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I am toying with the idea of replacing our fence (only about 150′ of fence) with a 6 foot high wall made of cobblestone blocks. I have made a small (15-20′ long x 3′ high) retaining wall of mortared cobblestone (recycled from the streets of San Francisco) before. It looks great.
The retaining wall is just resting on a compacted layer of gravel, which obviously won’t cut it for a wall. The retaining wall is also curved to help keep it from leaning over. Also not an option for a wall. Plainly a footer will be necessary. I’ve never done a footer before. I’ll probably hire someone for that.
Has anyone done this before? Have any comments or things I should know about? Anyone know a fair price for a LOT of cobblestones in the San Francisco Bay Area (I think its about 45 tons of “jumbo” cobblestone if the fence is 10″ thick)? Jumbo cobblestones are nominally 10″ x 7″ x 4″.
How thick should a cobblestone wall be if it’s 6′ tall?
Any good resources I should be reading?
How do I make sure this thing lasts forever?
Thanks for all your help.
Replies
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Chris,
7" width is adequate for 6' high.
I'd put buttress piers at both ends and at every 15' -- unfortunately you can't bond them in because your cobblestone sizes don't work for bonding, so tie them in with a piece of expanded metal lath in the bed joint, every course.
I've attached a simple sketch of what I mean.
*I've seen used cobblestones for $1 to $1.50 each, though maybe not as big as what you want.Mike
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I am toying with the idea of replacing our fence (only about 150' of fence) with a 6 foot high wall made of cobblestone blocks. I have made a small (15-20' long x 3' high) retaining wall of mortared cobblestone (recycled from the streets of San Francisco) before. It looks great.
The retaining wall is just resting on a compacted layer of gravel, which obviously won't cut it for a wall. The retaining wall is also curved to help keep it from leaning over. Also not an option for a wall. Plainly a footer will be necessary. I've never done a footer before. I'll probably hire someone for that.
Has anyone done this before? Have any comments or things I should know about? Anyone know a fair price for a LOT of cobblestones in the San Francisco Bay Area (I think its about 45 tons of "jumbo" cobblestone if the fence is 10" thick)? Jumbo cobblestones are nominally 10" x 7" x 4".
How thick should a cobblestone wall be if it's 6' tall?
Any good resources I should be reading?
How do I make sure this thing lasts forever?
Thanks for all your help.