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    The Art of the Stonemason
    The Art of the Stonemason
    The Art of the Stonemason
    Ebook247 pages8 hours

    The Art of the Stonemason

    By Ian Cramb

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    About this ebook

    Author Ian Cramb was a fifth-generation stonemason who relied on traditional methods to create and restore beautiful stone structures. In this do-it-yourself manual for homeowners, masonry contractors, and restoration specialists, Cramb drew on his fifty years of life experience in the craft to cover restoration techniques for historic structures in the U.S. and Britain. The book covers various types of stone, stone-cutting, and traditional mortar mixes for walls, foundations, and buildings.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRowmanLittlefield
    Release dateJul 1, 2021
    ISBN9780811769877
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      Book preview

      The Art of the Stonemason - Ian Cramb

      Introduction

      I have written this book, The Art of the Stonemason, as a way of sharing my experience, as practitioner and as administrator, in building with stone and in restoration work using stone.

      The methods and mortar mixes I use in stonework are traditional, as handed down through the generations. They are easily explained. The practical problems are arranged in order from the most simple to the more complex, and in their description I have avoided technicalities as much as possible.

      My efforts should be of interest and help to stonemasons, architects, and anyone interested in building and restoration work using stone.

      Proficiency in any art cannot be obtained without study and perseverance. Stonework is certainly no exception, but difficulties will soon vanish if you commence with the confidence that you will succeed.

      Practice makes perfect.

      —Ian Cramb

      Building and restoration stonemason, 1991

      frn_fig_003

      The Traditional Method of Building Random Rubble

      WHAT IS RANDOM RUBBLE? RANDOM RUBBLE IS THE TRADITIONAL OR EARLY

      Celtic art of building with stone. It uses stones that are not squared but are of irregular sizes and are bedded on mortar or other suitable bedding material. It takes time and practice to do random rubble in the traditional method.

      Before you attempt to start and build random rubble, have a good look around at some old stone walls, such as those found on old farm houses, country churches, and boundary walls. These will give you a general idea of the style and type of stone used, which would have been quarried locally, or more likely, gathered from the fields. No drawing can give you the position of stones on the wall in rubble work. The shapes and sizes of the individual stones selected determine their positions in the wall. You must try to imagine what they will look like; this is part of the secret of doing random rubble.

      Having selected a building showing a good example of random rubble, stand back and look along the wall. You will notice all random rubble walls have one thing in common; that is, they have been built in 18-inch to 2-foot lifts (heights), a style of building known as coursed random rubble. This is the one and only way of building a random rubble wall. You should also notice that each stone runs level on its bed from the smallest to the largest, and each lift on the wall is dead level. To save showing straight, long lines every lift, risers (stones that rise above or through the line) are placed at fairly regular intervals to break the straight line.

      Opposite: Traditional random rubble wall at a Maryland farmhouse in the Appalachian foothills.

      CHOOSING YOUR STONE

      Before you start building your garden wall, or stone-facing the front of your house, or doing any type of rubble work, think of the type of stone you are going to use. You would not want a cluster of large stones to build a small garden wall, for example.

      I have observed some beautiful old stone walls, scarred and patched with large, rough, squared stones by inexperienced tradesmen. The original stone from the wall was uplifted and dumped. The patched area was pointed over with a three-to-one soft sand mix and rubbed with a rag. This eye-catching mess forms a very weak patch, as it is the strong against the weak. It will only hold a very short time before it collapses in a solid lump, bringing down more of the surrounding area. You have to try to rebuild, blending in with the existing stonework, using the proper mortar mixes.

      The best type of stone for your building work is preferably from old rubble walls, as they already have a prepared face. You also need stone that suits the height and length of your wall. You will have to lift everything from the smallest stone to the largest you can handle. It is wasted effort to try to lift a stone that is too heavy. You may waste more time and energy by cutting it down to size. Choose the right size of stone to begin.

      chpt_fig_001

      Random rubble—traditional method.

      Having selected and gathered your stone, drop the stone about three feet from the site of your wall. This distance allows you easy access for building. Do not try to select stone for size and color. What you lift, you build; you will find the wall will work out for the appropriate stone size and color. Remember the plan and the wall you are building are all in your mind at this point. Below I explain in simple terms how to build this style of stonework. When you look at the first few square feet of completed wall, it almost never looks right. But do not let this put you off. I get this same feeling. It will look better as you progress.

      Take your time, as practice makes perfect. If you make an error, rectify it before going on. Remember, your work will be seen and admired for years to come, and there is no way to cover up your mistakes. As the old Scottish saying goes, only fools and wimen criticize half-finished stonework. Your finished work will be achieved. I showed a friend of mine, a plumber by trade, the rudiments of random rubble building. He built the back and sides of his house with random rubble, and I am proud to say it is beautiful and well done.

      chpt_fig_002

      Random rubble wall runs from the barn into the surrounding fields at an historic farmhouse on Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg, Maryland.

      BEGINNING THE WORK

      The following is an easy method for building a garden or boundary wall, in random rubble, double-faced (meaning the wall has both front and rear faces), not to exceed six feet in height.

      For the thickness of your wall, plan on between 15 and 17 inches, depending on your stone. Fifteen inches is the minimum for a double-faced wall; 7½ inches for a singlefaced wall with a brick or block backing wall.

      Having determined your thickness, stretch a line between two pegs to give you the front face building line. This will also give you a guide for foundation excavations.

      With this foundation line, add 3 inches of extra width on either face of the proposed wall. This will form a scarcement (ledge) on your foundations (Figure 1).

      Before you start on the foundations, put in some wooden pegs (Figure 1), leveling through from each peg. These will act as your datum line—the point from which you will measure up for the levels on each lift (18 to 24 inches). If your pegs are level throughout, your wall line will be level.

      Start to excavate for your foundations. Remove the topsoil and dig down until you reach the dense subsoil. Dig about 9 to 12 inches below the topsoil level; if the soil is clay, dig down an extra 6 inches. Make sure your excavated foundation track is level, even if your ground slopes. On sloping ground your foundation track must have steps, and each step in the excavated track must be level (Figure 2).

      Do not use concrete for foundations. I never have. You will find all old stone buildings built directly on the ground. Any settlement that does occur will be taken up within the wall. If you use the proper mortar mixes, cracks will not show. With a solid concrete base, any movement or settlement crack affects the whole wall. This action also applies whenever you use strong cement mixes in building.

      Set your stones on the mix you are using for building your wall. Start building your foundation (with scarcement) up to about 2 inches below ground level (Figure 3).

      Your foundation should measure, upon completion, the thickness of the wall plus 6 inches: 3 inches on either side to form the scarcement. Assuming all is now level, you set the front building line from the pegs where you started.

      Your lines are set. The next task is your plumbings, or corners. You can form the corners with large squared stones, called rybits or quoins. This is the easiest method. Or you can build up with the rubble you are using to build the wall, which is a little more difficult (Figure 4).

      The plumbings are used to set the line for your wall and to keep the wall plumb. From these corners you will work your levels.

      THE BUILDING METHOD

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