When is a wall not a wall?

I am often asked "How do you know when a wall is well built" The four walls photographed below, have all been called nice walls. Nice is defined as "Giving pleasure or satisfaction, pleasant or attractive." A definition that fits all four, but only two are well built.

There are a few basic principles to building a sound, structurally integral dry stone wall, which can be seen here

 https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/07/07/garden/20110707-STONEWALL/s/20110707-STONEWALL-slide-VJYH.html

and here.

When we review the first four photos. All the joints are crossed in this wall. No small pinning stones placed in the face, or outside of the wall

Whereas, with this wall. The blue lines indicate where the joints are not crossed (running joints) Numerous small stones pushed into the face, which compromises the integrity of the wall.

Here the length of the two stones circled in blue are along the face of the wall and not into the center of the wall. The heart of the wall is filled with gravel which has little to no structural integrity. The red circle indicates the area of the next photo.

This large stone has been placed on its edge, the inside face is convex, so any weight against that face will push the stone out

The same wall but a different place, the large white stone also placed on its edge has fallen over resulting in this collapse. Notice all the gravel pouring from the middle.

 Once again with this wall (below) every joint is crossed, no silly little stones in the face. This wall is also aesthetically pleasing, large foundation stones grading to smaller stones at the top.

 Believe me, the sadness of viewing your collapsing poorly built wall, will long outlast the perceived euphoria of its inexpensive build.

 To recap. the first two photos show walls that have been built with pride for the craft of Dry Stone Walling

 

 

These two are built with nothing more than the thought of profit for the contractor.

Remember, it is not just the Wild West that is full of cowboys.

Speaking engagements

Two upcoming events, the first, on the 13th of June at 10 am. Michelle and I will be joining Thomas Christopher and Dave Tresselt on ICRV Radio to discuss Gardens and Stonework.

All you need is access to the Internet and you can listen from anywhere in the world.

On the 12th of July at 6.30pm I will be speaking at the New Canaan Public Library.

Pizza Oven

The outdoor wood fired oven was completed thirty months ago, but I've never updated the original posts from 2013.

I left off back in 2013 with the oven insulated with ceramic fiber and percrete. I then framed out the undercounter cupboard with metal sheeting and proceeded to clad in stone.

Because of the sloping ground, steps were needed to access the patio

Even more steps were needed on this side of the oven

The difficult part of the build was cutting the arch stones of the oven entrance to continue the circle of the central turret

The countertops are poured concrete, polished with an orbital wet grinder.

The string course is a handsome divide between the horizontal stonework of the oven and the vertical stones of the dome.

A small herb garden was built into the adjoining wall for pizza toppings.

Having wrapped the dome in string lights, the snow storm created this stunning effect.

Our garden gnome resides in his well lit alcove.

Where there's a flat surface, there's an invitation for container plantings.

but of course the main reason for the oven is to cook pizza

and bake bread.

A Successful Dry Stone Wall Building Workshop

Dry stone wall building workshop in Killingworth, CT,

We wrapped up a successful dry stone wall building  workshop at around 4:30, Sunday afternoon, and for those who  could spare a few minutes , capped it with a round of Sam Adams’ Belgian Session brew.  And what an excellent workshop it was! These workshop participants worked really well together; a model of teamwork  and remarkable in their intent on ‘getting-it-right’. Katherine, Larry, Dennis, Ciaran, Dave, and assistant, Jay, were extremely focused on quality over quantity and they should be proud of the results they achieved building a dry stone wall.


Students demonstrate teamwork while learning how to build a dry stone wall.

Comments from Participants:

“Thanks for a great learning experience.  You are a very good instructor, Andrew; your professional experience really helps you explain/demonstrate concepts that will trip up even experienced wall builders.  Three on one, never one on three!  Thanks again!”

“I really enjoyed the two days learning from my mistakes… I was thinking about what, for me, makes the process of laying stone so special…there is a deliberative creativity in choosing the right shape.  And, laying stone on stone, finding the balance and adjusting to find a solid fitting has a meditative aspect. Now, I am delighted to learn about the two separate walls', rising together in measured steps, and with the use of heart stones that are firmly and deliberately packed, are united and made strong enough to last the ages. What  a perfect metaphor for friendship, marriage…any relationship. Really quite lovely!  Thank you.”

Another dry stone wall building workshop is scheduled for Fall 2012, on October 13^th and 14^th, . Those interested in attending a workshop can contact the Workshop Administrator at mb@mbeckerco.com

Inspiration 1.

When asked what inspires me when designing and installing gardens, or designing and building stonework, my answer is invariably along the lines of, “…my surroundings and life experiences”. I have never really considered how unhelpful my stock answer might seem. It occurs to me that, without further explanation, my response must seem  glib and superficial.  To try and rectify that, I’ve put together a couple of posts focusing on my own particular creative process when creating gardens and stonework.  The following is an example from a recent project here in Connecticut.

The project involved the complete redesign of an Essex property which included several different garden areas. As always, we had taken an inventory of the existing plants throughout the garden areas that we were to redesign and recorded a quantity of Lysimachia clethroides (Gooseneck Loosestrife). This is a handsome plant with a vigorously colonizing habit, and though it didn’t fit into the perennial gardens schemes we were designing, I didn’t reject it completely.

                                                                                      
One component of the project was to create a pedestrian access leading from a large lawn area down a steep, lightly wooded bank to a river.  To create safe access to the water I built a series of stone steps, bridged by curved and switchbacked, mulched paths and ending with stone steps at the river’s edge. Fifty feet downstream from where the steps meet the river is a dam of some six feet in height.  The moving current  and the rushing sound of falling water attest to the existance of a waterfall, and though the fall cannot be seen, its presence is such an audible feature of the place that I wanted to find a subtle way to reference this in the dry landscape.

In the transitional woodland area, I planted hydrangeas and rhododendrons, limiting the color to a predominantly blue and white scheme. Vinca and pachysandra, salvaged from other garden areas, provided ground cover and erosion control, and, along the edges of the paths I decided to create a series of “ waterfalls” by planting the Lysimachia on the inside curve of each series of steps. The nodding, bending spires of white flowerheads, when seen in colonies, evoke whitecaps or, waterfalls and anyone familiar with this plant knows that  it won’t be long before drifts of blossoms cascade down the bank towards the rushing current.