Masonry Walling Basics

An introduction into traditional Masonry Walling. This video is a useful guide to anyone walling with reclaimed stone and wants to learn the proper technique handed down the generations.

[@johnparinellojr.2035]

Masonry’s brought a lot of joy to my life. There’s something almost divine about stone work, laying bricks and block are enjoyable, but nothing quite compares to working with stone.

[@AfricanSouthernCross]

Soo much to learn from these old masters…..thank you for uploading this, it’s invaluable!

[@drystone-tv]

Glad it was helpful!

[@turksification]

Absolutely fantastic Cuthbert. Brilliant to see your Dad at work here passing on hints and tips. You’re a true craftsman, keep up the grand work

[@drystone-tv]

Thank you! It's fun putting this work out there, thanks for the nice comment.

[@jeffbaker655]

Great to see a true old school mason,beautiful job and thank you for sharing your know how, money cant buy what you have. All the best to you mate from Aussie.

[@drystone-tv]

I'll pass on your comment to my dad! Thanks for watching. We'll get some more videos out soon of some old school masonry tips. cheers

[@davidbob1944]

I’m a stonemason from north wales Id love to come up your way to do some stonework keep up the great videos

[@almusti]

What a legend and a craftsman. Love the accent. Thanks for the video.

[@philmatthews3537]

Excellent video, thank you.

[@davesmith4130]

Great video, thanks for sharing! Always fun to watch a skilled worker doing what they do best.

[@christopherlynch4347]

Very therapeutic

[@sofakingmegamagaitgagsyerm909]

Great video.

[@J.HarveyStonework]

Really enjoyed this video! Great stuff!

[@drystone-tv]

Cheers!

[@MrBeiragua]

I guess the turning to find out the way it "wants to be down" has to do with which position the stone has more mass near the down face, which makes it more stable, since the mass of a stone is not smoothly distributed on it's volume. It probably wobbles a lot more when it has the heavier side up, that's why throwing it around is a good way to feel the right side.

[@davebloke829]

Nice one, my first two trowels were WHS, the good old ones before they went flimsy, now I use W Rose, lovely work fella!

[@drystone-tv]

Thanks for the comment! Cant beat old tools, there's just no comparison now.

[@badgoy8439]

This is an excellent video. Does anyone have more information about the "pinning" that he talks about at 4:55? edit: I found a comment already discussing this so I'll just copy and paste. >the pin is pushed into the mortar bed until it binds with both stones. >Also as you build the wall up during the day, more and more weight, the wet mortar can squeeze out, throwing the stone out of true and creating sliders, kicks in the wall etc. The pin stops this happening, as the mortar sets.

[@harry.godwinson1]

good job fella. liked and subscribed. i'm a bricklayer myself. done a bit of stonework in my time. takes a bit more thinking about.always looks good though

[@pranotostb]

Good informasiont thanks.

[@bigpaddy8363]

I like that mortar Bag 👍

[@dibraniuk]

Good video! My problem is different: stones were not in raws with fixed hight in my old stone house which had collapsed same 10 years ago is not all lost though as bits of walls still standing and now got to raise it up as before. Job no 1 need finds an old stone master and possibly learn along the old trade and restore the crumbled house once again. ...

[@DANHAMMER1990]

I'm a third generation stonemason who works primarily with reclaimed stone... I absolutely loved watching this video.. there are so few people who can do this kind of stonework work and who know how it should be done... unfortunately it is a dying trade.. Also he reminds me of my grandad... has the exact same dialect and accent... what is the area you are in?

[@drystone-tv]

Cheers mate! We are based in the Holme Valley near Huddersfield. Ace that you're carrying on the family tradition. I enjoyed making this video with mi dad, it's important to get this knowledge out there for the next generation of masons!

[@jimcameron4672]

Excellent, very informative

[@georgebarker3356]

Think I met you at Adam Henson's Cotswold farm about 13 years ago doing a Drystone wall competition with your son and daughter,,,

[@drystone-tv]

Son replying here! That was a great competition! Shame there's not much happening in the cotswolds anymore . Hopefully they get that comp going again one day.

[@georgegunn6664]

Good stuff !

[@kettch42]

This knowledge is treasure and thanks for sharing it. Can I make a suggestion?-- after editing the video, export the audio as a file, bring it into Audacity (free audio editing software), and raise the volume of the speech parts using the envelope tool. I bet it would take 5 minutes to learn, and 20 minutes to do. Then import it back into the video and mute the original audio tracks. If you work in WAV files, you won't lose any quality. There might be a better way, but I'm only a hobbyist. [edit, the audio is much better in this video. I think it's only in the left speaker though?]

[@drystone-tv]

Thanks for the advice! Very much a beginner here and figuring it out video by video.!

[@tyfe]

nice one cuthbert! will be using some tips here up on the house today. thanks to your dad too. Can also only hear this through the left channel.

[@kashi2012]

I loved watching this (even though I often do the same but with a different stone!). I might try shaping a trowel to your style & see how I get on with it. Every day is a learning day! Interested to see that you do not fill as you go .. is there a reason that you prefer that? I assume that you fill with stone?

[@drystone-tv]

So this wall is being build with a cavity so there won't be any fill, the stone will be attached to the block with stainless steel building ties - common practice here in Yorkshire to combat damp. If we were building a solid wall we would definitely fill as we go. Glad to hear you enjoyed the video! Cheers.

[@kettch42]

So a pin is a piece in the back that bridges the gap between the stone below and the stone above that normally would be filled with mortar?

[@drystone-tv]

Yes , kind of, the pin is pushed into the mortar bed until it binds with both stones.

[@jonb12321]

Also as you build the wall up during the day, more and more weight, the wet mortar can squeeze out, throwing the stone out of true and creating sliders, kicks in the wall etc. The pin stops this happening, as the mortar sets.

[@stuckmannen3876]

I have a question: I am going to build a small log "shed" on my grass lawn 3 meters x 2 meters... I want to make a dry wall underneath... how far down do you think i need to dig to make it stable and not "sink into the lawn"? :)

[@drystone-tv]

You'll have to take all the top soil off for a start , so about 20cm . Then the depth of your footing depends on the type of ground under the soil. If it is sandy or clay you'll want to dig deeper than if it is good subsoil or rocky. If you're on good ground and there aren't any problems with frost in your area then a trench 20cm deep in your lawn should suffice for a foundation.

[@bricklayersworldwithandy6277]

Plenty of old vintage WHS for sale on eBay, fetch top money these days.

[@drystone-tv]

Huddersfield Market occasionally has cheap ones. 👍

[@bricklayersworldwithandy6277]

@@drystone-tv 👍

[@danielcunningham2394]

Thank you I have wanted to find a real mason since I was an apprentice back when moby dick was a minnow.

[@billybulmer7386]

Whereabouts are you working? The views look lovely.

[@drystone-tv]

We're in West Yorkshire near the Peak District National Park. Lovely part of the world!

[@jacobmiller5834]

So what are we building here?

[@drystone-tv]

Rebuilding a ruined barn to use as a cattle shed.

[@hankmeg1]

For the love of god buy the poor boy a new coat!!😂

[@dkaloupis75]

What language is that?

[@drystone-tv]

English.