Rock Wall Seating Bench

The boulders are in place for the most part and I'm really amped to get going on the round patio and pathways, but before I can do that I need to get the rock wall seating bench in place. Or at least the base of it.

I start with about 4" to 6" of 3/4" minus as a base then start building with split grey basalt. Since it's conforming to the outside of the 11' diameter round patio, I can use squares and rectangular pieces rather than hunt and pick for concave shapes.

The first 4 layers. As it's built, I fill the back with 3/4"-minus rock and let it migrate between and below the stone. This helps support and steady the unlevel surfaces.

Moving along slowly. I try and vary the rock height to give it character but that creates lots of challenges. 

At this point I stopped building the wall and would complete later. This part of the project was moving too slowly and I was anxious to get to the patio part.

The completed rock wall bench seat. The top pieces are the same material as the round porch and pathways and are mortared in, giving it a solid feel.