The lean on this chimney was even more pronounced after we removed the siding from the house and exposed the logs long hidden beneath.

I told the owner of the home that one day that chimney was going to fall, that I didn’t know when, but when it happened it would be quick and I hoped that no one was killed when it happened. He had a real tough time making the decision for us to take this chimney down and rebuild it… after all, he had seen it standing there on the side of this home all his life. But now he was going to live here in this home, and, raise his children here, the chimney had to come down… on our terms.

Originally posted 2015-06-09 13:03:29.

The other chimney though had a distinct lean to it, likely caused by years or poor drainage on this side of the house.

I’ve heard it said before that one should always consider soil as a liquid, a very slow moving liquid.

Originally posted 2015-06-09 12:49:52.

Originally posted 2015-06-09 12:43:29.

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.