The Owner Built Home & Homestead
(Page 5 of 15)
To give you a better appreciation of this optimum
proportioning, make a trial mix in the kitchen, using
oven-dried sand in a measuring cup: 12 oz. sand; 4 oz.
cement; 2 oz, fireclay; 5 oz. water.
RELATED CONTENT
Buying or building a small home is a great way to significantly reduce your energy use, and you don...
The Healthy Building Network’s Pharos Project aims to tap the collective knowledge of green buildin...
There are thousands upon thousands of abandoned farmhouses scattered throughout the U.S., at bargai...
I'm renting an old Finnish homestead near Nolalu, Ontario....
A community canning center is the answer....
The actual process of laying stone consists, first, of
spreading a uniform layer of mortar, then forcing stone
into its bed (a bed can also refer to the top or bottom of
a stone). The mortar should be stiff enough to support the
stone without letting it touch the stone underneath.
A bedding trowel is used by stone masons for spreading
large mortar beds. Unlike a brick mason's sharp-pointed
trowel, the bedding trowel has a rounded end. Two sizes are
commonly used. The 2 1/2 cubic foot detachable steel drum
concrete-mortar mixer sold by Sears is entirely sufficient
for either small or extensive masonry work.
After a course—or layer—of stone is laid, the
wall behind the facing stone must be carried up, to give
support to the face. This is termed backing and
usually consists of a cheaper class of masonry, or poured
concrete, bonded directly to the face. Bondstones
act as ties, bridging face to backing. Metal
strips—masonry ties—are also commonly used to
tie the face to the backing.
The simplest, fastest, and in all respects neatest type of
stone masonry pattern for the Owner-Builder to work is
called "cyclopean" masonry. Various sizes and shapes of
stone are used in cyclopean masonry, with no respect to
regular courses. Joints—spaces between
stones—look best cut deep. A 1/2-wide
tucking trowel is used for this purpose. Master
stone masons can be rightfully proud of their time-consumed
"varicose vein" joints, but the effort required is not
compensated for in the final result.
There are several design features of cyclopean masonry that
are essential to wall that "reads" well. First of all it is
essential to break the joints. Then too, rock sizes should
be well proportioned and graded from the small "spans"
(rocks filled into spaces too small for regular sizes) to a
larger size stone that is proportional to the size of the
wall. Triangular-shaped stone, or long sliver-like
specimens should be placed so as to give a directional
vitality to the wall. A triangular stone with the apex
pointing down gives a more dynamic impression than if it
points up. A common error most amateur stone masons make is
to congregate the larger size rock near the base course and
finish the upper portion with progressively smaller and
smaller sizes. This is no design or style—looks like
the builder ran out of good material.
Page:
<< Previous 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 | 5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
Next >>
