The purpose of most old stone walls in New England was simple. To provide a place to put all the stone that was cleared from a farmer's field and also to keep his livestock from disappearing.

Today, walls form the basic structure of the landscape.

Retaining walls, in addition to their
attractiveness, are the workhorse
of the landscape. They are designed to hold back the earch to create usuable space.

 

 

Freestanding walls delineate the landscape and provide definition to the boundaries of the space. Walls can be topped off by the wall material itself or by a separate Wall Coping.

Both freestanding and retaining walls can be constructed from many different materials.

Stone walls are the most traditional walls in a New England landscape, but Brick are also used extensively.

Recent developments have added Thin Natural Stone and Concrete Wall Systems as more flexible
alternatives to traditional materials.

Read on to learn more about the many options for
retaining walls.

Solid Stone Walls

Veneered Stone or Brick Walls

Natural Thin Stone Walls

Segmented Concrete Walls

 

 

 

Solid Stone Walls
The most traditional type of landscape wall is built out of solid stone. They can be dry-laid (without foundations or motar), wet set (with full foundations and mortared) or a combination (partial foundations and mortar).

A solid stone wall is most appropriate when the wall is relatively low (48" or less).

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Veneered Stone or Brick Walls
For higher walls, the cost and difficulty of solid stone becomes an issue. In this case, the one alternative is to construct a poured concrete or cement block wall and face it with veneer stone or brick.

In this installation, the work is done by the concrete or block and the aesthetics are taken care of with the stone or brick veneer.

A foundation is poured below the frost line with a poured concrete or cement block wall on top. A shelf is left to support the weight of the stone. For all practical purposes, the wall appears identical to a solid stone wall.

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Natural Thin Stone Walls
Another option is similar to the above uses; an adhered stone product as the facing instead of a full-thickness stone.

This installation has the advantage of requiring lighter footings. In many instances, installation times are quicker and more economical.

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Segmented Concrete Walls
An alternative to traditional stone or brick walls are concrete wall systems. These systems are especially attractive for a do-it-yourself installation. There are no foundations and the systems (Belgard, Pavers by Ideal, Techo-Bloc) practically put themselves together.

You can create curved or straight walls, terraces, stairs, planters, and corners.

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WALLS