Sitting in my apartment with too many issues considering retreating into nature and building a stone castle in the woods. I have no masonry experience, just a dream. 😌
Stone houses make sense for climates with summer longer than winter. In extreme situations, like very thick walls and smart design , there is no need heating or cooling. I saw some houses like that in Tuscany, Italy. Obviously there were plenty of stones everywhere there so much so that people needed to move stones to make space for plants.
I am extremely interested in using stone and mortar to build our dream cottage here in my desert area. My biggest concern is the collection and selection of materials. For a one-man solo project, this is the largest and most tedious part. Fortunately, Noah, channels like yours are making it easy to learn and stay motivated. About building codes, that's also creepy. Thankfully we can have engineers inspect and guide us (for not a lot of money) and their word trumps building inspectors, determining final sign off. This way, we know it's safe and correct. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Rock-wool seems a perfect insulation for a stone home. I assume with a vapor barrier, but I'm just now learning about proper insulation of a house. I dont like plastics at all, so i will try to find the best vapor barrier that isn't plastic first. I remember seeing houses in the mid-west, with stone walls in the basement that would weep on all sides during the winter. Under my buddies house in mountains, only weeping on the one side because his drainage plan sucked. Thanks for the info, loving your channel!
If you’re looking for a non-plastic vapor barrier that was used in traditional building there is 30 lb roofing felt / tar paper. You’d have to research its longevity but that may be a viable option. Best of luck
I like that memory stone idea, informative video, thanks. Wasn't aware about the snakes in the stone walls and I always thought about doing wood frame on inside, american style, for insulation. Back home it's just cement and bricks and the houses are cold, even if the winters aren't as bad as here.
They seem to enjoy it. I don't know about easier. I watched a stone Mason on a video, maybe around 60, tough as steel, ripped. I mean this guy was moving alot of big stones, at a high rate of speed, and not getting tired. He could kick the snot out of any 20 yr olds I ever worked with.
We bought Riverside property for the retreat and events center we’re building. The property has a large cache of stone building material that was mounded up for a battle that never took place 160ish years ago. Our plan, working with the last student Frank Lloyd Wright personally approved for his architecture school in 1959, is to reorganize this stone into organic architecture. Stone inside and out but based on the SIRE wall concept of rammed earth (insulation between whythes. Would love to learn more from you.
When I was a little kid in the early 50's I had a relative who was the caretaker for a Miss Salisbury (I believe she was in her 80's at the time) who lived in a pre Revolutionary War stone house on what is known as Salisbury Point on the west shore of the Hudson River in Nyack NY. That relative took me and my siblings to visit Miss Salisbury on a hot summer day and the thing I remember to this day is how cool it was inside that home (no fans no A/C). Unfortunately that home was torn down for apartments. You can see where it was when crossing the Tappan Zee/Mario Cuomo Bridge on the west shore of the Hudson looking north. Where was the Preservation Society? The home I'm living in now has stone walls at the front and rear of the property (all dry stone) would your course help with some repair work? Thanks for your great videos.
Awesome love it. I have worked on log cabin some of it was pre-existing it was a great learning experience. Been in many phases of construction and one day if I make it I might try to do something like this on a mining claim.
Thank you, this is the first good video I've seen on the subject because apparently masonry is called "Earth work" now and I can't even mention my interest in masonry because people associate it with a controversial group.
I was so excited to see this video! I purchased 24 wooded acres in NE Oklahoma and I want to make use of endless supply of stones. There are a lot of old giraffe stone houses in my area. Are there certain stones to avoid as far as composition of the stone-(i.e. should I avoid all sandstone)? Would you consider making a video about harvesting local stone & what to use or avoid? I have a huge pile of stones already just waiting for approval 😂 As soon as I am moved onto the property I plan to take your class!
I go over it in more detail in the Stone Mason Academy...that said, I generally recommend looking at what was used in the area in which you are building and go with something similar.
My great grandfather built his family home out of stone without any mortar between it, it is still standing and in the family, I'm just no longer in the same country sadly. Would love to know how to replicate it.
As a person that has loved snakes since I could walk and now a snake breeder...Snakes do not bother us at all and on a homestead they control rodents better than any group of farm cats...which also helps control lyme disease found in the ticks that are spread by the rodents...though we will be building a cabin instead of a stone home...lol
This is so helpful. I’m dead set on building a stone cottage in Ohio. What is the cost of stone building materials, generally? What is a good material to use?
Dear sir, thank you for this information. I assume that the stone mason course covers the hybrid form of stone house construction you were referring to? Is it basically a regularly framed home with a proper stone exterior wall? Even if as you say you're unable to answer my query, I thank you again; and have a great day!
Hi Noah. If you ever put any of your courses in the form of a book, I'll gladly hand over my money. I am a guild member, and sometimes I worry about not being able to access content due to issues with the internet. I treasure the content that much. Thanks for the great videos.
Thank you Lester! I have plans to expand the book I initially wrote, using some of the course material as part of it, , so while it is not ready yet, it is in the works...
I want to do what you do. I love these amazing crafts that need to be preserved! They are historic and important to to maintain! Thank you sir for what you are doing. I am currently buying a brick house with a brick fireplace, done the old fashion way, and I hope to build a lean-to greenhouse unto with a stone foundation/stem wall and I am considering taking the academy, will it assist with stone foundations?
i've considered getting noah's course, but I live in perhaps the most seismic country in the world and i'm worried the construction techniques that work in less earthquake-prone countries mightn't work so well.
El Torco; This is a very valid concern...I’m not sure what the answer will be for the best building techniques for earthquake concern? Perhaps someone here can address?
The dhajji-diwari and/or kathi kuni techniques might be of interest. Both have proven themselves in seismic zones and there are scientific studies exploring how they work.
Like a log cabin, wouldnt it make sence to build a solid thick enough 1 wall that acts as both in and outside so you wont get moisture spots? Log cabins tend to be pretty mold proof because of the solid wall structrure rather than layered.
I have a quesiton, for a solid stone wall being built as in stone on the outside and stone inside, with the center cavity couldn't you fill it with rockwool for the insulation properties but still do the tie in stone to both walls instead of filling it completely? Stone interiors look incredible to me
You need a continuous thermal brake between the stone if you want insulation value. So building a stick wall with plywood on either side and then "veneering" the exterior interior with real stone is the best route...and give you that thickness you will find in homes with fully stone walls.
@@HandmadeHouseswithNoahBradley Thanks for the response, so a thermal break would not happen if it was rockwool between the 2 stone layers/walls? great channel !
i wanna make stone to stand the test of time, anything that outlives people is more than likely made out of stone. If i was going for fastest to assemble i would pop my tent up in 10 minutes
Hey Noah, great to see more content from you. I'm actually in the process of moving back to the western part of Virginia and brainstorming on various ways of construction, which I'm sure will entail plenty of red tape with local codes, etc. I was curious about moisture on the hybrid system. I know you spoke about how stone can create moisture/mildew in a home, how does this act on a structure that has interior wood construction? I would think some type of moisture barrier would be necessary. Also, I know you've mentioned in your videos that you're located in central Virginia. Do you offer in person training courses or any type of consultation for various projects? Thanks Joshua
I live in a seismic area on the Pacific coast. How hard is it to address these requirements in your experience? Reading my local guidelines and it has provisions described for heavy construction of walls that includes stone veneer, but doesn't mention a full stone wall. Is this style a non-starter in seismic zones without an engineer stamp?
Noah! So glad you're back. Have you ever put up a stone wall on SIP panels? I am doing a timber frame with SIPs but want a stone wall without wall ties. Also, I am 100% going to take your course.
Thanks Dack! I have not created a stone veneer to attach to SIP panels (one stacking stone to go/ arrive just underneath them), but it would work just the same as with adding an authentic stone veneer to a conventionally-framed home.
Italian immigrant mason used those roundish stones to build houses all over the eastern USA. Their technique was very similar to the one promoted in this video. That is, they built a concrete foundation about 12' wide and then a 2x4 wall which is face with 6" stone. There is a small gap between with weep holes at the bottom. I think if you look around you find some examples.
@user-po7cq6cl2z I don't understand why a homeowner would go with any kind of fake stone instead of real stone. When we were building our home we wanted to do a stone facing on our fireplace (inside) which was an area of 6 feet wide and 18 feet tall. When we went to the place selling stone, you walked into a showroom with about 3 dozen brands of fake stone. I told the guy we wanted real stone and he walked us outside to 3 large piles of different kinds of rocks. I asked him why he had dozens of kinds of fake stones and only 3 kinds of real stone. He said - let me tell you a secret - we are in the business of selling the stone but not installing it. No matter how fancy, fake stone is just colored cement. Its very cheap to make and the markup on the material is very high and, compared to real stone, its relatively easy and cheaper to install. Real stone is relatively inexpensive as its mostly in its raw state but its very labor intensive and the labor has to be highly skilled. So there was no incentive to push the real stuff, just the fake stuff. Whereas, because the stone is so cheap, masons can charge more and be fairly compensated for their work. Also builders use the fake stuff simply because they are building a lot of houses and the labor to build with real stone is expensive and hard to find. So re cost, it always seemed like a wash to us. But everyone pushes the fake stuff because the stores and manufactures make money and builders can find more folks with the skill level (which is still not low) to them install it. But, manufactured by God, nothing beats the look of real stone. You can spot the difference from a mile away.
