Choosing Mortar For Your Hardcape

November 24th, 2011 Posted in Mortar
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When you are at your landscaping supply center loading up on stone for your next outdoor hardscaping project, don’t forget to swing by the accessories and supplies area and pick up the right mortar for the job.  Whether you are installing a new outdoor kitchen, retaining wall, or other hardscape, you will need to choose the right type of mortar for your project.  Mortar is made from Portland cement, lime, sand and water.  The relative amount of each ingredient affects the bonding strength, compressive strength, flexibility, and shrinkage.

Type M mortar has the highest compressive strength and is used primarily for load bearing walls or below grade masonry work such as retaining walls where high compression strength is desirable.  Type S mortar has moderate compression strength, but higher bonding strength than Type M mortar.

Type N mortar has even lower compression strength, but excellent bonding strength and resistance to shrinkage and cracking.  It is commonly used for exterior or interior above grade walls.  You may also encounter type O or type K mortar.  These are low strength mortars typically used for tuckpointing or other masonry repair work.

One other type of mortar is refractory mortar which is specially formulated to be resistant to high temperatures.  It is used to set firebrick that lines the inside of fireplaces.

When choosing a mortar for any outdoor landscaping project, a general rule of thumb is to use the lowest strength mortar that will do the job.  Many landscaping professionals recommend using Type N mortar for most mortar work unless there is some reason that higher compression strength is needed. It’s combination of good compression strength, high bonding strength, flexibility and resistance to shrinkage and weather make Type N mortar a great all round choice.

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Retaining Wall Types

November 16th, 2011 Posted in Stone Retaining Walls
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Stone retaining walls come in an endless array of shapes, sizes, styles and types. They can be purely decorative, or they can combine beauty and function by helping to level an area, support a sloping area, help with erosion control, break up a section of yard into smaller areas, create a garden area, and many more uses.

Common types of retaining walls include gravity, semi gravity, cantilevered, and counterfort.  A gravity retaining wall relies on its weight to hold back the soil.  These are constructed in a shallow cone shape with the base wider than the top.  In some cases the wall is angles slightly back toward to help improve its stability.  These types of walls can be made from dry stacked, mortarless stone although the height will be limited.

A semi gravity wall is essentially a gravity wall that has been reinforced with steel rods.  These are a little stronger than pure gravity walls and need no additional reinforcement.

A cantilevered retaining wall has a base or footer that extends under the soil.  Viewed from the end, a cantilevered wall has an L shape with the foot of the L buried underground.  These walls can be thinner than a gravity wall and rely on using the weight of the soil on the footer to hold the wall in place.

Counterfort walls are similar to cantilevered walls except that they supports that tie the end of the footer to back of the wall.  These supports are buried underground so counterfort walls look the same as cantilevered walls.  If the supports are placed on the face of the wall where they would be visible, they are called buttresses.

Anything beyond a low, dry stacked gravity wall should be designed by an engineer.  Otherwise you are risking potential serious injury due to collapse of the wall.

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Cutting Flagstone

November 16th, 2011 Posted in Flagstone
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Flagstone is a very popular type of stone used in a wide variety of landscaping projects from patios and walkways to fireplaces, walls, waterscapes.  When you need to cut flagstone to a desired size or shape, you have several options.  If you need a clean, straight cut you will need to borrow or rent a masonry saw.  If a rough or approximate edge is desired, you can score it with a circular saw or a hammer and chisel and break it along the score line.

To cut flagstones to an exact size or for a straight edge, rent a masonry saw from a tool rental facility or your local home improvement store. Mark a straight line on the flagstone and use the masonry saw to cut along the line.  Don’t try to force it or push too hard on the saw.  Let the weight of the saw and the saw blade do all of the work.  This is a very loud and dusty job so be sure to wear ear protection, googles, and a dust mask.

For a rough edge, use a hammer and a chisel to score along the line.  Turn the stone over and do the same thing on the other side.  Keep at it until the stone breaks along the line.  Don’t hit it too hard or the stone will split where you don’t want it to.

If the stone is too thick to break using a hammer and chisel, you can use a masonry blade in a circular saw to score the line in the stone.  These blades are not strong enough to easily cut through the whole stone, but they can cut a groove in the stone.  Cut both sides and tap along the line with your chisel to cause the stone to break along the line.

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