How to build a Dry Stone Wall. Part II: The First Lift. (Trade Secrets Revealed!)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ส.ค. 2024
- The second part of our deep dive into building a Dry Stone Wall. Here we try and explain the importance of joint crossing, how to plan ahead with walling and how to go about making it strong internally.
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Brazilian here, doctor's secretary, never built anything and here I'm wondering if I should build dry walls from stones for life. Good video (:
I'm from Siberia, Russia, I"ve never put any stone to any dry wall. I have no idea why I'm watching it, but I can not stop. Thanks for your work it's really awesome.
Wow thanks for watching! Glad you're enjoying the dry walls 🧱
@@drystone-tv same with the heel of an axe as to the bottom edge of a hammer. loving this what is an accidental find, got yourself a sub
@@drystone-tv out of interest with decent stone, how much could a good man wall in a day. in the previous video you mentioned 8 ton, which speaks of around 2 cube, so a couple of meters run maybe? thx
@@jukeseyable a good Waller with good stone could do 4m² in a day no problem. There's a ton per meter so with a take down and rebuild that's 4 ton twice. The majority of walling that happens in the UK is rebuilding old walls so that's where that number comes from. Building a wall from scratch out of fresh stone is a lot slower and a good Waller would probably only do 2m² a day .
I'm from the Yorkshire Dale's but now live on the border of Thailand, Myanmar and Lao. One of the few things I miss seeing here, are Yorkshire built dry stone walls. I've seen them most every day all my life and always found them amazing and a testament to the skills of the guys/women who built them. Thanks for this little taste of home!
This video is boring... unless you're building a dry stack stone wall! Thank you for this well-done video. I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn, without having to travel.
DRY STONE TV... Gotta love TH-cam. This is perfect mate!
I love it. You folks are awesome. I love the top tips. Really concise, simple and clear. Especially, if you're spending 5 minutes on a stone, it's the wrong stone. That's excellent advice, for walling, and probably for life as well.
Best stone wall video on TH-cam
I'm doing some dry stone walling here in Ireland, I just came across this video and I think it's great. Well done and keep promoting your craft, it's not too many people who know how to build or repair these walls, well except old farmers here in Ireland but still a lost trade, congrats.
I'm 65 and wish I could tackle this! Your video is not boring at all. I feel blessed to sit and watch your amazing work. Seems like I'm right there with you! Interested in a video using small stones. Thank you for sharing this information in such a conversational way.
I worked for a pair of stone masons 40 years back . I was the labourer. When they let me build my first wall one of them walked on it when it was half way up . He said it passed .great videos
great stuff....dry stone walling down on Dartmoor with granite....different style but same principles......awesome videos...really appreciate you going to the effort of making them!!!
New fetish unlocked - Im in northern England for Holidays in October and looking forward to see some dry stone walls! Thanks
Awesome guys, thanks. SO TRUE about NOT being in the stone manufacturing business!
I went to Bolton Abbey in Skipton, Bradford recently. I was amazed that the church shell structure has been without a roof for 400+ years and it looks strong as though it was destroyed less than a decade ago. As I looked at the stone wall boundary fence at the roadside, I noticed that the wall had three parts: Two parallel outer and inner walls and the gap between them filled up with mortarred heartings/fillings. The inner wall, at the open exit however, was pulling away from the joining center. Since I had watched your videos and believed in your method of overlapping stones, it was like further validation of your style. I have never built a stone wall but I hope to, one day, God willing, and I will build like you have tutored me. I hope I will be able to give feedback to my tutor. Thanks a million for sharing.
One more comment, not many channels as detailed as you are, thanks for the effort!
Yeah I noticed there wasn't that much online that went into specifics so I'm trying my best to explain my process.
I'd love to see how you "finish" the ends of the wall. Great content, keep up the good work!
Aye when I've a free weekend I'll set up a wall end and get it filmed . !
yes Me too: need finishing info: also turns / corners.@@drystone-tv
These videos are terrific & Bert is very engaging throughout. Keep up the good work.
Had the dubious privilege as an American to live in Scotland for three years. During that time I became quite familiar with the ubiquitous stone dykes criss-crossing the land as evidently the country's main agricultural by-product is stone. I plan on building these types of walls on family property in the Ozarks as part of my retirement. Interestingly, we have these constructions featured on neighboring property but the walls themselves in the area are quite rare. Not for a lack of source material. I regularly refer to the land as: "a pile of rocks with some dirt and sticks scattered on it..." Thanks for the instruction as it is very informative and helpful
Haha great stuff! I love to see the Scottish dykes made out of crazy boulders. You should definitely build some walls on your property if you get the chance. Theres nothing like gathering up all the random stone lying around and making something useful out of it!
Look dead easy those...from someone with little experience...but I just have stone of irregular sizes and shapes so have to think a bit more deeply...
Also am going for granite which is not easy to cut with basic tools..I am planning on cheating with angle grinders
Be but apparently in the 1850's to1890's the granite cobbles of Glasgow,Scotland were cut by hand tools as far as I can make out
Big question.Did these 2 men cut the stones to a convenient size and shape before they started "chipping away"?
I once tried to repair a very old, slightly collapsed wall of a rustico in italy. This was impossible without any prior knowledge. The stones there are smaller and it's a real handicraft and even there there aren't that many people who can do it anymore. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
I'm so happy I found your channel, what a lost art! I'm in Canada and trying to learn hedgelaying and dry walling is on the learning list ❤. You guys are amazing!!!!
not boring at alllll!!!! im learning thank you!!
Your craftmanship is beautiful and the content is excellent. Hope you keep educating us all. I love the close ups of you dressing the stone. Cheers from Canada!
This has absolutely nothing to do with my life in any way, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. lol
That's how it starts. Pretty soon you're going to be noticing walls everywhere and then you're fucked.
If some body or animal bush the Dry stone wall is it collapsed
Thank you, this was awesome. Beautiful work. Your comments were so helpful for learning the principles of walling. I'm so interested to see this grow higher and the other principles. I'd love to see a video for dry walling a foundation for a home. I'm going to watch some more of your videos right now.
Thanks for watching , now that spring is here we'll be doing a lot more videos. I'll put a house foundation video on the list!
Thankyou so much! your video is so helpful thankyou..i am going to try to fix my friends wall for them as they can't move about too well and the sheep on the surrounding croft are getting into their garden so I'm so glad i found your video
thanks for helping us to see the proper good ways to do things.. hugely appreciated
This is fantastic content, thank you. Very enjoyable and informative.
I'm building a dry stone fieldstone wall. This is fascinating! Writing from North Carolina in the United States.
awesome! enjoy your walling!
tip on proper use of face of hammer (bottom edge) is very helpful thank you
Wonderfully informative ! Certainly not boring ! You had my full attention. Thanks and keep at it.
From New York U.S. enjoying your videos, keep up the good work m8
Lovely! Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
I'm planning a cob barn with a good strong stone footing.
Best of luck!
... Thankfully He's a True Northern Lad... Greetings from Saturn 🪐
Great video, part 3 please. cheers
Should be up in march, not had any time to do editing recently but the footage is all there !
This looks sooo satisfying. And obviously you are very skilful! Thank you for the videos, very interesting and well explained.
Thanks for your comment. It's been quite a challenge trying to translate my craft into joined up sentences people can understand! Glad you got something out of it , cheers
Loving the videos man keep it up.
Bloody satisfying
You might see from my picture - I have built a bit with Big Logs. Yesterday I did a very rough dry stone arrangement to make steps to access a public beach. After watching this - I know what mistakes I made. PS Cheers from South Africa.
that's what I like about walling, you can build something useful from whatever is lying around, did you get the stone from the beach?
Useful video cheers!
Cheers, let me know if there's anything else you'd like to see.
Nice work ,subscribed.
One of my least favourite myths about walling is "a good waller should never pick the same stone up twice" - usually from someone that's probably never picked a stone up in their life!
Boils my piss!
Do you hear that one much?
(I'm a waller in Cumbria by the way)
Haha! Get that one all the time, as well as "I've done a bit of walling myself"
Great job.
great detail information.
Great job man, great explanation good video, keep it up
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
Great stuff.
Thank you for the video.
I've seen many vids about dry stone walling and this is by far the most informative. Really great method. Cheers lads!
Thanks for watching! We've been a bit busy lately but will hopefully get some more videos up soon!
Thanks for the great content
What a handsome and hardworking gentleman! And that mustache...
Incredible video thank you ❤❤
Thanks heaps for sharing this man
Aye, no worries!
'Ello, Gubna. Good show, old boy. Cheers. ⚒️🪨
Is this a vertically-faced wall,
or is there a batter on it?
I come from an estate in South Devon,
where hedges are stone-faced earth banks,
narrower on top,
but wide enough
for a huntsman's horse to stand on briefly
as it jumps the hedge.
My great-uncle
was the equestrian etcher Geoffrey Sparrow,
and he immortalised his brother, my grandfather,
jumping a hedge on his grey horse
in the 1930s or 1940s.
Such hedges are wonderful for wildlife,
and hedgerow trees grow for centuries.
My father,
an ex-Royal Navy submarine captain,
who married into the estate,
would put strands of barbed wire
across a slipped hedge,
but I would keep an eye out for demolitions,
and do it properly in stone.
We had our own diused quarry on the estate
that had supplied shillet for barns and hedges.
Our hedges were laid with thin vertical stones -
but with better stone from buildings
free at that time,
I never tried vertical shillet myself.
Very challenging, I would think!
/
In the 18th century,
we owned huge limestone quarries in Plymouth,
where from 1812-1841
we supplied 4.5 million tons of stone
for Plymouth Breakwater.
/
With quarrymen available,
in the 1860s,
a new road was blasted out of the side of a steep wood,
down to a new one arch bridge across the River Erme,
to form a drive 3/4 of a mile downhill -
great fun on a bike!
The wall against the very steep hill
was made of really quite small vertically laid shillet,
laid in rows.
and very attractive.
In 1886,
the Elizabethan monor house was demolished,
and a cut limestone house built.
/
They certainly knew how to use stone in the past,
and it breaks my heart
to see stone dumped or crushed
when it has centuries of use left in it.
I never used any cement,
even for setts laid in the ground,
as if packed tightly with earth,
they did not tend to move,
and they can be lifted and reused at any time.
/
Which is to say I love stone!
I am a natural healer,
and working with stone is a perfect healing technique.
City life and people
are what harms,
whereas the best of country lie and people
heals.
They rush about faster and faster,
sicker and sicker,
while anone with CommonZense
does the precise opposite!
Best wishes, Zen
cz4m.blogspot.com/2018/07/cz4m-mission-statement.html#stt_mnu
/
thanks!
Love the videos! Any chance you could do one on dry stone retaining walls? Cheers
Aye definitely! One of my favourite topics and some great examples of huge 200 year old retaining walls where I live too.
Nice wall
Awesome video. I've seen some TH-camrs use a clay mortar in a drier climate. What do you think about that?
Fascinating. New Subscriber. I am American,so I have difficulty with your accent. I occasionally work on walls on my property. I am not even close to your talent mate. Cheers🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻
It's a little hard to follow some of what's said when English is not the primary language. Even my "CC" tool had trouble rendering much of what's said. I did, however, catch most of it. Very nice, indeed!!
Hang on... are you saying that their primary language isn't English, or your primary language isn't English.
Their accents are pretty thick.
Awesome 👏 👏👏
This is incredible to watch and very informative. I’m curious, where do you find your stones? Did you have to get specific types or were they just laying around the yard? I’m wanted to build something similar but all I have is shale
I live somewhere with about the same weather as Moscow, hah, the frost line is almost 2m down, in your first video on foundations, you just talk about getting the organic soil off to get down to the mineral subsoil below, but what do you recommend as far as frost heave? If I have to dig the foundations down below the frost line, that's a huge amount of dirt to move, as well as more than double the stone I'd need for a 4-5' wall. Can I just take the top soil off instead? There are a bunch of 100+ year old stone walls in my area, that look more like they've had stone robbed from them, rather than theyve fallen over from frost heave, If you dont have experience with cold climate, I think I'll habe to disassemble a section and see of they have a deep foundation or not. Thanks again for the great videos. I've been fortunate enough to do several traditional apprenticeships, in wooden boat building and metal machining, and I'm fascinated by the "good stuff" that doesn't get written down in the books, and stone masonry is sort of the most famous as far as keeping the tricks secret, hah.
Thanks for the comment! It's an interesting topic and my knowledge is a bit limited on best practice in areas with serious frost heave. I've worked in Maine and Canada and over there the approach seemed to differ depending on the purpose of the wall. Sometimes they dug out 600mm or so and filled the hole with compacted gravel and built on that. In one extreme example, I worked on a job where the contractor dug down 2 metres and poured a 400mm thick concrete slab then topped it off with compacted gravel 1600mm. The foundation probably cost more than the actual wall in that case. Most times when I've worked over there we just took about 300mm out and filled with gravel. If you're happy that your wall will move a little bit then I think that's fine. It's more of a problem if you're building a retaining wall or something that needs to remain inert.
Class videos big yin
Cheers pal
I wonder, would you be interested in coming to New Zealand to work on a large (300m2) dry stone wall project? I can cover flights. Job is in the most beautiful part of the country Queenstown Lakes.
I'd definitely be interested to hear more about it! Always been a dream to go to New Zealand! Send me an email to info@noblestonework.com if you like. Nice one!
Build The Wall!
i used to think the throughs were styles! are they used for that by people when getting about? or is it frowned on to use them for that? genuinely be useful to know the etiquette on that or should we always use gates etc?
This is brilliant content lads. With through stones I’ve seen mentioned before that a through stone should be used at set distance in your wall (one a metre?) what do you think to that?
I would say 1per meter as a minimum. We put them in as often as we can spaced at regular intervals. Quite often we have 2 rows of throughs in at 900mm centers so will average more than 2 throughs per m². The measurements are a rough guide though ,
Great craftsmanship! I’m surprised you don’t wear safety glasses, seems like bits of rock would fly into your eyes.
Lots of people saying that! I might invest in a good pair. I've tried the cheap ones in the past and they're very uncomfortable and obstruct your vision too much.
Most masons wear squint goggles.
It's almost like playing tetris, but if the stone doesn't fit you hammer the shit out of it until it does.
Yup, exactly!
Hi from the desert, a novice dry stoner in the making. A question that you might have an answer for, is "sandstone" good for walling?
Sandstone is a great material for building with. Most of my jobs are using sandstone.
There are good reasons why medieval and earlier stone walls, buildings and roads have lasted. In a country filled with stone construction, we’d be fools not to closely listen to those who - through construction experience, not some theory - know how that lasting bit has been achieved!
Couldn't have said it better.
I love your videos! I live in the US in New England. My house, like many, have a stone foundation. (Mine is stacked, not motared). If someone wanted to build a house with a stone foundation, should it go below the frost line? Also, would you recommend pouring a concrete footer even though they didnt do that in the 1700s?
Thanks in advance
You know, this is not really my exact area of expertise as we don't get much frost where I live. Old houses here are walled with dry stone directly onto the subsoil, however they can move over time which is why the medieval buildings in england can all look so wonky. I think to be on the safe side I would recommend pouring a concrete footer or try to seek the advice of a local restoration builder. Depending where you are in NE I might be able to put you in contact with someone. Cheers!
Very interesting, thanks. One question for you: is there a reason you don't use those chisels which have a flat plate at the end which protect your chisel hand from a misplaced blow from the hammer? Or are they just for noobs who aren't as accurate as experienced wallers who've been using hammers & chisels for years?!
yeah you kind of answered your own question. it's really rare i hit my hand and those things stop you being as precise with the chisel
Brilliant. What kind of stone is that?
This is gritstone. The stuff I'm using here is particularly hard for this type of stone.
So would you suggest a heavy angle batter on walls that are used for stem walls for a house or garage OR straight up from first course ?
Would it be underground? No reason why you couldn't build it plumb as long as the wall is thick enough and the stones are big enough.
Really tidy walling! What stone hammer are you using?
Mainly using a Riley 4lb northern walling hammer in this video. Made in Brighouse.
What coat is that you’re wearing in the rain?
Do you ever dig a trench first?
... Blooming Eck... This Chap Can Move Around A Bit Sharpish. Fetting Whilst Walling. How Novel
it looks so effortless when you shape the stones. When i try to do it i hammer it for 30minutes. Is that some special rock?
Some stones are easier to shape than others for sure. Also make sure your tools are sharp and have a hammer that's heavy enough - 1.5kg or something. My advice in general to someone who is spending a lot of time shaping stone is to spend an extra 5 minutes looking for the right sized stone first. Eventually this will save you lots and lots of time.
@@drystone-tv Mostly we have granite where I live, maybe thats why or is it just harder but still possible?
I'm sending Bert a belt
Hi,
Why is there no foundation in your build?
I'm from the Netherlands and our soil is no rock.
Mostly earth, clay and sand.
What would you recommend for a foundation for dry stone wall on such underground?
on my family farm about half of the walls are built directly onto the clay, the 200 year old walls have spread and moved a bit but it kind of gives them their character. I've also seen walls built on really boggy peat and they have huge flagstones underneath to stop the stones sinking into the bog. In most cases small dry stone walls dont need a concrete foundation
Awesome video. What kind of stone is this?
This is a hard gritstone, perfect material for wall building: hard but workable .
It’s sad that he feels like he has to justify providing the actual, experience derived, hands on knowledge of an ancient craft. I’ve spent my entire life believing that deep down inside every human had the intrinsic desire to dig a hole or build a wall, or a tree house. If I only knew now what I knew then.
what about the ends of the wall.
I want to build a low, 2 ft retaining wall. Does it need to be built like a regular wall, with 2 sides, or just one face side with threw stones and batter? Hard to find any videos on dry retaining walls.
better to build it with 2 sides but you can put all the ugly stone in the back and use the good stuff for the face.
@@drystone-tv thanks!
Women hate that this is all a man needs in his life to be happy.
Aside from the fact that there are plenty of women who are wallers, I can assure you that the women in my life provide me with plenty of happiness and are chuffed to see me happy in my job too.
absolutely fucked, love it.
How long would it take for one person to build a wall 5 ft high, 20 ft long?
A professional, 3 days.
Mike leason says he can do it in 2 days no priblem
Hey, what brand of hammer is that?
Riley Northern Style hammer
Is limestone an acceptable building material?
absolutely!
Is no gonna talk about that cloud at 4:40 ?
Lol
Great video and content ... except for that damn chirping noise when the video speeds up!!!
haha, my fave bit of the video!
Ok
you do not use any through stones?
nevermind I wrote this comment too soon XD
Haha
I really appreciate the obvious high level of drystone skills demonstrated in these videos. However, i am a little confused re your comments about movement of foundation stones. What you say appears logical. But...i see in Stonework a Technical Guide to standards and identification of common faults in drystone walling,( by Sean Adcock ) that it is stated that; 'none of the stones should wobble when walked upon'. Given that this non movement of foundation stone seems to be?? one of the key criteria in achieving DSWA certification I find it interesting that you appear to be dismissing the ' foundation stone standard' as ' a total load of crap/myth made up by people who weren't wallers in the first place'. 😳
My problem with it is that it doesn't take into account stone type or size. Large stones will rarely move when walked on no matter how badly they've been put in and small stones will always move no matter how well they have been put in. Its just one of those things where in the past I have seen people walk on foundations and it has just shown to me their lack of understanding of different situations.
@@drystone-tv Thanks for the clarification. Sean Adcock actually sums up (in the Guide) what i think you are saying with the old adage; "Rules are for the guidance of wisemen and the blind obedience of fools".
outside flat inside flat butting up on each other ;; spend no more than five mins on each stone ;if you are do better job selecting stone not manufacture them good info soon i hope to build a wall like a monument i can leave before i die
Let’s “Crack On”
Turkish subtittles option please
You are both right and wrong. You should be able to walk on your footings and youd be insane to walk on your first few courses with smaller stone lol both are true at the same time. The premise is, if your larger stones move when you walk in them the wall is doomed from the start.
nice informative video!
Eeeehm. Otherwise, very entertaining and informative.
Am I saying eeeerrmmm too much? 😂
@@drystone-tv ummm, like, yes, ya'nomutIsayin? Lol! It's all good. It's a small thing but it can make a big difference, unless it's way outside of your character. As a public speaker, such placeholders degrade credibility. But entertainment is different. Keep doing your thing! Good show! Eh?
Is it a trade secret to not wear safety glasses when you are chipping rocks with a hammer?
Yep
@@drystone-tv Be careful out there! Sure, an eye-patch looks cool, and it makes your pirate costume at the Renaissance Faire very realistic, but why hazard the chance of injury?
@@kibbeystovall7546 I do wear them sometimes and for certain jobs I wear them all day. But for general walling and hammering it has just never worked out. They just get so covered in mud and dust that they get in the way of being able to do the job properly.