The head mason always builds the corners, those under him fill in between, and the newbies… well, they keep mixing mortar and now work on completing the backside of the stonework.

Of course the newbies, those who this is there first experience laying stone, will get to lay a couple front and center stones (the head mason will trim them up a bit when the newbie is not around).

I always enjoy watching those newbies in the years to come go back to those stones and point out which ones they laid.

Originally posted 2015-06-05 13:48:12.

Here’s a great photo if you want to see the process of building a solid stone foundation that will pass today’s building code.

The least inexpensive person on the crew, aka… “newbie”, is in charge of mixing mortar and delivering it to the masons, and, digging the stone out of the pile so that it is easily found by the masons, and, laying the first course of stone (as seen in this photo). That first course will be buried with back-fill once finish grading has been done, so it’s a great way to learn the skill.

Notice that I have poured the footers nearly to the top of the excavated trenches making it over a foot thick rather than the standard four inches. Concrete is expensive, but it’s cheaper than stone and the labor needed to lay it.

Originally posted 2015-06-04 21:56:48.

Masons never put out the effort to make the backsides of their chimney’s attractive. lol I have never seen the hidden side of a chimney to be as nice as the front. One day I’m going to be surprised… maybe.

Originally posted 2015-05-22 15:27:18.

Originally posted 2015-05-11 14:14:25.

It seems that there is always left-over stone when a cabin is built.. and each of these orphan rocks was likely rejected by the mason several times… so, these leftovers tend to be pretty rough looking… which makes them perfect for a retaining wall.

Here is a photo of the retaining wall in process of being built…

Originally posted 2015-05-11 12:35:28.

We had a great selection of large sandstone with which to build the two chimneys. Each stone was hand lifted from the ground.

Originally posted 2015-05-11 12:26:12.

Such an attractive chimney.

Likely built by someone who was not a professional mason, using ruble stones that were picked up out of nearby fields, laid without the benefit of cement, and yet, it has stood for centuries.

Cement, one of the great wonders of the world, has been a curse with regard to the creation of attractive stonework. All masons should lay stone as if their cement was not there.

Originally posted 2015-04-25 21:38:15.

I like this chimney. I really do. It will still be around long after I’m gone.

It was made from the stone that we salvaged from the cabin’s original chimney (that is, where she once stood), plus we had to scrounge around on this farm’s rock piles for the “extras” that we always seem to need.

I’m not certain why that is, but it’s a rule… there is never enough stone from a chimney to rebuild the same chimney back. Go figure.

The original builders of this chimney had “first picks” when it came time to select the best stones laying around in the surrounding area, which meant that we had some nice stones to work with. And, fortunately for us, those same builders did not have access to our modern cement, so disassembling the chimney was easy.

We rebuilt the chimney using the same techniques that were used when it was originally built (which also matched the other chimney on this house). We carefully laid each stone flat and in a horizontal pattern. No stick-on stones here.

I did not add any flare to the top of the chimney. I normally like to add a simple decorative touch… some people call it a crown… but here we chose to match the other chimney on this house which didn’t have one.

Originally posted 2015-04-19 13:31:25.

The life a stonemason… part 3

Eventually all those carpenter bees leave and peace once again returns to the mason’s life as he returns to his stonework.

And they all lived happily ever after.

Originally posted 2015-04-15 11:13:17.

No one can make a stone mason more miserable than a carpenter. With their loud saws they often encroach about the mason, often driving him off and even endangering his life by working overhead.

Originally posted 2015-04-15 11:02:38.