what you might not know about local building stones for sale starts with Looking at building stone as a great way to study local geology.
Have you ever checked the building stones of neighboring villages and towns? In many settlements, rocks from the local area and elsewhere can be easily examined, expanding our knowledge and enjoyment of geology. Stone buildings, especially the older ones, reflect the local and regional geology in a unique way.
The type of stone used varied over the centuries as transportation improved and new uses were introduced. Your local geology is a good starting point for building stone use – areas with different rock types are likely to indicate different building stone uses.
A local church is a good place to start because older churches, in particular, have often been changed many times and so can be built with several different building stones.
Moreover, churches were lucrative enough to import stone from distant places for aesthetic purposes, but in local houses the owners could often only afford better quality spare stone.
Around Taunton, where I studied building stones, some churches have 5 or 6 different building lithologies. A different building stone is often used for walls than that used as cladding on a building.
The latter would be a better-quality stone that could be easily cut and shaped – usually in the South West this would be Ham Hill Stone or Bath Stone. If the quality of the stone is poor, the walls are built from gravel, or if the quality is better, from crushed stone. In addition to buildings, walls of all kinds attract attention.
They could, for example, be all that remains of the old system of field boundaries now surrounded by town buildings. On a recent OUGS field trip to Teignmouth limestone and granite, with many interesting features, were seen on the railway sea wall.
For the identification of building stone, all types of stone in the field are used. Identifying and recording local building stone can provide a valuable and interesting addition to your geological studies.
Research and preparation of building stone guides has the potential to be an interesting project for OUGS members, useful for visitors and future generations of geologists! Does your local village/town have any old buildings and is it an area with varied geology? Maybe there is room to build a stone flyer or path? I envision an initial period of research, then some fieldwork, perhaps an OUGS event to track the route, and finally putting together a guidebook.
If you recognize a possible subject location for a building stone project and need help or advice, please contact a committee member.
When gardening or farming on a budget, it’s smart to take advantage of local materials. I made trellises, chicken coops and mini greenhouses from salvaged materials. Similarly, using local stone is a great way to build things.
The big advantage of local stones is that you don’t have to pay for them. You may have to shell out money for mortars, but there are rocks everywhere.
You may need to collect stones for a while before you start, or build with what you have and add to it in the future. Ready?
What kind of things can you build with local stones?
It’s easiest to build small things like retaining walls. If you want to make some permanent raised beds, then rocks are fine.
In fact, rock beds work well in any growing environment. Gardeners in hot, dry climates find that raised stone beams help retain water. Meanwhile, northern gardeners won’t need to replace wooden beds every few years.
Wooden raised beds can withstand heavy impacts on hard surfaces. Heavy snowfalls are devastating, as are extreme swings between warm and cold temperatures. As for the stones, all you have to worry about is re-grouting them from time to time if any of the rocks shake.
Local stones are also ideal for permanent fire pits and garden benches. Use them to make a solid base for a stove or a support structure for water.
If you don’t want to spend months carving stones together, look for larger stones. You will also need smaller pebbles to fill in the gaps between the larger ones.
I suggest gathering a large collection of stones of various sizes. That way, you’ll have something to work with and won’t get frustrated.
Think of this as a stone version of the extensive LEGO collection. It’s nice to have more peace of mind than you think you’ll need.
The types of stones you use will of course depend on where you live. You can have large stones, granite, limestone or even sandstone. Each of them serves a different purpose and is well suited for the construction of different construction projects.
Are you building a wall just to border your garden area? Then head down to your local river or stream and start collecting large, flat rocks. It can be either limestone or filler stone, but they can have different types of composition, depending on your location.
Some people prefer to build with sandstone because of its durability. This type of stone is ideal for dry, hot climates, but not for humid areas. Additionally, it’s better if you use it for perimeter walls rather than raised beds.
This is because sandstone absorbs water very easily. And what are their raised beds full of? Compost-rich soil that needs to retain moisture to be fertile.
The water you use to keep plants hydrated doesn’t play well with sand. Instead, wet stone turns into a breeding ground for mold and bacteria. There are two different ways to hold stones together: dry fit (also called “dry lay”) and mortar.
As you might have guessed, the traditional method simply involved stacking local stones on top of each other. They don’t have any kind of glue or paste to hold them in place.
Instead, choose shapes that will fit perfectly. Then lay them on top of each other until they reach the height you are looking for.
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