16 Curb Appeal: Installing a stone retainer wall

A new look to any landscaping takes a lot of planning.

Our 16 Curb Appeal project is making good progress. Crews removed a tree and the old shrubs. And now it's time for the installation of new plants.

Mark Linton from Linton's Enchanted Gardens showed us how to build a flower bed with a stone retaining wall.

Remember the wooden timbers at the front of our 16 Curb Appeal home?

They're gone and so are the shrubs and soil.

Something that's kind of disturbing is seeing where we've had some wash outs here, Lintoln explained. A piece of wood that was tucked in here, we've got some erosion going on. What we're going to do is actually back fill that and compact that and we're going to build a stone retaining wall.

Sturdy and attractive, he says each stone is hand selected.

We sort through the sandstone, and pick out pieces that have a nice flat edge. We face that toward the front. The first course of stones are partially buried, below grade,.and what that does is prevent any soil from washing or eroding from underneath it.

From the top down, you'll notice the wall is built at a slight angle toward the foundation. That gives it strength against the flower bed soil.

Thursday, Just Before Six, expect more do-it-yourself tips from Mark Linton. He will show us how to put in edging and plant new shrubs.

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16 Curb Appeal: Installing a stone retainer wall