The basic principles of building apply equally to new walls as they do to repairs. However, new walls do have a number of additional considerations:

Supply of stone

Sources of stone and methods for calculating the amount which you will need are set out here. Stone obtained from a quarry may not have sufficient throughstones or coping, and these might need to be specifically ordered. If possible order filling separately, so that you can make specific piles of filling alongside the wall rather than having to scrabble through piles of stone trying to find it, or having to break up too much stone. Washed stone of 5″ down to 1″ (125-25mm) diameter is best for filling.

Organising the stone supply along the wall will depend on the specifics of the site and supply arrangements. Ideally spread the stone along both sides of the wall, remembering to leave your working space clear. Leave room for sorting the stone, remembering that fairly homogeneous stone will need less, and mixed stone more sorting. Provided your estimates of stone quantity are fairly accurate, spreading the stone evenly, or in even piles, should result in the least amount of carrying. If supplying from a stockpile on site, spread stone along a section of about 10 yards (9m), rather than the whole length of the wall. Add to this from the stockpile as necessary, and move unused stone along to the next section of wall as required.

If you are unloading and setting out by hand, you can sort the stones roughly as you go, just as when dismantling. Keep likely throughs and topstones to one side. Don’t spend too long sorting stone which is already on the ground, but sort the stone for each layer as the work progresses.

Care really has to be taken to ensure you have enough topstones if these are not being supplied separately. Spend some time sorting them from the pile before work commences, and add to this as building progresses. Set them out in the same way as for a rebuild, to ensure you have enough.

Dimensions

New walls are usually built to a specified set of dimensions. Where these have not been given, the following points will help determine the dimension.

As a general rule of thumb, the base width of a wall should be half its height, measured from the bottom of the trench to the top of the coping. The top width, below the coping, should be half the base width.

Typical relative dimensions of a dry stone wall

The height will be determined by the purpose of the wall, normally at least 4′ (1.2m) from the ground to the top of the coping for cattle, and at least 5’3″ (1.6m) for sheep, particularly moorland varieties. Essentially the height will depend on what the client wants.

Whilst the rule of thumb given above is a good general guideline, you should also check the local walls built out of similar stone to get an idea of the local practice. The size and shape of stone supplied will partly determine the dimensions and batter of the wall. Note the following:

  1. For any given stone, the taller the wall, the wider the base.
  2. The top width of a wall should never be less than 12″ (300mm), with a general minimum of 14″ (350mm) being more appropriate, regardless of stone type and height.
  3. When using larger boulders for building, the rule of thumb may not apply, as the size of the foundation boulders will make a base wider than half the final height of the wall. For example, foundation boulders 1’8″ (500mm) long will make a base width of at least 3’4″ (1m), which is wider than the 2’10” (870mm) indicated for a wall 5’8″ (1.74m) high.
  4. The top width will also need to be greater when using bigger stones, as it is not normally possible to increase the batter without creating steps between the layers of stone. If a step of more than about 1″ (25mm) is made, this may give a foothold to sheep. With many boulder walls, or those of blocky, square stone, the batter needs to be nearer the vertical to counteract this. In this case the top width will definitely be more than half the base width.
  5. Conversely, walls of smaller stone or walls with a lot of traced stones may require more of a batter, as there is little length binding the stone into the wall.
  6. Some stone types have mainly longer, thinner stones, with small ‘faces’. As the wall is thus mainly built of stones with their long length into the wall, a near-vertical batter can be achieved.

All walls should essentially have an ‘A’ shaped profile for stability, and the face should never be built plumb vertical. It may be local practice, especially with older roadside, and especially estate walls, to have different batters on the two faces. Generally the roadside or public aspect is nearer vertical because larger face stones have been used for good appearance. See Dimensions – Near-vertical batters.

For the first section of work two batter frames or sets of line bars will be needed. These should be set up as explained here. Once a section has been completed, proceed as for a rebuild.

Foundations

If possible dig the foundation trench before the stone is set out, as this makes soil removal easier.

  1. Clear woody plants, coarse tussocky vegetation and stones from the line of the proposed wall. Don’t bother trying to move solidly embedded boulders.
  2. Mark out the foundation trench using guidelines set about 1″ (25mm) above ground level, stretched tightly between stakes or metal pins over as long a length as is practical. The lines should be set about 2″ (50mm) wider on each side than the foundation width, to allow room for manoeuvre and adjustment of the foundation stones.
  3. Nick out along this line, and remove all the turf from between the two lines.
  4. Dig the trench down to firm subsoil or bedrock. This is usually between 4″ (100mm) and 12″ (300mm) deep, with 6″ (150mm) about average. If you haven’t hit subsoil by 12″ (300mm), there is little point in digging much deeper, and it’s best to compact the soil with your feet or with a mechanical vibrator if available. If the soil is particularly soft you may need to dig a wider foundation, as if you were building on wet ground.
  5. Pile debris from the foundation neatly for removal or re-use, placing it at sufficient distance from the foundation to leave space for setting out the stone.

Building

Building techniques are the same as for rebuilding, as detailed earlier in this chapter. However, as you are creating a new wall out of the stone supplied, rather than rebuilding with already-used stone, there are possibly more choices open to you about how you use the stone. It’s important to take time to sort new stone properly before you start building, rather than just starting with the first stones that come to hand from the top of the pile.

Throughs

Considerations regarding throughs are closely related to those which determine batter.

  1. Where the face stones lack length into the wall, it’s advisable to use more throughs than standard to help bind the two faces together.
  2. Many bouldery walls, or walls of stones which have good length into the wall, in effect already have numerous three-quarter throughs, although they may not be set in pairs. Walls of this type of stone therefore do not need full throughs.
  3. Some walls, such as those of slate waste, shales and mudstones, have to be built with a lot of traced stones because of the shape of the stone, which is too long to be placed into the wall. The stone shatters if you try to shape it. Walls of this type should have a smaller vertical gap between the rows of throughs, to compensate for the traced stones. Rows should be about 1’6″ (500mm) apart, with throughs staggered, and centred at a maximum of 2’6″ (750mm).
  4. Walls over 6′ (1.8m) should have throughs spaced as above.
  5. The more vertical the batter, the greater the need for throughs.

Chapters