How to make a dry stone wall?

[JoceAndChris]

Any advice on this before we start, cluelessly, would be gratefully appreciated.

We are aiming to build up the remnant of wall to about 5 feet high and perhaps 3-4 metres long, turning a corner.

The stone is just lying about, it's a soft sandstone. Would it be better to use lime mortar?

 

[CHRIS]

Would it be better to use lime mortar?

The term Dry Stone Wall comes from the fact of no wet mortar was used so no!

http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/environment/landscape/drystonewall.htm

http://handbooks.btcv.org.uk/handbooks/content/section/1614

You should research the local style near to your place as they vary from place to place but it is quite easy - just getting a flat front and rear can be time consuming but comes with a bit of practice.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thanks Chris, and also for taking time out of what must be an incredibly busy new schedule! Or have you resigned from baby duties already?

Those links look very useful indeed; it seems that the thick, jungly ivy has got to go then. That's what's smashed it up.

xx

 

[Penners]

When we lived in Oxfordshire, I saw quite a number of new "dry" stone walls being built. It seemed that most of them were actually constructed with a core of mortar, into which the inside edges of the stones were secured, so that the mortar helped to hold them together, but couldn't be seen when the wall was finished.

Sacrilege, I'm sure, but Oi seen it wi' me own eyes.

http://www.nationalstonecentre.org.uk/tr_drystonewalling.html

 

[Moo]

Sounds a bit like a variation on stone cladding. I wonder how long it took for the stones to work loose.

 

[MdB]

A new dry stone wall near us that was supposedly built by the professionals, fell down twice shortly after it was built. I guess it is not the easiest of jobs and the type of stone available makes a big difference.

 

[JoceAndChris]

The core of mortar sounds like a nice cheat, but it might prevent the obligatory cat-shaped hole!

I bet ours falls down too; will let you know.

 

[chuckey]

I have had some walls built for me and it seems that an importent part is to roughly sort the stones into say three piles, though this depends on your local style. My chaps sorted the stones into:- Big pebbles(>9" diam) for use to top the wall. A pile of "through" stones, sort of long and thin to bind the two outer courses together. And finally building stones distributed along the course of the wall. All the rubble and shrapnell went into the core of the wall. Its just that to imitate a style, you don't want to be regretting that the stones that should have gone on top have been used in the wall's base course. Also it might give a bit of an idea of the amount of stone you have or will need.
Frank

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thanks Chuckey, that's very helpful. I hadn't really thought of a wall as "two outer courses", like a sandwich.

Also it might give a bit of an idea of the amount of stone you have or will need.

Although it looks like a lot of stone lying about, I think we'll quickly see it running out. I'm envisioning secret night time raids on the disused quarry down the road.

 

[Penners]

I hadn't really thought of a wall as "two outer courses", like a sandwich.

A dry stone wall is really two walls - one on each side, with a core of what's called "dross" - just loose stuff. As Frank says, there's a regular use of double-width stones to tie the two "skins" together. The two walls each lean slightly inwards towards each other, so the wall tapers as it goes up.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Is that really the origin of the word "dross"?

This is all a bit damascene Penners, prior to this thread and this need for a wall I would have gone along Robert Frost's layman views in "Mending Wall":

"To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
'Stay where you are until our backs are turned!' " [*]

"Tapers" sounds hard too, I'm better at bulges than tapers!

[*] http://writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/frost-mending.html

 

[Penners]

"To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls

Hmmm - my few attempts at dry stone walling have mostly been balls.

Not sure whether that's the origin of the word "dross", but it certainly seems to be the usual word for the central rubble (or was in Oxfordshire, anyway. May be regional).

 

[Hatster]

The one thing I know about dry stone walls is that they are built differently in different parts of the country. The only person I know who can dry stone wall lives in a council flat in Manchester - not much call for it there.

One way to learn dry stone walling is to volunteer on a National Trust working holiday doing walling - by the end of three days I'm told you've got a pretty good grasp of it.

 

[JoceAndChris]

One way to learn dry stone walling is to volunteer on a National Trust working holiday doing walling - by the end of three days I'm told you've got a pretty good grasp of it.

That's a wonderful suggestion thank you, just found there's one in Wales in May. I didn't know about these holidays, they're offering goat herding and surveying moorland plants and all sorts of excitement. Going to beg husband tonight to let me go. Anyone else fancy a spot of dry stone walling?

 

[Penners]

Anyone else fancy a spot of dry stone walling?

What, with my back?

I'm in constant pain, but I never talk about it. I smile through my tears.

 

[Flyfisher]

That's the spirit. Stiff upper lip and all that.