A Brief Overview

Traditional Dry-Stack Stone Walls: Stone Masonry originated with dry-stacked stonework where the walls are carefully laid up without mortar. Gravity serves as the glue that holds everything together. Free-standing dry-stack stone walls are usually made larger at the base and then taper in slowly as the height increases. For absolutely no expense but the labor, farmers built miles upon miles of stone fences this way in Ireland and in the northeastern states.....Huntersville NC Retaining Walls, contractors, retaining walls, Huntersville NC wall builders, construction, installers, drainage systems, Huntersville NC soil erosion, lake walls, garden areas.

Many old Irish houses were built in a similar way. Where "mortar" was used, it was often merely mud or limestone plasters with little strength. The mortar functioned as caulking to stop the flow of air, rather than as cement to bond the stones together. Short, dry-stacked stone walls are especially ideal for landscaping projects. Taller walls require more skill and time. For more details on dry-stack stone walls, Traditional Mortared Stone Walls: Mortared stone walls evolved out of dry-stack stone work with the emergence of cement mortars. The first cements were made of burnt gypsum or lime mixed with water to make a paste with slight bonding capability. Stone walls still had to be built as carefully as they were without mortar. The cement paste just filled the gaps between the stones and cured to form a soft, rock-like substance.