Tips On Building A Dry Stack Stone Wall #4: Why They Work

In the last post I did for this series on tips for building a dry stack stone wall 

I showed how I go about building a dry stack wall.

This time I want to drive home a few of the principles that I think explain 

why these walls work the way they do and are fundamental to the success of a wall.

The posts to date in this continuing series geared for the owner builder are:

Tips On Building Dry Stack Stone Walls #1: Project, Tools,

 Tips On Building A Dry Stack Stone Wall #2: Getting Stone,

Tips On Building A Dry Stack Stone Wall #3: Building The Wall,

Tips On Building A Dry Stack Stone Wall #5: Style,

Tips On Building A Dry Stack Stone Wall #6: Steps,

Tips On Building Dry Stack Stone Walls #7: More On Steps.

Tips On Building A Dry Stack Stone Wall #3: Building The Wall

In this post on building a dry stack stone wall we will look photo by photo 

at the steps in building the wall, specifically aimed at the owner builder.

The photo above gives a look at part of the wall we will be working on.

The complete series are:

Tips On Building Dry Stack Stone Walls #1: Project, Tools,

and Tips On Building A Dry Stack Stone Wall #2: Getting Stone,

Tips On Building Dry Stack Stone Wall #4: Why They Work,

Tips On Building A Dry Stack Stone Wall #5: Style,

Tips On Building A Dry Stack Stone Wall #6: Steps,

Tips On Building Dry Stack Stone Walls #7: More On Steps.

Tips On Building A Dry Stack Stone Wall #2: Getting Stone

In the previous post we took a look at the need for erosion control in our project area

 and the tools that we would use in building our dry stack stone walls.

The posts to date in this continuing series are:

Tips On Building Dry Stack Stone Walls #1: Project, Tools,

 Tips On Building A Dry Stack Stone Wall #2: Getting Stone,

Tips On Building A Dry Stack Stone Wall #3: Building The Wall,

Tips On Building Dry Stack Stone Wall #4: Why They Work,

Tips On Building A Dry Stack Stone Wall #5: Style,

Tips On Building A Dry Stack Stone Wall #6: Steps,

Tips On Building Dry Stack Stone Walls #7: More On Steps.

This series is directed to the owner builder rather than the professional stone mason.

Let's look now at the stone we are using, where it came from, 

and how we determined where to have it dumped,

so that it would be readily accessible but not in our way.

In the photo above we are well into our project

 and we have just gotten the last of our three 14.5 ton loads of stone.

I have created a pathway where I can easily use the hand trucks to carry stone

or roll it down the hill if they are too large for the hand truck.

Tips On Building Dry Stack Stone Walls #1: Project, Tools

This is the first in a series of tips on building dry stack stone retaining walls for landscaping,

gained from my personal experience and particularly aimed at the owner builder.

In future posts I will be discussing topics such as how to build durable walls and steps,

how to design the layout for a project, theory on dry stack walls, 

 stone as a material and what stone works best in each part of the project, site management,

and for this post we will look at the site and goal, and tools that will be needed.

The posts to date in this continuing series are:

Tips On Building Dry Stack Stone Walls #1: Project, Tools,

 Tips On Building A Dry Stack Stone Wall #2: Getting Stone,

Tips On Building A Dry Stack Stone Wall #3: Building The Wall,
Tips On Building Dry Stack Stone Wall #4: Why They Work,
Tips On Building A Dry Stack Stone Wall #5: Style,
Tips On Building A Dry Stack Stone Wall #6: Steps,
Tips On Building Dry Stack Stone Walls #7: More On Steps.

 The photo above shows the finished project which gives you a feel for the scope of this work.

Installing Large Size Sun Room Windows

After having built and lived in quite a few passive solar sun rooms over the last 40 years 

I have come up with a good way to set the large double glazed glass units

 that are commonly used for such rooms.

About a year and a half ago we purchased a passive solar heated adobe fixer upper

 with a very long 80' sunroom, built in the mid 1980's.

Building A Well House #10: Finishing Up

To conclude this series on Building A Well House I want to show how we built the door, 

some final landscaping, and finally a photo collage of the project from start to finish.

And here are links to the whole series:

Building A Well House #1: Rubble Fill Foundation,

 Building A Well House #2: Dry Stack Cement Block,

 Building A Well House #3: More On Dry Stack Cement Block,

Building A Well House #4: Framing The Hip Roof,

Building A Well House #5: Corrugated Metal Roof,

Building A Well House #6: Plumbing And Electrical, 

 Building A Well House #7: Prepping For Stucco,

 Building A Well House #8: Stucco,

Building A Well House #9: Trombe Wall Solar Collector.

Update On Our Rainwater Catchment System

We have now had our rain water collection system for a year and a half 

and it is time to give an update on how we are using it.

This is a continuation of the post I did over a year ago that you can access at
Designing And Installing A Rainwater Catchment System.

The first year was a bit frustrating as we were in what the National Weather Service 

describes as an "exceptional drought" which is their highest category.

It is hard to store water when there is no rain.
This relates to the topic of how to best size a rain water collection system.
When it is possible to go for more than six months with less than an inch of rain,
 a larger system may be necessary.

Another Look At Porfilio Bustillo, #3 - Cement Trim As Faux Stone

This is the 3rd post in a row on the work of mason Porfirio Bustillo.

Please refer to the 2 previous posts to more easily follow along:

Porfirio Bustillo, Master Mason In Alamos, Sonora and

Porfirio Bustillo, #2- Formed Cement And Faux Tile.

Now I want to show how he gives his decorative cement work 

a finish that resembles carved cantera stone.

Another Look At Porfilio Bustillo, #2 - Formed Cement Trim And Faux Tile

My previous post was on the work of Porfirio Bustillo.

You may want to read that before this post:

Porfirio Bustillo, Master Mason In Alamos, Sonora.

Another Look At Porfirio Bustillo - Master Mason In Alamos, Sonora

I had the pleasure to meet Senior Porfirio Bustillo,

  a mason in Alamo, Sonora who specializes in fireplaces.

These next couple posts will concentrate on the work he is doing 

on his house which is under construction.

Looking Back At Murals In Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico

I would like to expand a bit the definition

 of alternative building to include murals.

(I want to continue looking back at some of my posts 

from a couple of years ago that may have been missed

 by the weekly readers of this blog,

and this post comes from December 13, 2010.)

Faces And Masks - Looking Back At You

It is interesting how we present ourselves to the world.

The mask above is found on a home in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

(Please note that I am continuing to look at posts 

from a couple of years ago that current readers may have missed

 and this post was originally done in January of 2011,
with several additions we have run across since then.)

Another Look At Domes In Mexico

As the weather turns colder

 it is nice to look back at some of my older posts from Mexico 

and this one comes from December 16th, 2010.

We have visited all these spots over the last five years.

Above is a beautifully tiled dome in San Carlos, Sonora.

Another Look At Stonework At The Lake Valley Ghost Town

Last fall I ventured by the virtually abandoned ghost town

 of Lake Valley, New Mexico, where I got some photos

of the building above which was the saloon, general store,

 and gas station.

(I first did this post on April 23, 2010 

and I want to highlight some of my older posts that I did in the first year or so of this blog 

that may have been overlooked by current readers.)

Ruins Of San Juan Parangaricutira Church Revisited

A couple of years ago as we traveled through the Mexican state of Michoacan

 we were advised by fellow travelers to visit the Paricutin Volcano. 

I am glad we did.

(Please note this is a post I originally did 12/30/10 

and I want to highlight some of my older posts that I did in the first year or so of this blog 

that may have been overlooked by current readers, hope you enjoy it.)

Building A Well House #9: Trombe Wall Solar Collector

It was a thrill to finally get to the point in this project 

that I had been most looking forward to 

and that was building the Trombe Wall passive solar heater 

to keep our well house from freezing in the winter.

In the photo above you can see we are pretty solarized with the Trombe wall

 and in the background you can get a glimpse of the attached sunroom on the house

 and the solar batch water heater on the roof, all passive solar use.

To follow along on the well house project:

Building A Well House #1: Rubble Fill Foundation,

 Building A Well House #2: Dry Stack Cement Block,

 Building A Well House #3: More On Dry Stack Cement Block,

Building A Well House #4: Framing The Hip Roof,

Building A Well House #5: Corrugated Metal Roof,

Building A Well House #6: Plumbing And Electrical, 

 Building A Well House #7: Prepping For Stucco,

and Building A Well House #8: Stucco. 

Building A Well House #8: Stucco

Last week we looked at wiring the well house for applying stucco to,

now let's look at the stucco process itself.

The whole series to date is:

Building A Well House #1: Rubble Fill Foundation,

 Building A Well House #2: Dry Stack Cement Block,

 Building A Well House #3: More On Dry Stack Cement Block,

Building A Well House #4: Framing The Hip Roof,

Building A Well House #5: Corrugated Metal Roof,

Building A Well House #6: Plumbing And Electrical, 

and Building A Well House #7: Prepping For Stucco,

so please take a look back to get up to speed on our project,

particularly the last post on the preparation for stucco.

Building A Well House #7: Prepping For Stucco

Once we got the plumbing and electrical hooked up in the well house

 we were ready to finish up the outside

 and the first step was insulating and wiring for the stucco.

This being a cement block building I wanted to try and refine some techniques

 I have been working on for applying stucco over rigid foam insulation.

Here is the complete series to date for those who may want to follow along:

Building A Well House #1: Rubble Fill Foundation,

 Building A Well House #2: Dry Stack Cement Block,

 Building A Well House #3: More On Dry Stack Cement Block,

Building A Well House #4: Framing The Hip Roof,

Building A Well House #5: Corrugated Metal Roof,

Building A Well House #6: Plumbing And Electrical.

Building A Well House #6: Plumbing And Electrical

Once we had the roof done on the well house we wanted to go ahead
and make the switch over from the old well system to the new
before we did the outside finishing of insulation, stucco, and solar Trombe wall.

Here is the whole series to date:
Building A Well House #1: Rubble Fill Foundation,

 Building A Well House #2: Dry Stack Cement Block,

 Building A Well House #3: More On Dry Stack Cement Block,

Building A Well House #4: Framing The Hip Roof,

and Building A Well House #5: Corrugated Metal Roof.

In the photo above you can see the old set up unearthed:

-the well casing at the top of the photo, installed in 1984,

-the 1 1/4" white pvc line that goes from the well to the two houses 

(this is a shared well), 

-and the buried grey pressure tank.

Also note the 3" white pvc line with a cap on it 

at the very bottom of the photo that is the conduit for the new pex 

(polyethelene cross braided water line),

and the 1" electrical conduit that has been left short till we are ready for the final hook up,

both of which run back to the new well house.

Building A Well House #5: Corrugated Metal Roof

This is the 5th post on our well house project 

and we will take a look at the corrugated galvanized metal roof.

To get up to speed on where we have been check out these previous posts:

Building A Well House #1: Rubble Fill Foundation,

 Building A Well House #2: Dry Stack Cement Block,

 Building A Well House #3: More On Dry Stack Cement Wall,

and Building A Well House #4: Framing The Hip Roof.