Stone Masonry
Finally Fixed the Carriage House Rotten Window Trim
Ready your party horns because we finally fixed the rotten window trim on one of our most prominent Carriage House windows. One of the three windows we see every single day. It only took us seven years. What DO we do with our time? Here is the window in question. You can see the rotten trim on the bottom left-hand corner of the window. The window trim also doesn’t match the trim on this side of this building, and was likely installed when the storm window was added. So, this task should be pretty straightforward, right? Take off the old trim. Cut, nail, and paint the new trim. Bada-bing, bada-boom.…
Reconstructing a Fieldstone Wall: Part 4, Reusing Old Footings
Welcome back to our Reconstructing a Fieldstone Wall series. This is part 4, and we will be discussing the pros and cons of reusing the existing wall footings to rebuild this old fieldstone wall. You’d think this would be the one topic that would be all pros, no cons. But have you met me? I’m not a Negative Nelly. I’m more of a Realistic Rhonda. On this topic, though, my husband would probably say I’m an Obsessive Ophelia. (My actual name is Annisa, in case you didn’t know.) To recap: We’re reconstructing our low fieldstone walls. I do a mini recap because some people come in mid-story, and if I…
How to Reuse Old Lime Mortar On Your Stone Foundation
If you have a historic stone foundation that needs repointing, you’ve probably already figured out that you’ve drawn the short straw and have to chip out the old lime mortar from the foundation to repoint with fresh lime mortar. If you’re wondering how to reuse that old lime mortar to make new lime mortar, or even if you can and should, you’ve come to the right place. I have some recent experience with that. Someone has to be the test subject. Might as well be me. Important consideration for reusing old lime mortar: Old lime mortar can only be reused as sand. Over time, lime mortar essentially turns into limestone,…
Reconstructing a Fieldstone Wall: Part 2, Demo
Welcome back to our Reconstructing a Fieldstone Wall series. Today, we’re talking about the fieldstone wall demo. Unfortunately, we have to take the wall apart before any reconstruction can happen. I’m using the word reconstruct instead of rebuild intentionally, as we are not starting this wall from scratch. We are using the existing wall footings, the original stone, and a historically comparable lime mortar to bring this fieldstone wall back to life. It’s a small nuance in terminology, but one that I think is important in the realm of historic restoration and preservation. That doesn’t mean we won’t make some design tweaks in the service of putting our stamp on…
Reconstructing a Fieldstone Wall: Part 1, The Plan
Grab your popcorn! A new fieldstone wall series starts right now. We are reconstructing an extremely old fieldstone wall and taking you along for the ride. You get all the perks without having to do any of the work. You’re welcome. Where Is This Fieldstone Wall? The front of our 1780s property is framed by a low fieldstone wall. Low stone walls are common in our area, where old properties had to be cleared to farm the land. The rocks the farmers pulled out of the ground had to go somewhere. They were used for foundations, stone buildings, cart tracks, and walls or fences. And let me tell you, our…
