[mystreba]

I've created a new thread so I can ask all my questions at once. Sorry for the earlier "drippy" thread.

Below are my plans - first the overhead, then the elevation, then some photographs (location of photos is indicated in the overhead plans). In the plans, I've incorporated feedback from Lanelle, in terms of the footer.

All the junipers and shrubs are going to be removed, leaving only the magnolia. I'd appreciate any feedback on the plan. I have several specific questions:

1 - What do I need to do for drainage? In the elevation, note areas A and B. Also note that the grade sheds water toward the fence. From the fence on, the yard is relatively flat. Should I install a french drain on the East side (area A) of the fence? If the answer is yes, expect additional questions.

2 - Is there anything special to do where the fence meets the house? In the plans, note area A. This area is also depicted in the last photograph. The footer will butt up against the block wall of the basement. The fence will butt up against the extruded hip veneer of (eventually) master-cut stone. Do I need to worry about water drainage? I'm also assuming that I should NOT tie the wall to the hip veneer on the house, but rather build right up to it.

3 - In the footer, do I need to lay in any kind of mesh or rebar for strength?

4 - How much rebar, if any, should I use for the actual CMU wall, and how high should it extend out of the footer?

5 - Should I fill the CMU courses with mortar as I go, or leave them empty? I imagine if I'm to use rebar up out of the footer and through the CMU, the answer would be yes.

I think that's it. For now. Thanks everyone...

FENCE PLAN:


FENCE ELEVATION:


PHOTO 1:


PHOTO 2:


PHOTO 3:


PHOTO 4:


PHOTO 5:

[jshilan]

First of all I have to say I am very impressed with the computer graphic presentation - kudos.

My question to you is, before you do all of this work, why are you doing it? Or why are you doing it at that location?

From the pictures and the drawing it looks like you are going to take a small backyard and make it feel smaller by building a wall and pillars. Or it is a huge backyard that you are going to make into a small backyard. Without seeing the survey or the landscape plan it is hard to put the project in context. It seems like you are building a wall at the same location as the original fence just because that's where it was.

The work you are proposing is not inexpensive so I would make sure that it makes sense. Do you have an overall layout that you have created or that you can post so we can look at it (I feel like the Borg)? I think it would be wise to think about the property in its entirety before you attack this specific project. If you haven't, than I suggest you meet with a landscape architect or good landscape designer and to get a plan. As I tell all of my clients, "the design is the least expensive and most important part of any landscape project". Chances are there is a better solution that can cost less money and give you more value.

[mystreba]

Thanks. I rushed this graphic below, and it leaves out tons of detail, but it gives you an idea of the scale. The property is a little more than an acre. The large red arrow points to the area I'm working on with the fence. The front and side of the house both have a field-stone hip-veneer (work in progress). There is a great deal of stonework elsewhere, mostly (I think) flagstone of some type.

I'm building the stone fence there, and also at the end of the driveway, so that stone fence is what you see from the street. I already have three tons of field stone for the project - it was originally intended for the hip-veneer on the home, but I went with master-cut veneer stone there because it was lighter.

Thanks again - any feedback greatly appreciated!

[mystreba]

If you think the stone wall is just out of place, I could use the stone elsewhere, and go with something like this cedar fence I built at my previous home. No way I could afford to take this design around the entire property though. So I guess that leaves a question: which fence design (stone, or ornate wood) works best joined with the standard stockade fence that lines the entire back yard? A second question - how many transitions are too many? In other words, stone-house/stone-fence/stockade-fence versus stone-house/cedar-fence/stockade-fence.

[mystreba]

Well, after much consultation with the neighbor, and not much consultation from the Xchange (wtf?), I've come up with a design.

OVERHEAD


ELEVATION


I guess its what you'd call "craftsman style". It will make good use of all that field stone I've got, which should blend well with the tongue-and-groove cedar fence. The plan is to set the posts, then pour the pillar footers around them. Anyone see issues with that?

Its far from done, but the road has been a long one. This is how I started the project, tearing off the side of the house, lowering the brick veneer six courses, installing a stone ledge under new windows, then scratch-coating the veneer in prep for stone.





In these current photos, I've removed the old fence entirely (debris still visible), removed a huge, butt-ugly evergreen bush (why do people plant those things?!), an even bigger and uglier (16' diameter) Taxus Yew (scourge of the earth), trimmed and shaped some kind of shrub covered in honeysuckle (wonderful this time of year), and thinned/shaped some kind of evergreen tree. The new roof over the stairwell isn't trimmed out yet...

[mystreba]

A little progress. Its not perfect (the tall column near the house is not plumb, but I think I can fix it). I must admit I wasn't prepared for the amount of time, the level of work, or the amount of materials it would take. The price quote for the 2 yards of concrete was astronomical, so I've been hand-mixing from 80-pound bags. Each of the four footers took 15 bags.

Setting each of the four columns from top-of-footer to ground-level required 8 blocks, a 60-lb bag of mortar, and four 60-lb bags of concrete for filler.

One thing I noticed is that pre-mixed mortar is far too dry for block construction, so I've been adding 2 shovels-full of straight mortar to each 60-lb bag of pre-mix - that's been getting it sticky enough to work with.

I now plan to set the posts and refill the footer holes. At that point, I can stop worrying about rain and build up the columns at my own pace.

I checked on prices for cedar posts, and a 10-foot 6x6 post is $143. I'll be using treated, but finishing with Sikkens to make it look cedar-like. Of course, the actual tongue-and-groove panels and the craftsman-style lattice will be cedar.

More pics to come as work progresses...

[mystreba]

The pillars are almost up completely. A couple of observations, and then a couple of questions.

First, this was WAY more difficult than I'd imagined. The materials alone have been daunting. 4,800 pounds of concrete and 1.400 pounds of gravel for the footers. 100 CMUs. 600 pounds of mortar to set the CMUs (not including the scratch coat which hasn't been done yet) and another 3,000 pounds of concrete to fill them. And I haven't even touched the 6,000 pounds of field stone that goes on next.

Also, I'd no idea how difficult it was to set block. It is a two-man job. Working alone, its difficult to get everything set, level and finished while the mortar is workable. And getting this stuff to go up level is not easy - note the pillar closest to the house.

Finally, since the fence posts will sit on top of the footers, I should have set my footers deeper (they are three feet deep) so that I had more depth for setting the posts. As it stands now, I have 26" of depth to set 6x6 posts - hardly ideal.

Now I have two questions:

I've been using Type N mortar. Is that ok to use for scratch-coating the block? I'm assuming I don't have to attach any kind of mesh - in other words, is it ok to scratch-coat right onto the block?

Thanks....