What We Do
Quite simply, we do good work.
Skill and Dedication for Over 25 Years
We pride ourselves on being dedicated and diligent craftsman, with over 25 years of stonework experience. And because we are a small business, our customers matter to us – and we go above and beyond to provide our customers with the best product and service.
Simply put, we build anything you can build out of stone. We hand-shape natural stone into beautiful, functional landscapes and structures. But, because we really do care so deeply about the projects we create, this means that we are involved in every aspect of your project, to be sure each detail matches our customer’s vision. We help design a beautiful design that will last, and we help choose the best stone for each individual project. We then shape and lay the stone to create landscapes that are structurally flawless and match the beauty of the client’s vision. In the end, we feel good leaving the job site knowing we poured our hearts into every aspect of the project.
Our Specialties
We specialize in traditional, dry stack stone walls, stone patios, stone staircases, and stone veneer, but we have experience in a wide variety of projects. We offer free estimates to each potential client so that you can get to know us, and so that we can help you understand all the details of how we will bring your vision to life.
- Construction of traditional dry stack decorative stone walls
- Design and construction of retaining walls, both small- and large-scale
- Natural stone staircases, stone patios, and stone veneer
Why Stonework?
Our clients often ask us about how this entire process works – and we feel a basic understanding of our work will help you make the best choice for your home. We have unfortunately been called to many jobs as a result of someone doing work that wasn’t built correctly and ultimately didn’t last. And we are also aware that choosing stonework over other materials can add an additional cost to your budget. But stone is also an incredibly durable material, and, if built correctly, your stone structure should last so that future generations of your family can admire it and benefit from its dependable structure. So, why stonework?
If you’ve ever been lucky to walk the fields of the United Kingdom, or visit the many castles and churches all over Europe, you’ll see that stone truly can be built to last for hundreds and thousands of years. One of the techniques used in the majority of walls across Europe is the dry stack method. The dry stack building method evolved in Europe before 3000 BC, and the basic standards have gone unchanged for thousands of years. (If something works, why change it?) Dry stack walls are constructed using only stone, with no mortar to bind them together. And dry stack walls can last for generations.
We proudly continue the tradition of dry stack masonry and usually use no mortar or cement in our walls. Often, clients are hesitant about this idea at first – because it sounds a bit risky to build a wall with “nothing holding it together”. Particularly in these mountains, where our walls literally need to hold up the mountainside, you want a wall that will hold together.
What’s important to understand is that dry-stack walls gain their stability through the careful selection, shaping, and construction of interlocking stones, which create a loadbearing facade, or face wall. The face wall is reinforced by a unified back wall, and packed or “hearted”, with stacked stone in between to tie everything together. The finished product might only show a two-foot facade of stone – already an impressive structure. But behind these two feet of stone are sometimes several feet more of interlocking stones that are literally so heavy that even these powerful mountains can’t move them.
Additionally, a dry-stack wall is built without mortar but with correct drainage built in to the wall itself – so that water (one of the most powerful forces of nature) isn’t constantly trying to push through the wall, but is instead redirected down through the stonework so that it can continue to move down the mountainside without taking your wall with it. Dry stack walls drain naturally, and do not require weeping holes the way mortared walls do. Mortared walls will eventually crack and break when shifting or settling occurs, while dry stack walls are flexible by nature, and are unaffected by minor settling, or shifting of the surrounding earth. A dry-stacked wall’s flexibility makes it far less susceptible than a mortared wall to frost heaves, and drastic temperature changes.
Nature is a powerful force – but a correctly-built stone structure is designed to work with nature instead of against it. Our walls are made of stones that are hand selected, shaped, chiseled, and stacked one at a time, designed to work with the nature and blend in to its surroundings.The result is a timeless look that is both rustic and refined, beautiful and impressive – as if it has been there for thousands of years.
Our Mission
Let’s Build Something Together
We offer free consultations and estimates to each of our potential clients. We would love to help you build whatever you can imagine. Please complete the form below and we’ll be in touch.
