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Sure. After I placed the stones with mortar I would let it set up until it was firm but still workable. Then I used a scrub brush and a light spray with a garden hose to clean the mortar from the stones and shape between the stones. The actual time varied depending on the weather, but it usually took about an hour or two to set up before cleaning. If I waited too long I sometimes needed a wire brush to clean the hardened mortar. I'm sure my approach is unconventional, but it worked well for me. A few days after the wall was done, I used muriatic acid (from Lowes) to clean any remaining haze from the stones. Hope this helps!

I just used bagged mortar mix from Home Depot.

Adding "weep holes" or channels at the bottom of the wall can help. I installed a 4 inch perforated drain behind the wall, covered in gravel and landscape fabric for drainage. Any water behind the wall goes into the drain and is discharged on the other downhill side of our yard.

@@AnthonyWatsonDIY thank you !!

16 years with zero issues. It will probably outlive me.

@@AnthonyWatsonDIY : It WILL fall. Guaranteed. Look forward to you making a video repairing it and doing it correctly

@@wrongfullyaccused7139 Care to provide facts as to why it will fail?

About $1500 back in 2008, which was still cheaper than precast wall blocks. I'm sure it would cost a bit more today.

I don't talk much, so without the music most of my videos would just be silent, or I would have to mute music playing on a radio to avoid copyright violations. In any case, I appreciate your feedback and will take it into consideration. You can always mute the music if you find it bothersome.

@@AnthonyWatsonDIYSincerely. Don't be offended.

@@DmitryKlevtsov No worries, no offense taken. I honestly appreciate the feedback. I mostly make the videos for our own memories. Posting them to RUclips is just a secondary thing for me. Still, it's nice to know what others think and how I might improve them. I might try a future video without the music to see how that goes over. It's always a hassle to try to find copyright free music anyway. Take care!

There is a 4" perforated drain covered with stone and landscape fabric behind the wall for drainage. It discharges over the hill on the other side of our yard. See the photos on my web site at: www.watsondiy.com/20080908-stone-wall-2008.php. 16 years later the wall is holding up nicely. Other than occasional moss build up on the wall, there has been no cracking and no leaning.

@@AnthonyWatsonDIY I’m glad to hear it, thank you. It looks beautiful and I’m delighted that it’s functioning well. I must’ve missed a sequence from the video as it sounds like you made provisions for drainage. In any event, engineering design is measured by time. I’ll go back and have a rewatch, and thanks again for responding, it’s much appreciated 👍

About $1500 back in 2008 dollars, for a dump truck load of rock, 127 bags of mortar, concrete and rebar for the footing, and drain pipe behind the wall. At the time it was still cheaper than prefabricated wall blocks.

@@AnthonyWatsonDIY how interesting. I love the way it came out. I need to do a retaining wall in my backyard and I came across your video. Great job man!

There is gravel and a 4" perforated drain line behind the wall. It doesn't show up in the video, but you can see it in the photos on my web site. www.watsondiy.com/20080908-stone-wall-2008.php

The backs of my cabinets were 1/4" birch plywood. It sounds like yours might be hardboard. I needed large rectangular holes, but if you only need access to run A/V cables, a hole saw would make a clean cut also. Ideally drill through from one side till the pilot bit comes through, then drill the rest of the way from the backside. This will help reduce tear out on the back. If you can't get to the back, you could drill from the front slowly to minimize tear out when the bit finally breaks through (and to avoid damaging the wall behind the cabinet). Good luck!

I have the same problem, with a BDI Align entertainment cabinet of all things! Glad to find this video.

I haven't measured, but our driveway probably varies from 12' to 16' in most areas. We've had some large trucks come in, but all the curves made it difficult to navigate. So I guess "straightening" would be more accurate than widening, even though it did get wider in the middle. The roots from the trees were starting to cause problems too with the driveway and drainage system. The driveway down near the house is about 32' wide, enough for three cars to park next to each other.

Whoops. Sorry. Didn't read comment below.

We don't really get any stones in the drain, but we did add concrete slabs on each side of the drain (ruclips.net/video/qVRuPTDFDsQ/видео.html). I also added a tee and downpipe as a small catch basin at the drain entrance (sort of visible at 3:44 in the video), to collect stones before they wash down the drain line. Fir needles are really our biggest problem, since we have a large fir tree directly above the drain. Those collect on the grates and inside the driveway drain, so we do have to clean those out 2 or 3 times a year. Not a big problem, just another maintenance item. Still beats a flooding driveway.

It's 15 years old now with no issues. We do have a mild climate and I have gravel and a drain line behind the wall. That said, nothing lasts forever...

I used bagged mortar mix. I only used about 2-3 bags each day, so the bags were convenient. www.homedepot.com/p/Quikrete-60-lb-Mortar-Mix-110260/100318487

@@AnthonyWatsonDIY Awesome, thanks!

I believe it is a Gen 3 unit. No issues at all. I originally bought it for AC and supplemental heat, so it is a little undersized for our whole 1456 sq/ft house. However, we turned off all of our in-wall electric heaters and now use the mini-split to heat the entire house. It works fine as long as we leave all the doors open, not an issue for just my wife and I. Our furthest master bedroom does stay slightly cooler in the winter, but that's perfect for sleeping. I did add a bit more refrigerant earlier this year just to top it up, but it didn't take much and I see no signs of leaking. I've thought about adding a second smaller unit for our master bedroom, but so far that hasn't been necessary. We love having AC on hot summer days, and our electric bill is much lower summer and winter. We can always fire up the wood stove or electric heaters if things get really cold, but haven't needed to so far. Thanks for watching!

That's actually just saw dust. This was an alder tree and the wood turns that bright red color shortly after it is cut, then slowly fades to a light grey over a few days. Unfortunately, the bare logs sitting on the ground only lasted a few years before bugs and rot destroyed it. So the bench is long gone. :(

Do you think I should polyurethane my new bench and logs?@@AnthonyWatsonDIY

​@@AnthonyWatsonDIYif it was stained and coated in poly, would it have lasted a lot longer and prevent a quick rot?