Restore Your STONE WALLS
In 1871, a national census of agricultural fences recorded more than 250,000 miles of stone walls in the northeastern United States alone — enough to wrap around the Earth 10 times. Two generations of farm laborers built most of these walls between 1775 and 1825 to keep in livestock and protect property lines, and also as a resourceful way to use a seemingly endless supply of stone that worked its way to the surface year after year.
Many of these walls have long since collapsed due to time and neglect. Perhaps you have some on your own property. With a little knowledge and a decent amount of work, you can return them to their former glory.
The following instructions are based on an intensive multi-day workshop I took at The Stone Trust in Vermont. The Trust offers a range of hands-on classes, from introductory to advanced, working with stone. You can find the full schedule at www.TheStoneTrust.org.
Preparing the Old Wall
The condition of the wall you’ll be repairing will determine how you start the rebuild.
■ If you’ll be working on a wall that’s mostly standing, your first step will be to carefully dismantle it in layers from the top down. As you work, sort the stones into lines by size and use, roughly replicating how you’ll restack them in the wall (see Page 33 for an example). By sorting the stones as you dismantle the wall, you’ll be better able to see and identify the stones you’ll have to work with, making it easier to find stones when you need them later. You’ll also be able to estimate more accurately whether or not you have enough copestones (large stones placed on top of the wall) and throughstones (long stones that tie the two sides
