The Owner Built Home & Homestead
Beginning, of a heavy series by Ken Kern, author of the Owner-built Home and Homestead. A collection of information on low-cost, simple and natural construction materials and techniques in home-building.
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STONE
MASONRY
Next to plain dirt, stone (or rock) is the least exploited
of all materials for building construction. And like
earth—which has been used for centuries in building
walls, floors and roofs—rock is most readily
available at little or no money cost. It can be gathered
(usually free for the hauling) from any streambed, from
abandoned mines and quarries, or from open fields and
embankment cuts. There is hardly a region in the country
that doesn't contain a substantial resource of building
stone.
Maps and aerial photographs of one's region are generally
available, and can be employed to advantage in locating
building stone. Agricultural soil maps are revealing and
thorough. Geologic maps indicate existing pit and quarry
sites as well as the type and structure of the rock. U.S.
Coast and Geodetic Survey maps cover nearly every section
of the country. They are especially helpful in locating
abandoned ore mines. Tailings from mines are among the best
sources of building stone. From aerial photos one can
locate such rock-laden features as excavations,
outcroppings, cliffs abandoned railroad and road cuts and
natural streambeds.
With such widespread availability, one asks, why is
building stone so rarely exploited by homebuilders? Because
building with stone is similar to building with earth:
There is a large "time" and "labor" factor involved in
gathering and placing the material into a wall. But the
average Owner-Builder's time and labor resource customarily
outweighs his capital resource, so this cannot always be
considered a serious handicap.
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