Quarried stone is usually extremely expensive. I was talking to a guy the other day who wanted to build a stone wall. He was quoted $350 US per cubic foot. Stone is hard to transport and hard to work with. It has negligible R value.
Wood, on the other hand, is relatively inexpensive, easy to work with, easy to transport, stores CO2, and is renewable.
However, the stone wall will long outlast the wooden fence (the modern alternate). In York, England the mediaeval stone walls sit on top of the Roman stone walls.
I remember my grandparent’s home in Baltimore, Maryland had a stone facade in front. My thought about it then and now was/is that it was pleasing to the eye to look at.
But more than that, whenever I see broadcast tv news of the aftermath of wildfires on communities, always seemed to be shown is the total destruction of one or more homes. And more often than not, or so it would seem, in that coverage is shown a part of the structure still left standing — the stone chimney; a testament to the durability of the construction material used: in this case, stone!
“The Flintstones” (the show) apparently got it right! They were, after all, known as “the modern Stone Age family.”
One obvious use for stone might be to form a pad foundation by way of, say, the posts in a post-and-beam timber-frame building (as per Walter Segal, etc.). This might avoid some of the (otherwise ubiquitous) use of poured concrete foundations for pads/trenches/slabs. Does anyone know whether anyone offers such a solution (e.g., stone pad foundations) in the UK?
A wonderful material, I miss the days of detailing stone school buildings in the Peak District (Derbyshire UK). The builders there had a great knowledge & experience of the material too. Sadly the skills tend to stay where the material is and at best it appears we end up with facades and localised features to keep the cost down.
Quarried stone is usually extremely expensive. I was talking to a guy the other day who wanted to build a stone wall. He was quoted $350 US per cubic foot. Stone is hard to transport and hard to work with. It has negligible R value.
Wood, on the other hand, is relatively inexpensive, easy to work with, easy to transport, stores CO2, and is renewable.
And if the stone comes from off island there’s the problem and cost of getting it there
However, the stone wall will long outlast the wooden fence (the modern alternate). In York, England the mediaeval stone walls sit on top of the Roman stone walls.
Call it Vegan Concrete and everyone will want some
I remember my grandparent’s home in Baltimore, Maryland had a stone facade in front. My thought about it then and now was/is that it was pleasing to the eye to look at.
But more than that, whenever I see broadcast tv news of the aftermath of wildfires on communities, always seemed to be shown is the total destruction of one or more homes. And more often than not, or so it would seem, in that coverage is shown a part of the structure still left standing — the stone chimney; a testament to the durability of the construction material used: in this case, stone!
“The Flintstones” (the show) apparently got it right! They were, after all, known as “the modern Stone Age family.”
I'm intrigued by the concept however; the Radon issue is one to be considered.
Excellent article. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0P_VANDQ-k for a very good session on this subject from ACAN, including Steve Webb and others.
One obvious use for stone might be to form a pad foundation by way of, say, the posts in a post-and-beam timber-frame building (as per Walter Segal, etc.). This might avoid some of the (otherwise ubiquitous) use of poured concrete foundations for pads/trenches/slabs. Does anyone know whether anyone offers such a solution (e.g., stone pad foundations) in the UK?
A wonderful material, I miss the days of detailing stone school buildings in the Peak District (Derbyshire UK). The builders there had a great knowledge & experience of the material too. Sadly the skills tend to stay where the material is and at best it appears we end up with facades and localised features to keep the cost down.