Natural Stone Wall

We're building a wall at the edge of the garden on one side of the house (single storey). We've yet to choose a material for the wall and are considering natural stone at the moment. Obviously price is a factor but what else should we keep in mind when making a decision?

Hi Ash,

Would have to admit that I know zilch about natural stone walls other than the fact that they look great. My one query is if you will find it hard to get someone to build it as it looks more like a gift rather than a trade?

sueellen said:

Hi Ash,

Would have to admit that I know zilch about natural stone walls other than the fact that they look great. My one query is if you will find it hard to get someone to build it as it looks more like a gift rather than a trade?

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Yes, you are right, its more of an art to build with natural stone walling, my husband can do this, he does dry stone walls, but this type of stone needs to be the right type of stone, with 2 flatish sides to it, which is known as bed joints( where stone sits on top of each other) or on sand and cement, you can either do a raked out joint or a struck joint using a trowel, I prefer the joints pointed in, although a dry stone wall does look nice on the right place natural stone patios look nice too, but that is very expensive.

"Irish Stone walls" by Pat McAfee (http://www.irishstonewalls.com/) is a great reference if you are interested in building something aesthetically pleasing with stone.

I recently built an entrance wall. The prices quoted were crazy so I attempted it myself. The walls are around 80 sq meters with 4 piers. I borrowed a tractor and trailer and went to the local John A Woods quary and with help picked about 20 ton of nicely shaped limestone. This took about a day and a half. I made a good start at the wall but having a two year old 'helping' all the time made the going slow. In the end I got three Polish guys who work for a local builder to finish it.
Cost (approx)
stone - 350, Tools - 100,cement - 250ish, labour - 2700, sand - 250, time -alot, sweat - alot
So it cost less than four grand and looks good. A bit sressful but I saved the price of a good holiday.

As ever, great replies with very useful information and food for thought. There's no substitute for personal experiences.
Nothing decided yet apart from doing a bit more research and asking around.
Thanks everyone. Much appreciated.