Photo and wall by Eric Landman
Walls are heavy things. They weigh about a ton for every 3 running feet of four foot high wall you are going to build. Walls made of basalt weigh about 180 pounds per cubic foot. Granite and limestone weigh in at around 170 pounds a cubic foot. Limestone is around 160. It's all heavy stuff. The point is that most stone material is heavier than wood, plastic and even bricks and concrete and most man made materials except those made of metal.
Here is a good link for determining the weights of materials.
http://www.reade.com/resources/reference-charts-particle-property-briefings/89-weight-per-cubic-foot-and-specific-gravity
Weight is a good thing. There's no good complaining about how heavy stones are. They are all about weight. That's what makes them work. To try to skimp on the amount of stone you will use to build a wall is a silly idea. It would be like buying a ladder that is too short for the job.
