When choosing mortar, the impulse may be to purchase the strongest type available. This is often a bad idea: mortar is used to hold brick together but should also be able to absorb impacts allow for a little give, allowing the entire brick structure to stand. Below is a primer on choosing mortar as well ...
If you live in the city, chances are good that you’ll need to purchase a fence permit before constructing a new fence or replacing an old one. Fence permits are purchased through the Planning & Zoning department and can cost $25 and up depending on where you live and the length of the fence. Of ...
You can hold back the earth with attractive and easy to build structures. Simple retaining walls, without mortar and footings, can be as beautiful as they are functional in the landscape. What is a retaining wall? A retaining wall is a wall purposely built for holding back soil on a slope, controlling erosion, or for ...
The ancient Romans used concrete to build bridges, buildings and retaining walls. Many of these structures still exist. Concrete is a preferred building material even today, but maybe not for retaining walls. The problem is that concrete needs to be engineered for stresses in situ, or in position. Over time conditions may change–the supporting earth ...
Since living in Sevierville, TN I’ve spent countless days outside our manufactured home improving the landscape. We have a large back yard, but being on a hill is unusable as such. Rock and clay prove difficult to dig in and a constant source of mud and erosion. I’ve combated this problem by burying drainage lines, ...
A wooden retaining wall is a good idea when building time is at a premium or there is only a narrow space to build one in. Otherwise, wooden retaining walls have considerable drawbacks, such as short lifespan (around five to ten years for redwood retaining walls, a bit longer for pressure treated ones) and toxic ...
Karla News
