First DIY Wall
Built my first retaining/garden wall during COVID and now trying to work out the best way to finish it properly.
The wall is basically:
- concrete footing/pad
- breeze block retaining wall behind
- random cobble/stone facing on the front
Structurally it seems solid, but visually I made some mistakes:
- the top isn’t perfectly level
- some cobbles finish higher than others
- the stone depths vary a lot
- the distance between the blockwork and stone face fluctuates slightly
At the time I didn’t realise how difficult random stone was for keeping a clean top line.
I now want to finish it with coping stones wide enough to sit on and make it look intentional/professional.
My thoughts were:
- establish a new perfectly level finished height
- use a mortar bed to compensate for the uneven top
- install larger sandstone coping stones with an overhang both sides to visually straighten everything
Questions:
Is this the best approach?
Should I mortar/screed a level top first before coping?
What coping width/style would work best here?
Any clever ways to hide the inconsistencies without rebuilding the wall?
Would you lean into a rustic/random style instead of trying to make it look perfectly modern?
Would appreciate honest advice. First wall I’ve ever built and learned a lot from it.
(Photos attached)