I READ A BOOK ON THE TOPIC CALLED "BUILDING WITH STONE". I WOULD RECOMMEND IT TO JUST ABOUT ANYONE BUILDING AROUND STONE. ITS AS CHEAP AS ANYTHING IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO MOVE IT VERY FAR AND IT IS NOT AS SKILLFUL AS YOU MIGHT THINK...JUST ALOT OF HARD WORK. IF YOU ARE BUILDING OFF OF BEDROCK ESPECIALLY IT IS A GREAT IDEA.
There are some lovely stone buildings in this county and an adjoining one. They're very charming, and vary in style from ranch to craftsman to Mediterranean castle. :) The one problem I have heard about older stone buildings is that snakes like them a lot, but I'm sure that's something one could overcome with good maintenance and good construction.
Just curious, though... does the book address structural strength issues like earthquake reinforcements, etc?
Sara :D
THE BOOK REALLY DIDN'T ADDRESS EARTHQUAKE STRUCTURAL ISSUES. STONE WOULD PROBABLY DO QUITE POORLY IN THE EVENT OF AN EARTHQUAKE. A ROCK WALL FALLING OVER WOULDN'T BE THE BEST SCENARIO FOR A HOMEOWNER. ITS RELATIVELY TOP HEAVY AND NOT FLEXIBLE AT ALL. BUT IT IS BEAUTIFUL AND EASILY ACHIEVABLE AND CHEAP...AS LONG AS ITS REALLY CLOSE BY.
I wonder if that would preclude new (permitted) construction of stone buildings in an increasing number of areas? Seems like earthquake requirements are getting more stringent in areas where they are a consideration. Perhaps local regs are another reason for the increasing use of the manufactured stone-like facing products?
We live in the highest earthquake zone, so we'll probably never do more than a short dry-stack wall or something like that. Though we did talk at one point about building a smoke house, and I think stone might work well for that. :wink:
Sara
Building a small outbuilding like a smoke house would be a great way to get the technique down and see if you like the way it looks. We live in a county with no permits whatsoever, so we want to give it a shot and see what it looks like with a storage building. Snakes? Hmmm. I need a bigger cat.
Have you thought about getting a Liger?Originally Posted by WillandHelen
The average male Liger stands over 12 feet tall and weighs over 900 pounds. I think one of these would chase those scary old snakes away.
It depends on what type of building you do. Most modern stone construction is block with stone veneer. There is a method called slip forming that can give a hand layed stone wall look to some degree Thomas Elpel used it in his book Living Homes. It doesn't require the skill of a stone mason. But it also doesn't look as good as hand layed up close but it really is personal preference and depend on what kind of stone you use.
Most earthquake codes can probably be met with the proper steel in the stone work. I am considering doing a slip form basement when I build our personal log home.
Blayne
I would really recommend "Building with Stone" by Charles Long. The old method of building a stone wall by laying courses of stone and not using a veneer or slip forms definitly looks the best and it doesn't take a pro to do it. It all depends on your proximity to the material...unless your really determined. But if you've got the stone nearby then look at this building technique.
Will
CORRECTION...THE NAME OF THE BOOK IS: THE STONEBUILDER'S PRIMER. WHERE DID I GET "BUILDING WITH STONE"? :D
Some of the veneer products look great, Blayne, but that does add another cost element. I think that for a lot of people who use stone it's a combination of the cost factor (or lack thereof) and the charm of using indigenous materials. I think you're right that earthquake can be accounted for with steel within, with natural or with veneer. I remember seeing a natural stone addition (a craftsman-style turret entryway) being built in a nearby tourist town, and they were using steel someway or another (would HAVE to around here to pass code in the middle of town), but can't remember just how they did it.
Sara :D
There's actually a book called "Building With Stone" by Charles McRaven. I've never read it. It's got good customer reviews though.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0882665502/qid=1111759517/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/104-2162633-2619905
Right. I saw that book and thought it was geared more for those building retaining walls and landscaping stonework. I was more interested in building solid stone walls. I love the permenance of it and the fact that its made with a local natural material. It is also easy to maintain. It won't rot, rust, and the older it looks the better.
Will
I think in the long run, rock/stone is appealing and adds a more diverse apperance and I think BUYERs' almost expect some rock work in a log home
I really enjoyed the homes on this site with the smooth stone work.
That stuff is just incredible looking.
Ya know what else is incredible? I dunno if I mentioned it yet or not........
.........but ligers, man, are they cool or what?
Is it me or are all the people who have ligers totally dweebs? Not to mention that the castle in that picture, though made of wood, is totally not Skip built and could totally use Ric Carlson to do some stone work on it.
Last edited by Steve; 01-28-2011 at 11:18 PM. Reason: deleted 2 broken image links
The liger is probably my favorite animal. They are so sweet. If you have one you are LUCKY.
For any substantial sized home, you would probably do better with re-enforced concrete and a stone veneer. The problem with traditional masonry walls is that to allow for the weight above from any structure and the actual wall height the walls must be made correspondingly thicker and thicker as the height and weight goes up. This also means that footings must grow proportionately. At some point, it becomes too costly and too tricky to make the walls safely (for an amateur mason). You might take note that most rock-masonry homes are limited by wall height and length and usually do not include rock walls for a second story, if there is one at all. In Europe, most of the "amateur stone houses" are small hovels. But, if that is what one wants, it is a very quaint style, and has it's own attraction.
For a very rustic example of re-enforced concrete with rock veneer, take a look at Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood in Oregon. You would never guess that it is simply a rock veneer on that massive foundation of steel re-enforced concrete. ---hand fitted, of course.
Slip form is great for a bang-up job, and is very easy for the novice to build, but it never quite looks right.
Regards,
-A
It is difficult to build a two story stone house. Not as far as skill is concerened, but it takes more effort to put a 60 lbs stone in a wall at 20 ft instead of 8 ft. There are numerous examples of such in the US. Probably most built by the farmers and such that occupied them. However, Most such structures were built about 1 story with stone and then wood construction above. Adubar, you are right about the numerous issues of building a stone house over 10 ft high in stone. Long walls (~>20ft) must also have perpendicular support (buttress). The great thing about having a tall stone base is that it can cut down significantly on rot and maintenance due to stone's excelent weathering. Stone facades have come a long way recently. But the crappy ones are still prevelent. Its something you would want to really research before settling on one.
http//www.hollowtop.com/cls_html/limited.htm
so what about a stone foundation? ...could you get a full basement out of stone/mortar?
J
Here is an interesting blog about building a strawbale house in Canada. The link is one of their blog entries about a field stone arch he saw a group of people building in a field near his house.
http://www.glenhunter.ca/archives/000217.html
This is a link to the group that was building the arch above.
(Dry Stone Wall Association of Canada) Some really sweet stonework :shock:
http://www.jboyweb.com/drystonewall/
Jeff
Is that fieldstone in that fireplace?
Heh heh, that mysterious arch reminds me of an arch I built from local stone, in a semi-remote section of a county park near me. It's not dry stacked, but it will make the occasional hiker wonder about it's origin.
:D Now if you would have made two arches and painted them gold... 8)
Well I finally started my stone work a couple of weeks ago. I found a supplier close by that sells blue sandstone for $80 a ton. I am using type S mortor for the strength and am laying the wall about 8" thick against the block wall foundation of my house. Although I had no prior skill in this I found it quite easy. I can only get about 30 s.f. in a day, which is about 1.5 bags of mortar a day...so it is rather slow I guess, but actually alot of fun. It is like a big puzzle. It looks great too. I have gone around town to look at other professionally done jobs....and I really don't like them as much. Around here they chare 10 dollars a square foot too! Don't be afraid of stone masonry, just give it a try. You will be suprised at how good at it you could be.
Please post some pics of your project. tks Phil
hey all..i need some thoughts on this.
we have a mason doing a "veneer" on our ICF stem wall with stones that came from a house we took down on the property. i was planning on having the stones cut n then used as a 4" veneer. i like the look of drystack..but he was going to mortar these.
yesterday when i wasnt on site he decided to experiment a bit. i like the look of what he came up with, it fits into the look of the cabin because of how beefy it is. and i can save some money cuz he doesnt have to cut a bunch of stones.
my question/problem is..if we do it this way ( meaning as thick as this would be ) am i just bringing up the height of the "ground" and loosing the 18" above ground rule?? i kinda need to decide quick cuz hes paid by the hour n he aint cheap. would this retain moisture or drain fine? i held off on the termite shield til we knew what we were doing with the veneer.
the top stone sets in more..and creates a nice transition to the log and it hides that first chinking line which i dont like much anyway.
thoughts? concerns?
ramblinman can you decribe more about the experiment? I cannot view the pictures (limits placed by servers here at work....) can you describe what your mason has done?
basically hes taken stones that are about 10" thick..dry set them against the ICF ( tho he does have gravel between the stone and the ICF ) so were talking a full 12" at the ground and then it slowly tapers in. with the top stone set in the most ( kinda creates a small shelf i guess ) the look is cool ( tho it may sound strange )
my concern is the 18" rule and moisture..it feels like weve just brought the ground height up...seems the water would just drain tho.
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