Rock wall Masonry, tips to get you started!

[MushuMckinney]

Hello - how do you do the top cap work? I am about to undertake a 35 foot wall between 12 inches and 30 inches tall. I want to make a nice flat cap on the top like yours. Can you lend some tips?

[bandwagonretards]

would this method be ok for building a wall of a house/structure? or should it be thicker or something?

[gaiatechnician]

@bandwagonretards You would have to check your local building laws.

depends on where you live. In BC Canada, rock is just for show but in less earthquake prone areas, rules might be different. In most countries, 2 walls, with an air gap or insulation between and wall ties to hold them together would be be the minimum standard for the outer walls of a house if you used rock as the outermost wall.

[TheWICCACHANNEL]

okay my back is screwed but im using small stones,do i need big stones in plac of a concrete foundation?im building aka finishing my house

[gaiatechnician]

@TheWICCACHANNEL You can email me. So much depends on local conditions, your frost heave conditions and soil, etc than it is not possible to advise properly with so little information.

[RockStarMasonry]

nice wall i liked you video keep up the good work

[gaiatechnician]

Mortar works. You could go 6 to one with coarse sand , go cheap and use a dry mix. (like I show in the video. Or you could try lime mortar. (be careful, it is more caustic than cement).

Hydrated Lime (type s lime) and sand with (I guess, a 4 to 1 mix) and do a wetter mix. Lime will not set so hard and it takes quite a while to set. Maybe 1 and a half weeks this time of year.! (and it keeps getting harder for much longer. The advantage of lime is that it is self healing. Hope that helps

[viper8red]

One does not simply trowel their way into Mordor!

[gaiatechnician]

@viper8red People make fun of how I say mortar all the time.

Thanks.

[canuck7777777]

I'm making a field stone patio. The rocks I found range from thick to thin and many rocks only have one flat side. I made a solid compacted gravel base. Instead of using rock dust to level the stones, which may not compact evenly, what do you think of the idea of using mortar instead? Kind of like making a stone wall, but flat on the ground. I know it may crack with time, but I'm going to fill in the joints with a mixture of pebble stone and polymer sand so it won't show. Comments welcome!

[NeihuDog]

Dear gaiatechnician,

If I wanted to build a stone house/cottage on vancouver island or in the gulf islands any idea of the costs involved or where i might look to get an idea? Would love to do much of the work my self, but thus far lack the skills. Thanks

[swordofscripture]

gaia, if i wanted to build a stone ring for a fire pit, would you reccomend that i build a CMU blockon a concrete footer on the inside ,and then face the outside with a stone veneer , or just do stone on the inside and out with a mortar center? also, would you cap the top with a smooth hewn stone, like a flagstone, or leave it a finished concrete top? thanks!

[barneycelt]

Fair play bri. If it was me i would tend to use more stone and no cement, using lime or drystone would give a more pleasing finish but i understand you go for what the client wantsHow long u been in canada for? I'm a scottish mason about to move to new zealand but like the thought of canada too. Is there plenty work for masons over there?

[gaiatechnician]

There is plenty of work here right now. In 6 months who knows?

In Canada, this is the only place that you can work year round without a tarp and heaters. There are companies here who specialize in drystone (and do beautiful work) but I do not know how busy they are. I was in New Zealand last year but I did not see that much rockwork there. Most of it is in a UK style. Here, a mixture of nationalitys and many styles. Very little brick and block on vancouver island. Lots in eastern Canada.

[barneycelt]

doesnt look very structurally sound. stones should be laid with lenth into the wall and not along it. this is called face walling and not a good practice, also using a lot of cement in the middle of the wall instead of stones interlocking with the opposite.

[gaiatechnician]

Some rocks did cross. If structural soundness was such a big issue nobody would ever use riverrocks. They are like marbles.

Its about 2 ft high, on very stoney ground and sure there is a pretty heavy guy there but it can probably take his weight. Why over engineer things? It is just a low wall and the people have their financial limitations. And there is the carbon footprint to think about too. I use the local stuff wherever possible. Transporting rock is very expensive.

[mydogscuba]

Good job sir, strong and good looking too. I mean the wall sir.

[brazilfriends]

I am a very good stone venner mason and I am looking for a Job...I live inte the US

[wild059090]

What mix was that?

[stoneman75]

brian, bloody hell....how are you. Long time mate, scotty....remember me from workin with bob in vic., im workin duncan lots these days..... Nice job on the vid

[gaiatechnician]

Hi Scotty. I remember, you always did a classy job on the faux rock. I was talking to Mick tonite (keeping tabs on u). Are you really 75? You didnt look a day over 42 when I saw U last. Crummy weather, eh?

[jimmytwostones]

Interesting, a few two many running joints for me but nice job. Would have liked it more with the joins raked back and cleaned. A stone cap would have finnished it off too.

[NatureProductions]

beautiful

[bricky99]

does that work out about the same as ours,do you have penant stone over with you we have used 40 tonne in the last two weeks.

[bricky99]

how much do you charge per square metre we get £60 in uk.

[gaiatechnician]

Currently it is $14 to $20 per sq ft without getting too fancy. (This includes rocks). I believe prices in Vancouver are higher. In interior bc the prices are much higher but the weather is really hot and the season very short. Prices have trippled in about 5 years due to the boom.

[bricky99]

where is your bond then if you do it all year round you have just put them everywhere there's no uniform to it

[gaiatechnician]

It is just a style that suits the rocks. Half was round river rocks and river rock does not look that great if it is chipped into rectangles and squares. And all the rock was pulled out of the ground at the site. So why take 3 times as long to get an unnatural effect?

With cut granite or sandstone, different styles might be in order.

[ofmay]

Thanks for the mortar tip. It is dryer than I thought would be good.

[ofmay]

Why no rock in the top part?

[gaiatechnician]

You can have rock on top, the lady wanted a concrete cap as a giant seat.

[bricky99]

no offence nate but you obviously haven't done alot of stonework

[gaiatechnician]

Nice try Bud, I am not offended. I do it year round and I learnt much of it from a 3rd generation Portuguese mason and his da. And there are about 5 guys working in victoria right now who laid their first rocks with me.