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Stonework requires an immense amount of patience. It is like putting together a puzzle with no picture to go by. The material is heavy, dirty and the pieces don’t always split where they need to. It relies on time honored practices, many of the tools and methods used have not changed in thousands of years. Take for example the feather and wedge; together, the two ‘feathers’ form a “T” with a hole down through the top like a straw, this goes into a hole drilled in the stone, then the wedge fits between the feathers and is used to drive the stone apart. By lining several of these devices up across the face of a large stone and consecutively striking them with a hammer, the mason can (hopefully) get the stone to split where he needs it to.
While selecting material for a stone wall being built at a clients home, Barry spotted several graceful, curved pieces of old recycled Philadelphia granite curbing. Granite is known for being dense, durable and hard as, well, a rock. These particular pieces were over five feet in length and weighed over 1,500 pounds, but he knew that they would look great in the wall!
Each stone was carefully split using the ‘feather and wedge’ technique. Fortunately he had a hammer drill to bore into the stone, I cannot imagine how long it took when even that had to be done by hand. With patience and skill Barry split the stones into a manageable size that could be incorporated into the stone wall. After setting each piece on the prepared base, the dry stacked stone wall was built up around it.
After completion of the wall, the bed behind was prepared with soil and planted with a beautiful mix of shady plants including hydrangea,azalea, ferns and over 30 hostas! Look for photos of the wall construction under the Stonework section of our Portfolio and for photos of the finished bed under Planting.
While selecting material for a stone wall being built at a clients home, Barry spotted several graceful, curved pieces of old recycled Philadelphia granite curbing. Granite is known for being dense, durable and hard as, well, a rock. These particular pieces were over five feet in length and weighed over 1,500 pounds, but he knew that they would look great in the wall!
Each stone was carefully split using the ‘feather and wedge’ technique. Fortunately he had a hammer drill to bore into the stone, I cannot imagine how long it took when even that had to be done by hand. With patience and skill Barry split the stones into a manageable size that could be incorporated into the stone wall. After setting each piece on the prepared base, the dry stacked stone wall was built up around it.
After completion of the wall, the bed behind was prepared with soil and planted with a beautiful mix of shady plants including hydrangea,azalea, ferns and over 30 hostas! Look for photos of the wall construction under the Stonework section of our Portfolio and for photos of the finished bed under Planting.
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