Stone Walls

Stone Walls: A well built stonewall stands quietly as an enduring testament to the care, patience, and hard work of its creator.  When built correctly, a dry laid stonewall can stand the test of centuries. With this in mind, stone walls can take many different shapes and have many different purposes.  While there are many different types of walls and stone to use, each can become a fine display of good stone masonry.

Retaining walls are a large segment of dry laid and mortared stonewalls.  Their purpose can be as simple as containing a small flower garden or as grand a task as supporting a large parapet.  The choice of stone for a retaining wall can greatly affect its appearance and its longevity.  Most of the walls seen here are constructed with Catskill Mountain Fieldstone, which is local to the Hudson Valley region of upstate New York (Most of the stone to be discussed on this website is local to this region).  It has a rustic look, and can be difficult to work with because of its irregular and rounded nature. Dry laid stone walls are built to allow a certain amount of movement without adversely affecting the integrity of the wall.

Adding mortar to a retaining wall, can increase its life span in certain applications, and can certainly change the look.  Mortared walls require a sturdy footing and are not forgiving of any movement.

Freestanding stone walls are also very common.  Stones cleared from fields often became walls marking land boundaries and walls to enclose fields.  Many of these walls can be seen and enjoyed today, running through the woods, long ago grown up from the fields that were once cleared.  Freestanding walls can be dry laid or mortared, with the same principles as mentioned above, to be considered.

Stonewalls are limited only by your imagination.  If you can dream it, we can build it.