Building With Stone

I really hope this spring, summer, and fall are beautiful. 

I won't mind if it rains during the nights as long as there's time for everything to dry out so I can get my projects done.  Rain days are the pits.

Whether or not I'll be able to accomplish it or not, one of the things I want to try to do in the coming three seasons is to learn to build with stone. 

Rock piles abound in this area.  I have a little four wheel drive pickup.  I'll take all the rocks you want to get rid of that I can carry.

There are several stone projects I'd like to try. 

One is a house for Duke. 

One is my raised bed garden. 

One is for the ramping to my back door. 

Having a reasonable modicum of intelligence, I did some on line homework and am fairly certain I can do this.  If not, you can have your rocks back. 

I already have many of the things I'll need for these projects:
Plywood, which I'll cut to the sizes of frames I'll need;
2x4, for reinforcing and stabilizing the frames;
1x2 or 2x4, for width spacers;
Saw, for cutting the above;
Wire, to hold the frames and spacers in place;
Wire cutter, to free the frames;
Spade/shovel, to dig the foundation trench;
Measuring tape;
Level;
Square;
Five gallon pail, for mixing concrete;
Stir sticks, ditto;
Plastic scoops, for scooping globs of concrete as I don't plan to use my hands for that.

I'll have to buy the concrete as the stuff I bought way back when is probably useless by now, and I'll have to go rock-collecting. 

The simplified directions are to (once your materials are on hand and your frames are built) dig the foundation trenches the way you want them (which would be deep enough and wide enough and squared at the corners), fill them with stone and concrete, let set up and backfill, assemble the frames and get them on the foundation, fill with stone and concrete, let set up, then remove, reassemble and do another row or level.  Wherever you want an opening, build a framework for it and work around it.

Yes, there's a bit more to it than that.  Did I not just say these are simplified directions?  But there's not much more, unless you're building a house and have to plan for roof and floor joists and such. 

I have to remember, when I'm building my raised beds, to put sections of pipe through the rock walls down low for drainage.  The same goes for Duke's house (although not for drainage) in case he ever wants inside plumbing, or electricity.  Easier to build in the accesses than try to put them in after the fact.

Really.  I ask you:  how difficult can this be? 

I reckon I'll find out.