Building with stone

[Boris859]

I literally have tons and tons of field stone on my property,with access to much more for free,I am thinking of teaching myself how to build with stone,my question is what tools do I need to start,and how do I "read the stone" to know where to shape it,plus anyother things I may need to know.basicly what I am building is this.my house is on hill and I want to build a room for my outdoor woodstove with a blower.I am going to dig into the hillside and up to the house with ductwork under ground(15 ft or so)the room is going to be about 6 ft by 8ft with stone walls to hold the heat a steel and log roof covered by dirt about 8 inches deep,any other suggestions would be appreciated also,I kinda wish I would have thought about this last summer,instead of now,but at least have winter to plan it. :D

[Mr.B]

Well I can tell you I dont know much about working with stone. But I do know I have seen tons of books at used book stores about building and working with stone.

-B

[Boris859]

tried that already,the only little bookstore that had used books didn't have a single book on construction anything,used or new,the barnes and noble drove the only good used bookstore out of business,I tried goodwill,yardsales..no luck,and the library won't let me keep it as long as I want(indefinately) :)

[tufhelp]

How about right here in the old BHM Bookstore:

http://www.backwoodshome.com/store/files/bu19.html

http://www.backwoodshome.com/store/covers/bu19.jpg

Building with Stone
by Charles McRaven



Nothing can rival stone for its beauty and durability. This book educates the novice and inspires the seasoned artisan. A stonebuilder at any level will learn how to evaluate each stone and undertake each step in the procedure with an eye toward aesthetics and useful permanence.
Includes information on acquiring stone and tools, as well as step-by-step instructions.

[Boris859]

LOL,I was digging through some books in my "library" yesterday and I found a readers digest Back to Basics book from 1981,it has about 3 pages worth of building with stone info that covers exactly what I need,While I was digging I found a whole bunch of other how to books I forgot about too!

[walls0stone]

90% of the books are a waste of time. To be honest I am no longer wild about give'n away all kinds of info for the whole wide world to know. This is my living and it's a dang good one. I paid BIG money to learn this stuff. Not wanting to be rude...still if someone sent me a PVT message I'd consult for free, but I'm not going to put tons of info on here and have someone say "oh I know it all i read it some place" THIs work is learned via BUSTED FINGERS :)

It's not hard once you learn the practical nature of stone..but to learn that you need to hold many many stones, not books Good luck.

[Boris859]

Wallostone,I don't blame ya for not wanting to hand out free info,and I plan on learning via "busted fingers",what I mainly want to know is what tools I need to get started,(I know obviously chisels and a hammer),such as speciality tools that the books or a novice can easily overlook,busted fingers don't bother me,thats the way I have learned evrything I do.another approach for me is to tear apart an old barn foundation I have that was done ,and study the rocks that may give me some insight also,alot of trial and error will give me expierence to maybe tackle something bigger down the road,

[walls0stone]

what kind of stone ??? and no you don't need a chisle. Stone tools are to expencive for a weekender to invest in. Just one of my carbid pitches cost over 100 bucks..people ask me if they can bum one ...yea right! My pitches, hamemrs and so on cost a few grand.

hhhmmm, now a barn foundation may not tell you anything...here is why. if you know the rules, you know when you can bend them. Who's to say that the fellow who build the foundation you are looking at knew anything.

My first wall..HA HA it's a shock the thing even stood. Also, the way something was built and the way it stands now can be very very diffrant. After all, I know I don't look the way I did when I was created :) .

get a brick hammer, unless your in granit country. Also for me to tell you it's OK to take apart an old found is to me, sacreligous (sp?) I do not...will not, under any condtion take apart a structure that is not in danger of a developer.

Get an Estwing brick hammer and some stones pick up a rock and try to make it do what you think it can do. Another tip. NEVER use Gloves. YOu want skin to stone contact. Your hands will tell you what the stone can do, Your eyes are just along for the ride.

If it's colder than 45 Deg' wait till spring. Don't use the work (wall) for a work bench or hammer a stone on the wall. YOu may break a stone free and defeat yourself.

Never stick dirt into the wall.

Using big saws to cut every stone is NOT Stone work.

Oh and if you talk to someone in your area who works with stone, remember, sticking rocks on blocks IS NOT the same.

Things to do.
Take a stone from your first wall job, and put it in your second.

Put shoes in the wall...

Put a coin, with the year on it at the corner stone of the wall.

Lay the Corner stone at the N-East Corner FIRST

The LADY of the houes lays a small stone for luck.

at the end of the wall, you will take a pint of brew to the wall, sit upon the creation and dump half your pint on the stones, Slam the other half pint. DRINK WITH YOUR WALL

AnD NEver See a Field plowed Twice.

[Boris859]

the old barn foundation is over a 100 yrs old,1887 I think,but is more like a 1/2 wall now,a bunch of it has falln in already with more on the way.the wall was built into a hillside and time combined with pressure *from the dirt and tree roots on the other side has taken it's toll.I also plan on doin every stitch of the work by hand,I used to be a body man so I kinda know what you mean about feeling the rock,I also know about tool prices,some of my speciality body tools cost quite a bit too,not to mention all my other tools,some I have since sold but I still have a few thousand dollars of em.but I have 2 questions,why not put dirt in the wall,and the 2nd is about hammering stones at under 45 degrees,are they to brittle?definately sounds like a spring job,hasn't been over 30 here in a couple weeks.thank you for the advice :D

[walls0stone]

They won't cut as you would like at that temp.

as far as DIRT
what's the diffrance in a swimming pool and a stone wall?
;) Clean stone only, never 2b stone use the Chipps from the cutting.

you should cut your foundation and then learn to build WITHOUT A HAMMER Young Grass Hopper. Use the stones as they are and never cut them. YOu can find that as a biblical comand. (I think in Neamia sp?) I do it oftent.