYI network shows and it does look good, but it is like doing brickwork..long and laborious.

Yup I'm sure it's a lot of work. But it's a one-shot deal that will hopefully last and look great till I'm dead. I don't mind that.

It's not that difficult I believe. My uncle & cousin did the front of his house and garage in one weekend. The stones are not placed individually, they have pieces that look like several stones that all go on at once and line up with other pieces. You randomly mix and match the pieces, and it's very similar to tiling. It actually seems pretty easy to me (I haven't actually done it yet of course).

 

[Jojo the circus boy]

The retaining wall in our yard is ugly.

Having thought about it some more, what I'd like to eventually do is have the entire retaining wall -- it's a lot of square footage -- covered in a stone veneer/cultured stone. I'm sure if I go through a masonry guy it'll be a fortune, and this seems like the kind of thing I might be able to do myself given that the wall is structurally fine and this is just a facing. I've done a time backsplash in a kitchen before -- in principle, this is more or less the same.

Still, materials will be expensive. I'm thinking something like this: LINK or this: LINK

But even in just materials alone, this should be several thousand bucks. This stone veneer ain't cheap. Also, our retaining wall runs beyond our gate and all the way out to the street, though at least the wall angles downwards and thus becomes shorter as it extends to the road. But I think if I'm going to do this, I ought to do the entire wall.

Additionally, I'm thinking I need to cap off the top of the wall with something, like a stone shelf etc. That will serve a few purposes, one being raising the height of the wall so that it's not so easy for crap to run over it, and another being providing a better edge for us to do plantings behind.

Anyone ever do anything like this? Looks pretty straightforward, but I'm just curious to hear experiences with this. We don't have the cash to spend on this right now, but maybe around the summer we'll be in a position to do this, again, assuming I do the labor myself, maybe invite the BILs over for some pizza and beer and stone work.

TIA for any guidance.

Looks like a nice canvas for some graffiti

 

[St. Louis Bob]

Recent projects include:

In the past month or two, I built one radiator cover from scratch, and then took all the others, swapped out the old painted front grills for fresh clean gold-colored grills, added new (non warped) tops, and painted. They look a ton better.

Today I tore down the fence in the yard. It was rotting all to hell, but it is useful in that it divides the yard from a drop-off below -- important safety feature for kids. So, instead I'm going to plant low shrubs this spring, which should provide a more natural barrier but will look a ton better.

Nice job on the radiator cover.

MEGA landscaping upgrade pics will be coming from me in a week or so.

Before and after please.Also what's with all you guys doing landscaping upgrades in the dead of winter?

I have the before pics taken although I didn't get one from upstairs, wish I would have. As far as the dead of winter thing, we just moved here in August. It has worked out though because people are slow and are willing to work cheaper.

I had 4 yards of gravel delivered last Saturday and just got done putting it all where I wanted it today. That was a lot of shoveling and wheelbarrowing but I'm almost done. Pretty happy I hired people to do most of the work and really tired right now.Here's a sneak peek: Before & after

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Recent projects include:

In the past month or two, I built one radiator cover from scratch, and then took all the others, swapped out the old painted front grills for fresh clean gold-colored grills, added new (non warped) tops, and painted. They look a ton better.

Today I tore down the fence in the yard. It was rotting all to hell, but it is useful in that it divides the yard from a drop-off below -- important safety feature for kids. So, instead I'm going to plant low shrubs this spring, which should provide a more natural barrier but will look a ton better.

Nice job on the radiator cover.

MEGA landscaping upgrade pics will be coming from me in a week or so.

Before and after please.Also what's with all you guys doing landscaping upgrades in the dead of winter?

I have the before pics taken although I didn't get one from upstairs, wish I would have. As far as the dead of winter thing, we just moved here in August. It has worked out though because people are slow and are willing to work cheaper.

I had 4 yards of gravel delivered last Saturday and just got done putting it all where I wanted it today. That was a lot of shoveling and wheelbarrowing but I'm almost done. Pretty happy I hired people to do most of the work and really tired right now.Here's a sneak peek: Before & after

very nice...

 

[St. Louis Bob]

Recent projects include:

In the past month or two, I built one radiator cover from scratch, and then took all the others, swapped out the old painted front grills for fresh clean gold-colored grills, added new (non warped) tops, and painted. They look a ton better.

Today I tore down the fence in the yard. It was rotting all to hell, but it is useful in that it divides the yard from a drop-off below -- important safety feature for kids. So, instead I'm going to plant low shrubs this spring, which should provide a more natural barrier but will look a ton better.

Nice job on the radiator cover.

MEGA landscaping upgrade pics will be coming from me in a week or so.

Before and after please.Also what's with all you guys doing landscaping upgrades in the dead of winter?

I have the before pics taken although I didn't get one from upstairs, wish I would have. As far as the dead of winter thing, we just moved here in August. It has worked out though because people are slow and are willing to work cheaper.

I had 4 yards of gravel delivered last Saturday and just got done putting it all where I wanted it today. That was a lot of shoveling and wheelbarrowing but I'm almost done. Pretty happy I hired people to do most of the work and really tired right now.Here's a sneak peek: Before & after

very nice...

I'm really happy to get this done. I'm wired to save money and to find what I have sufficient but I just couldn't deal with the amount of work I would have to do if I didn't make some major changes. I'm still waiting for some tress and shrubs to be put in. I'm also almost done with the path and sitting area in the woods.

Before 2 & After 2

Here's a couple more:

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Recent projects include:

In the past month or two, I built one radiator cover from scratch, and then took all the others, swapped out the old painted front grills for fresh clean gold-colored grills, added new (non warped) tops, and painted. They look a ton better.

Today I tore down the fence in the yard. It was rotting all to hell, but it is useful in that it divides the yard from a drop-off below -- important safety feature for kids. So, instead I'm going to plant low shrubs this spring, which should provide a more natural barrier but will look a ton better.

Nice job on the radiator cover.

MEGA landscaping upgrade pics will be coming from me in a week or so.

Before and after please.Also what's with all you guys doing landscaping upgrades in the dead of winter?

I have the before pics taken although I didn't get one from upstairs, wish I would have. As far as the dead of winter thing, we just moved here in August. It has worked out though because people are slow and are willing to work cheaper.

I had 4 yards of gravel delivered last Saturday and just got done putting it all where I wanted it today. That was a lot of shoveling and wheelbarrowing but I'm almost done. Pretty happy I hired people to do most of the work and really tired right now.Here's a sneak peek: Before & after

very nice...

I'm really happy to get this done. I'm wired to save money and to find what I have sufficient but I just couldn't deal with the amount of work I would have to do if I didn't make some major changes. I'm still waiting for some tress and shrubs to be put in. I'm also almost done with the path and sitting area in the woods.

Before 2 & After 2

Here's a couple more:

Amazing what a little bit of the right combination of rock and stone does...hat's going to look smokin' when you add the plant colors in there.Again imo, looks great my friend.

 

[St. Louis Bob]

Amazing what a little bit of the right combination of rock and stone does...hat's going to look smokin' when you add the plant colors in there.Again imo, looks great my friend.

Thanks my brotha!

 

[shuke]

Recent projects include:

In the past month or two, I built one radiator cover from scratch, and then took all the others, swapped out the old painted front grills for fresh clean gold-colored grills, added new (non warped) tops, and painted. They look a ton better.

Today I tore down the fence in the yard. It was rotting all to hell, but it is useful in that it divides the yard from a drop-off below -- important safety feature for kids. So, instead I'm going to plant low shrubs this spring, which should provide a more natural barrier but will look a ton better.

Nice job on the radiator cover.

MEGA landscaping upgrade pics will be coming from me in a week or so.

Before and after please.Also what's with all you guys doing landscaping upgrades in the dead of winter?

I have the before pics taken although I didn't get one from upstairs, wish I would have. As far as the dead of winter thing, we just moved here in August. It has worked out though because people are slow and are willing to work cheaper.

I had 4 yards of gravel delivered last Saturday and just got done putting it all where I wanted it today. That was a lot of shoveling and wheelbarrowing but I'm almost done. Pretty happy I hired people to do most of the work and really tired right now.Here's a sneak peek: Before & after

very nice...

I'm really happy to get this done. I'm wired to save money and to find what I have sufficient but I just couldn't deal with the amount of work I would have to do if I didn't make some major changes. I'm still waiting for some tress and shrubs to be put in. I'm also almost done with the path and sitting area in the woods.

Before 2 & After 2

Here's a couple more:

Nice work. Not a big fan of gravel but that looks good with the pavers.

 

[ShaqAttaq]

significant improvement there.

 

[corpcow]

I'm really happy to get this done. I'm wired to save money and to find what I have sufficient but I just couldn't deal with the amount of work I would have to do if I didn't make some major changes. I'm still waiting for some tress and shrubs to be put in. I'm also almost done with the path and sitting area in the woods.

Before 2 & After 2

Just out of curiosity, how much did the pavers cost? We have an awful, sad little concrete slab in the back.. the previous owners did no landscaping, and while we have a nice flat backyard (not too common here in Pittsburgh) it backs to the road. We want to put a fence, privacy trees, and rip that concrete slab out and put in something like what you have there.

 

[belljr]

Recent projects include:

In the past month or two, I built one radiator cover from scratch, and then took all the others, swapped out the old painted front grills for fresh clean gold-colored grills, added new (non warped) tops, and painted. They look a ton better.

Today I tore down the fence in the yard. It was rotting all to hell, but it is useful in that it divides the yard from a drop-off below -- important safety feature for kids. So, instead I'm going to plant low shrubs this spring, which should provide a more natural barrier but will look a ton better.

Nice job on the radiator cover.

MEGA landscaping upgrade pics will be coming from me in a week or so.

Before and after please.Also what's with all you guys doing landscaping upgrades in the dead of winter?

I have the before pics taken although I didn't get one from upstairs, wish I would have. As far as the dead of winter thing, we just moved here in August. It has worked out though because people are slow and are willing to work cheaper.

I had 4 yards of gravel delivered last Saturday and just got done putting it all where I wanted it today. That was a lot of shoveling and wheelbarrowing but I'm almost done. Pretty happy I hired people to do most of the work and really tired right now.Here's a sneak peek: Before & after

very nice...

I'm really happy to get this done. I'm wired to save money and to find what I have sufficient but I just couldn't deal with the amount of work I would have to do if I didn't make some major changes. I'm still waiting for some tress and shrubs to be put in. I'm also almost done with the path and sitting area in the woods.

Before 2 & After 2

Here's a couple more:

You did it yourself? Very impressive

 

[St. Louis Bob]

Nice work. Not a big fan of gravel but that looks good with the pavers.

Thanks GB. I only used the gravel for under the deck and for the walk in the woods.

significant improvement there.

I'm really happy to get this done. I'm wired to save money and to find what I have sufficient but I just couldn't deal with the amount of work I would have to do if I didn't make some major changes. I'm still waiting for some tress and shrubs to be put in. I'm also almost done with the path and sitting area in the woods.

Before 2 & After 2

Just out of curiosity, how much did the pavers cost? We have an awful, sad little concrete slab in the back.. the previous owners did no landscaping, and while we have a nice flat backyard (not too common here in Pittsburgh) it backs to the road. We want to put a fence, privacy trees, and rip that concrete slab out and put in something like what you have there.

I paid somebody to do it but they charged me $1.20for the 6x6's and $1.50 for the 6x9's.

You did it yourself?

Very impressive

I paid people to do most of it. I had a lot of existing material to use so I decided to make a pathway and sitting area in the woods. This isn't finished yet, I'm going to cover the gravel with polymeric sand to smooth it out.Sitting Area & Deck

Here are the rest:

Front Before Front After Front After Rendering

Garden Before Garden After

Walk Before Walk After

Atrium Before Atrium After 1 Atrium After 2

Corner Before Corner After

Mailbox & Tree Before Mailbox & Tree

Upstairs View & What it will resemble after the rest of the trees and stuff are in link

I also bought a ton (like literally a million) of different wild flower seeds that I can going to sow on the other side of the fence. I cleared out a crazy amount of of underbrush.

 

[glock]

Otis> I'm planning a summer project of:

Ripping out a large existing raised planter that is made out of rotting railroad ties, building a concrete block wall and facing it with stone veneer, and a stone cap atop the wall.

Big project for me and I will post pics so you can follow along.

I have a 40' stretch of rotting RR ties- originals dating back to the '50's- running across my yard that have to go. Roughly 4-5' tall in two steps. I'm looking to use something like this instead of building a block wall and facing it. Did you consider this kind of installation?

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Nice work. Not a big fan of gravel but that looks good with the pavers.

Thanks GB. I only used the gravel for under the deck and for the walk in the woods.

significant improvement there.

I'm really happy to get this done. I'm wired to save money and to find what I have sufficient but I just couldn't deal with the amount of work I would have to do if I didn't make some major changes. I'm still waiting for some tress and shrubs to be put in. I'm also almost done with the path and sitting area in the woods.

Before 2 & After 2

Just out of curiosity, how much did the pavers cost? We have an awful, sad little concrete slab in the back.. the previous owners did no landscaping, and while we have a nice flat backyard (not too common here in Pittsburgh) it backs to the road. We want to put a fence, privacy trees, and rip that concrete slab out and put in something like what you have there.

I paid somebody to do it but they charged me $1.20for the 6x6's and $1.50 for the 6x9's.

You did it yourself?

Very impressive

I paid people to do most of it. I had a lot of existing material to use so I decided to make a pathway and sitting area in the woods. This isn't finished yet, I'm going to cover the gravel with polymeric sand to smooth it out.Sitting Area & Deck

Here are the rest:

Front Before Front After Front After Rendering

Garden Before Garden After

Walk Before Walk After

Atrium Before Atrium After 1 Atrium After 2

Corner Before Corner After

Mailbox & Tree Before Mailbox & Tree

Upstairs View & What it will resemble after the rest of the trees and stuff are in link

I also bought a ton (like literally a million) of different wild flower seeds that I can going to sow on the other side of the fence. I cleared out a crazy amount of of underbrush.

Like I said before...very very nice work.You've given me incentive to get my new landscaping project done...that is, once all this snow is gone...

 

[Otis]

Great stuff. I have a bunch of these sorts of things planned. Good motivation provided by those before/after pics...

 

[St. Louis Bob]

Thanks guys! I can't wait for Spring.

 

[corpcow]

I'm really happy to get this done. I'm wired to save money and to find what I have sufficient but I just couldn't deal with the amount of work I would have to do if I didn't make some major changes. I'm still waiting for some tress and shrubs to be put in. I'm also almost done with the path and sitting area in the woods.

Before 2 & After 2

Just out of curiosity, how much did the pavers cost? We have an awful, sad little concrete slab in the back.. the previous owners did no landscaping, and while we have a nice flat backyard (not too common here in Pittsburgh) it backs to the road. We want to put a fence, privacy trees, and rip that concrete slab out and put in something like what you have there.

I paid somebody to do it but they charged me $1.20for the 6x6's and $1.50 for the 6x9's.

To be clear, I expect to pay someone to do this as well (particularly since I have to demo a concrete slab as well. I've got some quotes coming, but no idea if it's a $2k project or a $10k project.

 

[St. Louis Bob]

I'm really happy to get this done. I'm wired to save money and to find what I have sufficient but I just couldn't deal with the amount of work I would have to do if I didn't make some major changes. I'm still waiting for some tress and shrubs to be put in. I'm also almost done with the path and sitting area in the woods.

Before 2 & After 2

Just out of curiosity, how much did the pavers cost? We have an awful, sad little concrete slab in the back.. the previous owners did no landscaping, and while we have a nice flat backyard (not too common here in Pittsburgh) it backs to the road. We want to put a fence, privacy trees, and rip that concrete slab out and put in something like what you have there.

I paid somebody to do it but they charged me $1.20for the 6x6's and $1.50 for the 6x9's.

To be clear, I expect to pay someone to do this as well (particularly since I have to demo a concrete slab as well. I've got some quotes coming, but no idea if it's a $2k project or a $10k project.

EXACTLY where I was before this whole thing started. The patio & walkway was a little over 11k.

Cool thing is the place I used donates 10% of the job to a local charity in your name so I'll get nice little tax deduction next year too.

 

[corpcow]

I'm really happy to get this done. I'm wired to save money and to find what I have sufficient but I just couldn't deal with the amount of work I would have to do if I didn't make some major changes. I'm still waiting for some tress and shrubs to be put in. I'm also almost done with the path and sitting area in the woods.

Before 2 & After 2

Just out of curiosity, how much did the pavers cost? We have an awful, sad little concrete slab in the back.. the previous owners did no landscaping, and while we have a nice flat backyard (not too common here in Pittsburgh) it backs to the road. We want to put a fence, privacy trees, and rip that concrete slab out and put in something like what you have there.

I paid somebody to do it but they charged me $1.20for the 6x6's and $1.50 for the 6x9's.

To be clear, I expect to pay someone to do this as well (particularly since I have to demo a concrete slab as well. I've got some quotes coming, but no idea if it's a $2k project or a $10k project.

EXACTLY where I was before this whole thing started. The patio & walkway was a little over 11k.

Cool thing is the place I used donates 10% of the job to a local charity in your name so I'll get nice little tax deduction next year too.

11k installed? Hmm... This is my third priority behind the fence and trees (which I'm 100% doing). We back to the road, so the privacy is a must. We didn't use the backyard much last year, I think mostly because of that. The pavers are nice, but a lot depends on how much the fence costs I guess

 

[St. Louis Bob]

I'm really happy to get this done. I'm wired to save money and to find what I have sufficient but I just couldn't deal with the amount of work I would have to do if I didn't make some major changes. I'm still waiting for some tress and shrubs to be put in. I'm also almost done with the path and sitting area in the woods.

Before 2 & After 2

Just out of curiosity, how much did the pavers cost? We have an awful, sad little concrete slab in the back.. the previous owners did no landscaping, and while we have a nice flat backyard (not too common here in Pittsburgh) it backs to the road. We want to put a fence, privacy trees, and rip that concrete slab out and put in something like what you have there.

I paid somebody to do it but they charged me $1.20for the 6x6's and $1.50 for the 6x9's.

To be clear, I expect to pay someone to do this as well (particularly since I have to demo a concrete slab as well. I've got some quotes coming, but no idea if it's a $2k project or a $10k project.

EXACTLY where I was before this whole thing started. The patio & walkway was a little over 11k.

Cool thing is the place I used donates 10% of the job to a local charity in your name so I'll get nice little tax deduction next year too.

11k installed? Hmm... This is my third priority behind the fence and trees (which I'm 100% doing). We back to the road, so the privacy is a must. We didn't use the backyard much last year, I think mostly because of that. The pavers are nice, but a lot depends on how much the fence costs I guess

It was a good price, I had two other companies give me pricing. This guy was the lowest but that isn't why I went with him. He was also the most responsive & gave me a professional proposal including renderings like I posted earlier.

 

[St. Louis Bob]

Finally finished the path.

One

Two

Three

Four

View from bench

Already have my garden in too. Also assembled my Big Green Egg XL Tuesday night.

All that is left for me to do is BBQ, smoke cigars and drink lots of booze the next 6 months.

 

[offdee]

Finally finished the path.

One

Two

Three

Four

View from bench

Already have my garden in too. Also assembled my Big Green Egg XL Tuesday night.

All that is left for me to do is BBQ, smoke cigars and drink lots of booze the next 6 months.

Why the blue "H" at the start of the walkway?

 

[Marvin]

Finally finished the path.

One

Two

Three

Four

View from bench

Already have my garden in too. Also assembled my Big Green Egg XL Tuesday night.

All that is left for me to do is BBQ, smoke cigars and drink lots of booze the next 6 months.

Why the blue "H" at the start of the walkway?

I'm going to take a wild guess and say it is the first letter of his last name.