# Forum Home Renovation Retaining Walls  Stack stone retaining wall help!

## wonderland

Hi everyone,  I am looking at building a retaining wall which is 1m high x 6-7m wide. I really like the look of stacker stone used as a retaining wall. At the moment I am in the process of find out which is the more cost effective way to build this stack stone retaining wall.  One option is to use stoneblok retaining wall system from TJ Imports Stoneblok -TJ Imports   Another option Im looking at is to build the retaining wall out of treated pine, then nailing blueboard and sticking the stack stone veneer on that. Is it safe to use the stone veneer on blueboard? Will blueboard rot if its used at the front of the retaining wall?  Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated as this is the first time I've ever attempted to build a retaining wall.  Thanks

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## Bela

Hey wonderland
I think the wall choice you use will also need to be chosen in conjunction with your choice of stacked stone product.  Products will vary in weight, if you go for one of the better quality stacked stones it'll be pretty heavy, but if you go for one of the cheapys from bunnings or similar, then it'll be lighter.  Most of the stone should come with a do's and dont's of how to adhere the products. 
I few years ago I built a couple of stacked stone walls (back before they were super cool) and the walls are 2.4h x 1.5 wide.  The product I used was one of the better quality ones and thus each wall weighed bout 150kg + .  They did not recommend blueboard both due to strength and weather resistance long term.  One of my walls is under cover the other gets rain.  On both I used a Kerabond adhesive plus product mixed with a Kerabond Isolastic.  The isolastic is worth mixing in especially if outside it as it assists with the wall coping with both natural movement, temperature variation and expansion /contraction and weather.  The outside wall i put a wet sealant on the board which stops the rot factor (recommended and worth it).   I actually used something similar to a villa board (it was a boral product) and used an adhesive and nails to fix the board to a treated pine framing. 
All I can recommend is once you work out the weight of the stacked stone, then go from there and make sure that framing is fastened well to the ground. 
Im not sure about the stone wall system you're looking at but any concrete product needs curing (depending on the product) before stacked stone is stuck to it, and the only recommendations are from what I did, and im a chic and did it by myself and the walls are still standing and looking most spectacular, so the product recommendations worked. 
ps. off top of my head the product I used was from decorstone, they were in victoria then and shipped it to me in brisvagus, but I do believe they now have resellers all over australia. 
happy walling and sorry if this is no help lol.

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## wonderland

Hi Bella,  
Thank you so much for your advice and input. I am also a chick trying to figure out how to build a retaining wall, especially a stacker stone retaining wall! 
I did give Decorstone a call yesterday and the girl over the phone was telling me that pretty much what you said about it being ok to put on blueboard and using the kerabond and Isolastic adhesive. I asked her whether it would be advisable to use blueboard outside as a retaining wall facade and she said she wasnt sure, and that I should speak to the person I'm buying the blueboard from. Ok so you didnt use blueboard, you used villaboard? Is it the same thing? What is the difference between them? I think I've heard of villaboard before. 
Ok so once I find out the weight of stone, how do I know how structurally the framing needs to be? 
thanks.

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## Bela

I used something similar to villa board but off top of my head cant recall exact name, but i know it was boral product.  but I actually have one of the walls in villa and it stands just as well. 
you could probably get away with 90x90 posts if they were concreted in and probably put at 1-1.5m points with a top and bottom rail and perhaps a cross frame in between each if using a decor stone... guaranteed it wont be going anywhere soon if you do that haha.  thats just a guestimate, but just using a rapid set concrete with the post directly into it in the whole would probably work.  the height is your saving grace as its pretty low for a wall so you wont have the topple over effect as much so can get away with not as much reinforcement. 
if you're using a lighter stone then you could probably space the posts out more and you'd be fine.  the cross frame ie the + version is more just to fasten the board to.  But if outside i'd definately recommend putting a sealant on it.   If the product provider recommends blueboard then go with it..   not much use am i hey lol

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## Bela

ps. sorry villa is like a cement fibre board, blueboard is compressed gypsum (it think lol).  niether of them are fully water proof, but villa board is generally used in wet areas like bathrooms etc.

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## cherub65

Blue board is use externally to be used with textured finishes 7.5 mm, while villa board is generally used inside bathrooms etc 6 mm, 9mm, 12 mm
Both are cement based products

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## wonderland

Thanks Bella for your advice, I'll look more into it. Cheers.

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