Your perfectionism continues to amaze me, in an era when most would just patch up the bits that are bulging and leg it before Storm Mephistopheles dumps a year's rain on the Pennines in one night and washes the whole house quietly down the hill. The tips & demonstrations are really useful for those of us with a few hundred yards of dilapidated walls that keep sighing and collapsing. And they're made all the more interesting by your gentle self-effacing humour, especially when you struggle to find a way to sign off from each segment. "That's drystone walling for you ..."
I don’t think it’s perfectionism. When these boys have something to “good enough”, they are done with it. Their definition of good enough is a reflection of their knowledge and skill. They are REAL tradesmen. Lots of people talk a good game, but they’re “contractors” or “remodeling specialists”. Those types are more sales than craft. They are hacks and mostly they know it. They won’t look you straight in the eye. These guys do a good job, let their work speak for them and sleep well at night.
@@procrastinator41 But if the tradesman's threshold for 'good enough' is very high, then from the perspective of the layman they come across as perfectionistic - an epithet that wins them an excellent professional reputation.
Just stumbled across your videos and love it. I'll be doing a lot of this work at my house, several retaining walls, a fence wall maybe, and other things. It is definitely a lost and dying art, one that we should ressurect.
Awesome.! Trail building is a serious thing over there I hear! Cheers for the feedback , let me know if there's anything else you wanna know about retaining walls 🧱
@@drystone-tv how would you go about repairing a wall that has undergone a lot of erosion to the soil under the wall? Thats something i keep running into on the trails ive worked on
If, as you claim, you’re all sad bastards, then I qualify as a sad bitchard! I adore watching you work with stone, and though it was a bit dizzying, learnt a few things about a chisel and stonework. An absolutely magnificent magic of passion allied with professionalism. Well done. I decided in my next life I’m going to be a Dry Stone Waller. And ta mucho for the great music accompaniment and brilliant sense of humour… thumbs up in the mirror of life to you both.⚒️⚒️
Thank you so much for the response. It is very appreciated. I probably should do this by email, and not get lost in the weeds with you over such an esoteric topic in the comments section…LOL…But I will give the first round a shot, and if you are still up for it, keeping it public allowing others to join in and ask questions if they have them… Validation again, your work, in the style you do it, is brilliant…!!!...This side discussion has little to do with that for anyone reading this. So if some DIYer in the U.K. wishes to emulate your style and level of detail they WILL NOT GO WRONG…if still building in the U.K. region… The “Elephant” I speak of is an issue only in areas where locked tectonic plates release only every few centuries. The U.K. might get a R4 every two years and ashlar stonework can endure this with only little issues that are repairable. As you stated your work would have no issue lasting 150 years and I suggest much longer when it's performed to the level of expertise I see in your videos…Again well done! However, the U.K. can see higher Richter scale tectonic events, and that speaks to what the “Elephant” is all about. It is also for folks that move to an area with common seismic activity, (like any place with mountains or on the Pacific rim area in general) from a place like the U.K., and think that laying ashlar stone will be good and stable…It won’t compare to the cyclopean and related self-draining and tectonic stable styles of laying dry stone… One of the topics, those with more “gray hairs” and time on their hands talk about, is the fact the Internet spreads out some great information (and not so good also…as I see a lot of bad stone work too!) However, the DIYer following along may not understand the nuance of the craft or that all styles of stonework do not work in all areas, and certainly do not have the same level of stability over time. This is particularly true in seismically active areas… I could keep rambling but this comment is already too long…LOL…so I will leave you (and readers) with a bit more info to look at for curiosity's sake and consideration. Googling the terms below (not all in English) that are in quotes, then going to “images” will demonstrate some of the more tectonically stable and way more durable stone laying styles than “ashlar” affords us. These are the styles I have typically worked in unless doing a historic restoration of the original work. Some of these, though rare, can be found in the British Isles. They often represent the oldest stonework to be found there because of their inherent greater stability. “Cyclopean Masonry” - This is the most ancient style of stonework we have on the planet. “谷積” - This is a more refined style of cyclopean masonry called…Valley Stacking…In English, it is often called…Herringbone Masonry. “亀甲積み” - Depending on the region of Japan…Turtle pile stacking…goes by different names and refinement of the method. It is one of my favorites if the correct type of cobblestone is available. 矢羽根積み石垣 - The…arrow feather stone wall…wall is done with shist type stone most commonly and is a fast stable and self-draining wall that is often employed in terrace work, where a quick wall that will only get more solid over time is required but still drain water away.
I live where it freezes in the winter. I was always taught that a dry wall, a mass stone retaining wall, may have a vertical face, but the wall at the bottom is almost as thick as the wall is tall. That is a 9 foot tall wall,, the thickness at the base should be 8 feet thick. At the point the wall is 4 feet tall to the surface, the wall at that point is at least 3 feet thick. That is a LOT of stone. I have watched the whole thing now. Brilliant. Excellent work. Yes,, it will last generations.
I'd personally have about one to two feet of gravel back behind the wall itself... Crushed blue stone for filler but not necessary could also run a French drain where you'd put the gravel. 👍🏼 21A
Thumbs Up...!!!... and all that plus I follow your work as it is stunning, and in brilliant character for traditional English dry masonry work...Cheers for that. If you would not mind, should you read this and have the chance (?) may I engage you in some observation about stability over time, and the fact that most of the Ashlar work of Western Europe has a HUGE “Achilles heel” built into it that seems to be the "Elephant in the room" that most either do not talk about or are unaware of. Because of the quality of your work (I'm trying to compile notes to write a book or chapters therein) you're the perfect professional candidate to engage with...If the time allows of course and this is of interest...Validation, I’ve been a traditional design builder within the folk vernaculars of natural and traditional earth, stone, and timber architecture for 40 years…
Always happy to talk about the craft, though i'm not entirely sure what the elephant in the room is regarding ashlar work in Western Europe. Most of it has been standing for 150years +! Happy for the discussion though - always keen to learn!
@@drystone-tv I sent a long reply to this, but for some reason it does not show up...Could you let me know if its lost in your queue? I'm going to attach it again below this shorter comment for the third time...If this does not make it through I will email it...Cheers, j
What's the batter on this wall? How does it compare to a freestanding wall? Intuition tells me that the wall should "lean" back into the earth, but does it actually make the wall more effective at holding back the earth?
Hey, brilliant skills but seriously difficult to watch with all the camera movement I prefer the camera fixed in various locations as I can watch and learn more rather than looking away all the time to stop getting dizzy🤢 jusayin! fantastic skills though 👍
They do but you'll need a good gravel base for drainage. Lots of Wallers in New England building retaining walls without any issues but they will understand the frost heave and how to mitigate it better than me.
For this particular job yes we did and because we were so limited for space I would try to mentally wall the stones before I brought them round so that I knew I could cross my joints and the stones would work for the course.
@user-gw7oy5hm7m everything is just measured by eye and then the stones are dressed so that where they meet they are the same height. There usually isn't much to dress off, it's more just fine tuning. We never use shims to level stones up, it's not the optimal way to build for strength with this stone type.
Ive found in the past the biggest hurdle was insurance companies and structural engineers whom seem to prefer concrete, never mind how long a thing has stood in the past.
Your perfectionism continues to amaze me, in an era when most would just patch up the bits that are bulging and leg it before Storm Mephistopheles dumps a year's rain on the Pennines in one night and washes the whole house quietly down the hill. The tips & demonstrations are really useful for those of us with a few hundred yards of dilapidated walls that keep sighing and collapsing. And they're made all the more interesting by your gentle self-effacing humour, especially when you struggle to find a way to sign off from each segment. "That's drystone walling for you ..."
haha. gotta keep it real! If we lose the awkwardness we've lost everything! hope our videos help you with your walls. !!
I don’t think it’s perfectionism. When these boys have something to “good enough”, they are done with it. Their definition of good enough is a reflection of their knowledge and skill. They are REAL tradesmen. Lots of people talk a good game, but they’re “contractors” or “remodeling specialists”. Those types are more sales than craft. They are hacks and mostly they know it. They won’t look you straight in the eye. These guys do a good job, let their work speak for them and sleep well at night.
@@procrastinator41 But if the tradesman's threshold for 'good enough' is very high, then from the perspective of the layman they come across as perfectionistic - an epithet that wins them an excellent professional reputation.
@@tonyf9984 I see your point. Perfectionism is a double-edged sword, but I know what you mean.
These guys do quality work.
Just stumbled across your videos and love it. I'll be doing a lot of this work at my house, several retaining walls, a fence wall maybe, and other things. It is definitely a lost and dying art, one that we should ressurect.
Great video as usual. I especially liked the first person video. It was helpful to see your workflow and decision making process in real time. 👍
Nice one, Definitely something we'll be doing again.
Hello from the USA, I build retaining walls and such for hiking trails and this is super cool
Awesome.! Trail building is a serious thing over there I hear! Cheers for the feedback , let me know if there's anything else you wanna know about retaining walls 🧱
@@drystone-tv how would you go about repairing a wall that has undergone a lot of erosion to the soil under the wall? Thats something i keep running into on the trails ive worked on
It looks really good nice job
Cheers!
I’m a stonemason from north wales
I've been following for quite a while now, and this is still interesting to me.
Your videos are getting better, and I keep learning sh!t.
thanks!
Beautiful work, wall looks so clean and unform now👍
My gracious fellow thats a BA sister with you❤😂❤❤❤❤ 🙌 Multiple blessings fr God!
If, as you claim, you’re all sad bastards, then I qualify as a sad bitchard! I adore watching you work with stone, and though it was a bit dizzying, learnt a few things about a chisel and stonework. An absolutely magnificent magic of passion allied with professionalism. Well done. I decided in my next life I’m going to be a Dry Stone Waller. And ta mucho for the great music accompaniment and brilliant sense of humour… thumbs up in the mirror of life to you both.⚒️⚒️
haha nice one! We try and have a laugh as much as we can with the job, thanks for watching and for the feedback!!
Wow. What a tough job site! Very nice result. I loved watching. Hope you can post more videos. Thanks.
Cheers! yeah there will deffo be more videos this year. got plenty of interesting stuff in the pipeline!
Nice job, a lot of work there, good on you
Great stuff
Fantastic work and a lovely looking wall. I do a bit of work with stone. So respect to you .
Thanks for posting videos like this. Great work, GO ON!
Thanks for sharing and teaching. I’m inspired to do it.
Thank you so much for the response. It is very appreciated. I probably should do this by email, and not get lost in the weeds with you over such an esoteric topic in the comments section…LOL…But I will give the first round a shot, and if you are still up for it, keeping it public allowing others to join in and ask questions if they have them…
Validation again, your work, in the style you do it, is brilliant…!!!...This side discussion has little to do with that for anyone reading this. So if some DIYer in the U.K. wishes to emulate your style and level of detail they WILL NOT GO WRONG…if still building in the U.K. region…
The “Elephant” I speak of is an issue only in areas where locked tectonic plates release only every few centuries. The U.K. might get a R4 every two years and ashlar stonework can endure this with only little issues that are repairable. As you stated your work would have no issue lasting 150 years and I suggest much longer when it's performed to the level of expertise I see in your videos…Again well done!
However, the U.K. can see higher Richter scale tectonic events, and that speaks to what the “Elephant” is all about. It is also for folks that move to an area with common seismic activity, (like any place with mountains or on the Pacific rim area in general) from a place like the U.K., and think that laying ashlar stone will be good and stable…It won’t compare to the cyclopean and related self-draining and tectonic stable styles of laying dry stone…
One of the topics, those with more “gray hairs” and time on their hands talk about, is the fact the Internet spreads out some great information (and not so good also…as I see a lot of bad stone work too!) However, the DIYer following along may not understand the nuance of the craft or that all styles of stonework do not work in all areas, and certainly do not have the same level of stability over time. This is particularly true in seismically active areas…
I could keep rambling but this comment is already too long…LOL…so I will leave you (and readers) with a bit more info to look at for curiosity's sake and consideration. Googling the terms below (not all in English) that are in quotes, then going to “images” will demonstrate some of the more tectonically stable and way more durable stone laying styles than “ashlar” affords us. These are the styles I have typically worked in unless doing a historic restoration of the original work. Some of these, though rare, can be found in the British Isles. They often represent the oldest stonework to be found there because of their inherent greater stability.
“Cyclopean Masonry” - This is the most ancient style of stonework we have on the planet.
“谷積” - This is a more refined style of cyclopean masonry called…Valley Stacking…In English, it is often called…Herringbone Masonry.
“亀甲積み” - Depending on the region of Japan…Turtle pile stacking…goes by different names and refinement of the method. It is one of my favorites if the correct type of cobblestone is available.
矢羽根積み石垣 - The…arrow feather stone wall…wall is done with shist type stone most commonly and is a fast stable and self-draining wall that is often employed in terrace work, where a quick wall that will only get more solid over time is required but still drain water away.
Amazing! You're a legend! Thank you so much.
Choad!! Awesome video 👍🏻
haha!
Awesome job, thanks for sharing!
Thank you! Cheers!
Looks Good... Follow the string can't go wrong..🎉🎉🎉
New Sub! You guys do amazing work.
Jeez, you two are awesome! Your Dad must be really proud of you.
cheers ! Aye I think he is!
You should upload a non fastforward version, just hours long, this would be fun to watch.
Love the chiptune and Synthwave soundtrack 🎉
Class 👍🏻
Amazing work
Respect Mate! Just Perfect! What a beauty... Just got a new sub. Cheers!
Much appreciated!
Nicely done 😊
I live where it freezes in the winter. I was always taught that a dry wall, a mass stone retaining wall, may have a vertical face, but the wall at the bottom is almost as thick as the wall is tall. That is a 9 foot tall wall,, the thickness at the base should be 8 feet thick. At the point the wall is 4 feet tall to the surface, the wall at that point is at least 3 feet thick. That is a LOT of stone.
I have watched the whole thing now. Brilliant. Excellent work. Yes,, it will last generations.
Love the pov. Hats of to you gamer😎
Very realistic
OOOOOOW I've been waiting for this. Sad bastard I know!
Well I watch car boot sales on UA-cam. We're all sad bastards here
Can you do a walling a slope/steep slope vid please? I’m struggling in my mind with how you you would set up batter frames in such instance
Nice!
Such skill.... it's beautiful
cheers!
From now on I’ll be putting one or two stones int fill.
I was told if you can fit the stone in your mouth it's too small for the wall. a creepy way of explaining how to fill.
Could you make a video about walling on bed-rock? :)
I'd personally have about one to two feet of gravel back behind the wall itself... Crushed blue stone for filler but not necessary could also run a French drain where you'd put the gravel. 👍🏼 21A
life on the rocks & couldn't be happier.
Thumbs Up...!!!... and all that plus I follow your work as it is stunning, and in brilliant character for traditional English dry masonry work...Cheers for that. If you would not mind, should you read this and have the chance (?) may I engage you in some observation about stability over time, and the fact that most of the Ashlar work of Western Europe has a HUGE “Achilles heel” built into it that seems to be the "Elephant in the room" that most either do not talk about or are unaware of. Because of the quality of your work (I'm trying to compile notes to write a book or chapters therein) you're the perfect professional candidate to engage with...If the time allows of course and this is of interest...Validation, I’ve been a traditional design builder within the folk vernaculars of natural and traditional earth, stone, and timber architecture for 40 years…
Always happy to talk about the craft, though i'm not entirely sure what the elephant in the room is regarding ashlar work in Western Europe. Most of it has been standing for 150years +! Happy for the discussion though - always keen to learn!
@@drystone-tv I sent a long reply to this, but for some reason it does not show up...Could you let me know if its lost in your queue? I'm going to attach it again below this shorter comment for the third time...If this does not make it through I will email it...Cheers, j
What's the batter on this wall? How does it compare to a freestanding wall? Intuition tells me that the wall should "lean" back into the earth, but does it actually make the wall more effective at holding back the earth?
I don't know the exact batter. roughly 1:8 but we just had to match what was there. It is better if they have plenty of batter.
Marvellous job there , looks like Calderdale area maybe up old town ?
No doubt totally wrong and it actually is in Surrey or something!
near Sheffield.
I thought at the beginning of the video that you guys would be making the abnormally narrow walkway a little wider for ease of navigation.😕
Doing that would have been a good idea but would have doubled the cost of the job.
That can be a slog..esp when stones are bad.....dont you tilt the wall back a bit ?
how many day did this take?
3.5 days prep , 8 or 9 days walling I think 🤔
Подождите. Вы проделали огромную работу, разобрав стену, чтобы потом сложить новую без раствора ?
большое спасибо!
Hey, brilliant skills but seriously difficult to watch with all the camera movement I prefer the camera fixed in various locations as I can watch and learn more rather than looking away all the time to stop getting dizzy🤢 jusayin!
fantastic skills though 👍
fair point
Do dry stone retaining walls stand up to freeze thaw cycles? Think -20C for 3 months.
They do but you'll need a good gravel base for drainage. Lots of Wallers in New England building retaining walls without any issues but they will understand the frost heave and how to mitigate it better than me.
Do you take time to sort the stones into groups of the same thickness' seems as though each course is near enough level?
For this particular job yes we did and because we were so limited for space I would try to mentally wall the stones before I brought them round so that I knew I could cross my joints and the stones would work for the course.
@@drystone-tv do you just gauge by eye and shim the difference or try and get them as close to the same as you can?
@user-gw7oy5hm7m everything is just measured by eye and then the stones are dressed so that where they meet they are the same height. There usually isn't much to dress off, it's more just fine tuning. We never use shims to level stones up, it's not the optimal way to build for strength with this stone type.
@@drystone-tv love the work look forward to the next video. You're a great teacher of the trade !!
The video game exists, its called VR Job Simulator. I'd prefer if this were the job though
i was taught never pick a stone and put it back down put in the wall.
That works for field walling if you're good but not for this kind of job sadly!
Ive found in the past the biggest hurdle was insurance companies and structural engineers whom seem to prefer concrete, never mind how long a thing has stood in the past.
That's always tricky, I've managed to talk people round once or twice but usually its their way or the highway.
am i correct in thinking that you are wearing a west riding stonecarving association woolly hat?
Absolutely right, I called in at the stone carving festival last year!
@@drystone-tv i would recognise that logo anywhere! they are hosting the European carving festival next year should be good
You are going to have a throne waiting for you in Heaven. God's goina' say, "Sit my Friend." 😅❤😊
Looks grand.
I can't believe you two think it's ok to use tools to build a stronger wall though.
I know, mental. I'm giving up tools for lent anyway.
@@drystone-tv
I've thrown mine in the bin. I'm a "true artist" who spends hours a day just turning the stone over till I find one that fits.
This is why they’ve invented mini excavators.
You guys need a chisel wizard.
This video is brought to you by the T+H Chisel wizard