The Owner Built Home & Homestead
(Page 2 of 15)
Perhaps a more pertinent answer to this query lies in the
fact that stone masonry technology—more than any of
the other building trade skills—has been
traditionally clothed in secrecy. Carl Schmidt, in his
little book on Cobblestone Architecture,
illustrates this point:
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Several very old men, who as little boys saw cobblestone
masons at work, readily recall the jealousies among the
masons. Whenever a visitor appeared while they were
working, they would stop work, hide their tools and do
something else until the visitor went on his way. The fact
that these men succeeded very well in keeping their own
methods a secret, explains the different mannerisms found
in the method of laying up the walls.
Through the centuries stone masons also have succeeded in
maintaining a respectable, highly paid and somewhat
apostolic status in the building industry. Their "trade
secrets" are maintained to this day, and include such
important items as an intimate knowledge of rock, the
correct mortar proportions and use of auxilary materials,
the proper selection of tools and organization of work
procedure and—finally—an esthetic awareness of
the rock in place: The total effect and composition of the
finished wall.
Intensive research on stone masonry reveals that no
pertinent literature exists on the subject that is
applicable to the unskilled Owner-Builder. Stone masons
maintain their closed shop. In this chapter an attempt is
made to close the enigmatic gap.
With fear of over-simplifying the stone masonry skill it
should be stated that the foremost prerequisite of any
mason worth his mortar is an intimate—nearly
intuitive—knowledge of rock. Pick up a rock. Where
the inexperienced observes color, weight and form, the
experienced stone mason notices bedding, seams, rift and
grain. He first visualizes the rock in place, laid on its
natural bedding. Bedding is recognized by a
granular change in color or texture. It is mostly prevalent
in sedimentary rock, where changing conditions of
deposition of sediment under water occur.
Bedding joints are horizontal, but seams are
generally vertical, to the rock surface. Seams are regular
in limestone and irregular in granite. They occur in rock
as a result of compression and tension stresses in earth
forms. The direction of greatest ease of splitting in a
rock is called the rift . It may be parallel to
the seam. A second, more minor, direction of splitting is
called the grain. Only the most experienced mason
can detect grain direction.
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