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Dry Stone Walls – Principles of structurally sound construction (2018)

masonrymagazine.com

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Re: Dry Stone Walls – Principles of structurally sound construction (2018)

#31

Post by pier25 »

kcorbitt wrote: post #30
pier25 wrote: post #10

I'm from Mallorca, a little Mediterranean island near Barcelona, and we have a great dry stone walls tradition there. The people that do it are called margers in the local language. They never really disappeared, and they finally formed a guild a couple of years ago. Here are some pictures if anyone is interested: https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&biw=1745&bih=906&t... https://www.google.com/search?q=margers+…

I lived in Palma de Mallorca for 6 months. An enchanting place - my wife and I dream of moving back to the island someday and making a home in one of the small, old and hauntingly beautiful towns like Alcudia or Soller.

I actually have family in Alcudia. :)

Another town you should check is Buynola. It has all the magic of the Tramuntana and not as expensive as Valldemossa or Deia.

Re: Dry Stone Walls – Principles of structurally sound construction (2018)

#33

Post by newman8r »

londons_explore wrote: post #20
goda90 wrote: post #11

>There are examples of dry stonewalls and structures that date back 5000 years and are still standing today. Nearly anywhere in the world where stone of suitable sizes was plentiful, walls were built. What I'd like to know is are there any patterns to where the second is true, but said walls haven't lasted thousands of years like the first sentence says? Are there places where ancient stone structures could have been…

I have seen plenty of collapsed dry stone walls. Often the reason for the collapse isn't obvious - I suspect rather than a catastrophic event, it's more that the stones right on the top of the wall aren't held in by interlocking and friction as well as the other stones, so storms and animals can dislodge them. Plants growing in the top of the wall can knock stones off too. If plant matter gets inside the wall, pools…

That's interesting. I wonder if another factor is a wide variation in the level of skill used to build the walls. It's easy for a complete beginner to start building dry stone walls based on a limited amount of information - and using only materials found on site. Those walls might last the lifetime of the builder, but are less likely to hold up to stress over the ages.

Re: Dry Stone Walls – Principles of structurally sound construction (2018)

#34

Post by zip1234 »

saalweachter wrote: post #15
goda90 wrote: post #11

>There are examples of dry stonewalls and structures that date back 5000 years and are still standing today. Nearly anywhere in the world where stone of suitable sizes was plentiful, walls were built. What I'd like to know is are there any patterns to where the second is true, but said walls haven't lasted thousands of years like the first sentence says? Are there places where ancient stone structures could have been…

I don't know about thousands of years off hand, but if you spend some time in New England you will see the truth to the poet's words: Something there is that doesn't love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, And spills the upper boulders in the sun; And makes gaps even two can pass abreast. Many, most, all of the dry stone walls once in pasture and now in forest used to be straight, neatly stacked wal…

I have a friend there and they say it's pretty common to hire someone to restack them

Re: Dry Stone Walls – Principles of structurally sound construction (2018)

#35

Post by GordonS »

kcorbitt wrote: post #30
pier25 wrote: post #10

I'm from Mallorca, a little Mediterranean island near Barcelona, and we have a great dry stone walls tradition there. The people that do it are called margers in the local language. They never really disappeared, and they finally formed a guild a couple of years ago. Here are some pictures if anyone is interested: https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&biw=1745&bih=906&t... https://www.google.com/search?q=margers+…

I lived in Palma de Mallorca for 6 months. An enchanting place - my wife and I dream of moving back to the island someday and making a home in one of the small, old and hauntingly beautiful towns like Alcudia or Soller.

A 20 minute drive from Alcudia (which I visited today!) is Pollença, another beautiful town (not the nearby Port de Pollença, mind). It also doesn't get nearly as many tourists as Alcudia - if you get back to Mallorca, you should definitely have a visit!

Re: Dry Stone Walls – Principles of structurally sound construction (2018)

#36

Post by jgwil2 »

jmkd wrote: post #2

I picked up a wonderful concept from a teenage summer spent dry stone walling in the Cotswolds. When you pick up a stone from the pile, it MUST be placed on the wall. You either have to make it fit your intended spot through rotation or another adjustment, or you have to find another place on the wall for it. It CANNOT be placed back on the pile. I'm sure these rules are not adhered to that widely but they had some g…

This seems like it could be a (very) loose analogy for type-first programming. Before you start manipulating data (passing values to functions) you have to give careful thought to what data types you will need. If you do it right, there's far less rearranging (rummaging through the pile) needed later.

Re: Dry Stone Walls – Principles of structurally sound construction (2018)

#37

Post by war1025 »

degenerate wrote: post #18
dsr_ wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is an excellent rule for cleaning up (a room, a house, an office...): touch any given thing once at most. In extreme cases, it doesn't work because you don't actually know where things are going to go, in which case a two-round approach is good: everything gets pulled out and sorted in round one, and things go to their destinations in round two.

That's how I clean - pull everything out, assess, and put it all away. It's very efficient if you have enough space, but it drives people nuts because they see it as causing more of a mess.

My wife attempts to use this method, but usually gets distracted at peak-messiness and things just end up worse off than they started.

Re: Dry Stone Walls – Principles of structurally sound construction (2018)

#39

Post by timc3 »

jmkd wrote: post #2

I picked up a wonderful concept from a teenage summer spent dry stone walling in the Cotswolds. When you pick up a stone from the pile, it MUST be placed on the wall. You either have to make it fit your intended spot through rotation or another adjustment, or you have to find another place on the wall for it. It CANNOT be placed back on the pile. I'm sure these rules are not adhered to that widely but they had some g…

Have also built stone walls in the Cotswolds, and I wouldn’t agree with you about not putting a stone you picked up back. Sometimes when you pick up from the pile you didn’t see part of the stone that makes it entirely unsuitable.

It’s better to pick the best stone to complement the space than try and jam something in that sorts of fits.

Have done it in the winter in a blizzard on the side of a hill - that was a painful experience, summer was much more enjoyable.

Edit to say: I realise now from your username we know each other - hope you are well! ;-)

Re: Dry Stone Walls – Principles of structurally sound construction (2018)

#40

Post by bmsleight_ »

arethuza wrote: post #5

One of the pictures is from Skara Brae on Orkney - which is over 5000 years old, but its not even the oldest site on Orkney which is Knap of Howar which is ~700 years older: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knap_of_Howar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skara_Brae One of the ancient sites on Orkney did have some relatively recent problem with vandalism though: http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/maeshowe/maeshrunes.htm

relatively recent :) Everything is relative.
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