hi everyone , i know it must have been said a million times but great site tony very informative
right onto my question very soon im gonna lay (i hope ) a stone circle in my back garden , around this i want to have a wall built (half the circles circumference) for people to sit on . please excuse me if this is a stupid question but do i dig the footings first then lay the circle or lay the circle then dig the footings for the wall, or dig the footings have the wall built then lay the circle ? :p also with regards to drainage the circle will eventually be joined on to the patio which will have the fall running away from my extension , i know its hard to visualise but the semi circular wall will be facing the house and so if it should rain it will act as a trap as the water falls from the house just wondered if drainage points in the wall would be the answer.
i would lay the circle out dry and using yellow marker paint mark out the area to be dug ,then dig the footing for the wall at the same time, and concrete it
i would then carfully build the wall and lay the slabs to it
making sure the wall followed the correct arc
easy thing to muck up here
remember you will probably need to build in header or flemish bond if the arc is tight
cheers LLL
On the subject of the drainage, if the wall is free standing (that is, not retaining soil) then put a shallow gravel trap in between the footing and the paving so that water can run off the paving, into the trap, around the arc and away. Make sure you get this right though to avoid water standing in the gravel and freezing. Alternatively, add a sideways fall on the circle and point right up to the wall to stop water from collecting there.
