Designing a Cottage - Field Trip to Town 

I'm a retired techie and have never done stonework or anything like it, but I am going to enjoy watching and following you. Thanks for taking the time. Morgan certainly has some nice friends.

Alfred I could listen to you talk all day you are really committed to your craft and also very knowledgeable I was wondering if you are going to get maybe a couple of young apprentices to give you a hand I know young Amos likes to help when he’s off school but you seem to be doing lots of projects and it must be hard doing it alone and trying to run a quarry.All the best Alfred from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

This is going to be an exciting project. I like the museum stone work, more rustic than the Library's.

Hey, I visited Gold Shaw Farm and saw the building of the HoopCoop 2.0. You, Alfred are great. Yes, Morgan could have with great effort built that structure by himself but you (and later on that one day the 4 others) sure made it easier. It's nice to have friends to go through life with sharing skills and time. I'm so glad Morgan has you (and his other friends). I'm getting up in years and finding humans do die. I miss many now but I have had a rich life in terms of sharing skills and times with others. I just thought you might like to know your actions are appreciated.

Thank you Alfred. I don't have a quarry nor a farm. I live in a small country and having al 5ft deep backyard is like having won the lottery over here, so I live vicariously through you. I'm grateful for the tiny backyard that I do have, but also I dream of other things. If I had a supply of granite I would probably get a new kitchen counter done and build a structure for the birds, bees, hedgehogs and other critters that frequent my tiny yard

I don't quite know what it is, but your videos are always sooooo captivating. I think part of it could be you accent and voice as well as your descriptions of masonry techniques and details. Keep up the outstanding content. Love you videos, and can't wait to see this cabin take shape.

I think a barrel arch roof rather than a peaked roof would give that hobbit vibe while helping the inside have a cavernous feel. Also maybe notching the sleeping nook out of that back wall to keep the floor to ceiling area unobstructed. Oh, and obviously a round door and windows.

The green and golden autumn foliage looks wonderful.

I like you buddy. Keep doing what you do. Cheers

Such an interesting video! Now I'll be looking a lot more carefully at older buildings to see the patterns in the stone work. Had never even paid attention to any of that. I'm definitely looking forward to watching you build your stone cabin. In the summertime, because it's made of stone, it should be cooler, too, right?

I liked the Library detail of the window keystones protruding from their arch, and canting out at the top.

I know nothing about building, much less masonry. But I really enjoyed your video, Alfred. And it is nice to see what your passion is. The buildings are lovely, and so is your building site. It will be interesting to see what your dream cabin is and how you make that dream come true.

Hi Alfred I so excited to see you make a small cabin I sure your would love to help 👍👍🥰

I'm really excited to see you start building, or do any sort of creative work with stone from your quarry. Regarding the cottage, I suggest thinking about terrain, water management, ventilation, humidity, insulation, etc. first, and tailor your method of construction to that.

this is a great niche for you alfred... love the stone talk and looking at the old buildings

I love watching cabin builds, everyone has their own unique style. This is going to be exciting to watch. Thank you for sharing your journey.

MY BUDDY ALFRED! Sorry, I'm here from Gold Shaw Farms.

Thanks for the education! I appreciate finally hearing to your voice and expertise after seeing you help out Morgan with so many different types of projects!

I think a granite stairway up or down the face to a overlook with maybe a small cave would be my odd project. A proper miniature one room cabin like you mentioned would be nice but I would find a valley or nice view to take in before night falls and you retreat to the fire. Anything will be wonderful as it’s an amazing property. Thanks for taking us along

I've had no audio issues. Quite informative video

Definitely you would want an office space to bring prospective clients into to showcase your stone and stonework! A kitchenette with coffee bar and some comfy armchairs for them too. A retreat but also a showcase!

Wow! Thank you for this video! What a marvelous tour of the existing buildings. I intend checking out my local architecture when the ice and snow melts to get a better look at the masonry. I didn't have a clue about all that goes into getting the walls plumb, though if I'd really thought about it, I should have known that. I look at our manufacturered bricks and blocks and that work has mostly been done for us softies. Good luck with your home build and please bring us along for the trip as you actually get it designed and built! Prayers for health and safety!🙏❤🙏

The museum is beautiful. I agree with the townsfolk-the addition does not do it justice-it should remain nostalgic and the addition should fit the time past.

The color of the fall leaves are so pretty....

Looking forward to seeing it coming along in the future.

Man would it be cool to build a miniature castle at the quarry lake….A stone workshop would also be terrific 😊

amazing, I had no idea how much was involved with a stone house. Building one is a completely different story to our usual wood houses. all the best on your journey .

Half of my childhood was spent in my Grandparents small cottage made out of natural/rough unpolished granite. Even the inside walls of most of the house was granite and wooden beams. It was built in a small ravine at the base of two mountains so steep, you couldn't climb them. It began as a one story cabin, with a bedroom, kitchen and outhouse and eventually grew into a two story, two bedroom and was finally renovated 15 years ago to include a guest room and bath off the side. Things that made this house special: A skylight over the bed, wood beams and floors to add visual warmth, the fireplace (of course) and the porch. Things that made this house annoying: Not enough light in important areas, no room for storage. (be it food, or Christmas ornaments) Improvements I would have made: Built in / carved in shelving so there'd be no bulky wall furniture taking up space, recessed lighting to take up less space, a small cellar/pantry to keep food and store stuff not used very often, a few raised granite planters off the kitchen for some easy summer time veggies. Loved watching this video, can't wait to see how your plans develop. :D

Great idea! Can’t wait to watch you build something from stone. Loved the town visit to see their stone buildings. Had no clue you could kinda design certain looks on stone. I think it’s fine to do that little design just on the corners. Very exciting!

Here because of Goldshaw!!! Gonna watch your vids. TY for helping others!

Nice planning and thinking of the landscape

I live in St J and never tire of seeing both the Fairbanks and the library. Absolutely beautiful buildings. The interiors of both will transport you to a different era. An era of superior craftsmanship and intricate details. The woodworking in both buildings is stunning to see. Thanks for sharing a little piece of our world. I’m a new subscriber; came over from Gold Shaw farms channel. Looking forward to seeing the build.

This was a really interesting video! You managed to let us know through the eyes of a stonemason what's to look at these places, it felt exiting and beautiful!

What an exciting project.

cant wait to see more!

The cabin sounds great! Looking forward to watching you build it! A hobbit-like entrance would be cool!

Ok. First things first. I'm not a builder/structural engineer/professional draftsman, so Im not sure if this is viable. Secondly, this will be hard to explain in words, and drawing inspiration from some of the fine buildings featured, everything is to personalised taste. So I won't be put out if you think this idea sucks. ;) Regardless of the size, I'm thinking a hexagonal style building (floor plan view) would be a neat way to go, with the flat sections of the hexagon being the back wall (buried in the shelf) and the front flat being the face/doorway to the structure. The sidewalls sloping back to meet the contour of the shelf. Also the back flat of the hexagon, being the fireplace, so its well away from the door when you enter, with a chimney out the back. The other front two facing sides can have windows to look out. Using the beautiful stonework featured on the 2nd building (the ones with 3 blocks across) of varying sizes for the walls. Think with those it would be close to the hobbit-hole style you're looking for without too much earthmoving. One thing I loved was the arches with the chunky keystones (of the first building) over the windows and door. That would be a nice touch. Also a drawbridge style front door would be cool, especially in winter times if it snows over. Can just kick that bad boy open! As for roofing, I'm thinking one large centralised pillar, connected to beams at each of the 6 points of the hexagon. Keeping with the natural theme, I reckon slate would be good for roofing exterior, making it a very black and white (understated) building. As for a sleeping loft, I don't know how that would work in terms of building height and also ventilation, from that large fireplace. I reckon a secondary level is certainly doable, but may be a little cramped. All depends on how big you want to make it. If you want it small and cozy, a nice table/storage area/cupboard around a central pillar may be a good use of space. I'm just chucking ideas out there for you to play with bud, at the end of the day it's your own little retreat. Can't wait to see what you have plans for in the next video. Really cool little project!

I live in the sandstone capital of the world. It's interesting to see the similarities of the use of both granite and sandstone in building.

Have watched you working with Morgan...looking forward to a variety of interesting projects...also subscribed...🙂

In the future I think your viewers would enjoy a few short info videos of the basics of stonework. I know I would because it is something I have no idea about.

This is fascinating, look forward to watching your progress!

Maybe a natural stone deck with a roof extension? In summer you can sit out there and also store firewood to keep it dry. If the pit goes really deep, you could make a small finished basement/cellar to use for storage. In a small home storage is really important, you pack away anything you aren't using at the moment. Also what is your plan for power? I could see someone like you rigging up a small solar system. I know I'd want a small fridge. Is the fireplace going to styled so you can cook on it?

Fascinating! Listening to you explaining those aspects of stone crafting makes one really look at a stone building with a whole different understanding and appreciation

A dry space, a sleeping loft and a fireplace to cook and keep warm. What more could anyone ask for!(maybe a privy of some sort) It all adds up to less trips up and down the mountain.

❤

My Wife’s family lives in the St. J area and the two buildings you’ve featured in this video are definitely two of my favorite in town! Super glad you started your channel and really looking forward to this build! Thanks much!

Alfred I’m really enjoying your channel, thanks…

You absolutely need to build a workshop on site also as cabin hobbit style would work well but with a sleeping loft not so easy to achieve if you could bring a few styles together hobbit traditional timber cabin viking style long house off grid cottage hole will be great good luck look forward to seeing the process

Such a beautiful area, much like where I live in South east Ontario Canada. I loved that building, we have many like that in the near by town. Can't wait to watch you build your cabin.

I learned today the meaning of "Ashlar." It's a term that I'd heard before but never bothered looking up. So thank you for that Alfred.

I can't wait to see your design.

I can't wait to watch you build your cabin. It will be awesome.

Hey there Alfred, thank you for pointing out each of those features that you liked. I saw that wall in a totally different way afterwards, and I just loved that coursing of each stone - just beautiful. The Ashlar (?) stone laying style of that other building was just amazing. It’s so nice to have these things pointed out and explained because you never look at it the same again. It makes me want to look more closely at the stone architecture around me and I love that, so thanks again for sharing your knowledge. 🙂🐿❤️🌈 -------------- P.s I’d definitely include a great big water tank and collect that beautiful water you had in your last video. You could use it for making coffee over/in your beautiful fireplace 🙂- although, now that I think about it, I’m not sure how water tanks work in those freezing temperatures you guys get sooooo....just ignore me if that’s a ridiculous suggestion - I’m an Australian country girl, I see all that water you showed previously and I immediately think about capturing it somehow....so basically I can’t help myself 😂 I commented about bentonite clay lining for the dam (over on Morgan’s channel). Although I think I deleted it once I saw you two doing something similar. 🙂

The Fairbanks museum is great (and a lot closer to you than to me on the other side of the state). Thanks for all the info on the stonework, it was very interesting. I bet "My Buddy Alfred" could design and build some sort of "granite sander" to create the drafts ;) I'm really looking forward to the stone cabin build! I'm with the "backlash public", that contemporary addition will totally destroy the look of the building. The newest building at the Shelburne museum is also contemporary and not at all in tune with the rest of them. But at least it is a separate building, not an addition to another and there is plenty of land so it isn't right up close to any others. I do wish it were in the back rather than right up close to Route 7 though.

It would be cool if u did a video on the megaliths (esp the Mayan ones that fit so perfectly u can't fit a piece of paper between) about how you think they were quarried, made and transported such a long distance, and then also moved into place. Since ur a professional, I would truly appreciate ur opinion on this topic.

Although I can't even imagine the time it would take to do, I think a random ashlar pattern would be a spectacular layout. Would you be doing it all from your granite or bringing in some colored stones to provide the camouflage or blending into the surroundings?

Your video work is finding it's way, you're developing a style. The interest for me the engineering. Your splitting video was "layman" informative, you could revisit that, like you'd train an apprentice, really dissect the right tool for job kind of information. You could do an episode every now and again on plant and the maintenance [occasionally dip into how heavy plant is decarbonising & maybe a bit of gear lust] , some people like heavy machinery. Getting stuck video was a problem solving episode, a mistake to a fix is always good to watch. Documenting your build is a great idea, it will probably cover everything I've said or am about to suggest. A little in to load bearing capabilities, arches, how we build, how we did it super long ago, how we did it 200 years ago, how we do it now. A little in the maths/science and how we got there. Think of your video viewers as apprentices, you need to be engaging, some will specialise in harvesting, some only interested in building, some might go into decorative carving. An apprentice should experience everything before they focus on a specialism. You've the whole topic to go at. One thing I'm going to pull you on [ pull = snag = criticize ] is hands in pockets, I grew up in construction, [worked with my dad from 5 up, domestic gas engineer/builder in many yorkstone houses here in Yorkshire] hands in pockets isn't allowed, how it was explained to me is; hands in pockets isn't ready for work. It might seem that I'm taking down to a grown man but that kind of presentation makes a subliminal difference to customers, to bosses, to coworkers, and I'd guess viewers. [electrician now, and I still bollock coworkers for "not ready for work" but it's mostly looking at phones these days] Looking forward to the next vid

Those buildings are really pretty.

Oh wow, the museum is absolutely gorgeous. The stories those stones could tell!

Might be an idea to incorporate the different techniques used when building your cabin that way you'll have building which you can show to potential customers

A stone table, heavy oak door, and a few pieces of brown stone with maybe a comical Gargoyle 😁

I love all your ideas. A mixture of styles and finishes might be a good example for future clients to see how you can make their granite facades look. They could spend the night contemplating what they want.

In the Library building, I liked how the window keystones were canted out on the tops, setting off the arch even more.

Neat! It's so interesting learning about all the little details that go into masonry! I would suggest a mud room on the front. And if there's space in the mudroom, a separate room where you could keep a freezer or other things that need to be cold in an uninsulated portion of the building away from the fireplace.

If I were making a cabin in the woods I would definitely have a sod roof like the ones i saw as a kid in West Virginia.

I live in southern VT, and enjoy going to see friends in Goshen, MA because I get to see some of the stonework used in the older buildings; of course I enjoy my friends as well. Nonetheless, the builder(s) used round stone, with the most incredible preciseness, to build phenomenal buildings. The friends I mentioned owned an older house with the same structural design for their foundation, fireplace, and chimney, which was built in the early 1900s. The rest of the house (the newer additions) were failing, but I never found a flaw or significant failure in the original structure. Good stuff, and thank you!

Wish you well in this next endeavor on the proposed cabin, accessible to water & plenty of firewood too.

Your description of a cabin sounds wonderful! I'd put some steps on that slope once your done with the excavator. That museum is stunning, imma go up and see that in the spring.

Beautiful work on museums but I like what you have done initially to show us! Seems like a forest hideaway. Thanks for sharing.

That field trip was fun. I'd love to see more of you're ever passing more interesting buildings and want to film it.

we have a property in southern VT but live in CA. Love your videos as they make me imagine what we can do on our few acres.

Excited to start watching your videos! Morgan sent me here and I’m interested in learning more about stonework 🙂

Bookends. You could have quite the industry for granite bookends there!! What a beautiful place!

A Great Room on entry with the fireplace facing you . Hung lighting . A maple table a few inches thick and as big as the room can comfortably hold. Stained glass where possible in your windows to bring colour to your interior life.

In a one-room structure, it can be helpful not to put draft admitting features like doors & fireplace opposite each other; but to place them on adjoining walls so as to always have one cozy corner. (Maybe even do a corner sleeping loft, which might help preserve the cavernous feel of the room?) You might also look into system that direct warm air into underfloor spaces, to warm floors & store heat in the stones.

I enjoy your videos, Alfred, and I really like Morgan's "My Buddy Alfred" song! It is stuck in my head now.😂 I look forward to seeing what you will design and build on your mountain quarry.

Sounds like a huge undertaking! Fortunately you have the skills to make it real. I would want a dishwasher, for sure! 😂

I am more a timber framer than a mason. But I have seen a form of stone construction dating back to about the 1920s. We always called it pillow blocking. It looks like your calling it marginal drafts. The stone is just too cool. And incorporating an errant drill mark gives it character. I have a feeling that you and I are going to have some discussions shortly after the lawyers are finished with the real estate.

Your cottage sounds wonderful and cozy with your beautiful touches. Just as a Hobbit Hole should be! I was thinking when you showed us the stones of the Library, that they looked beveled. I do stained glass. It’s fun to follow you. Really good job on Morgan’s new winter structure. I forget what it’s called but it is awesome!

absolutely beautiful buildings. We MUST go back to building that way.

We were waiting for you to cross that line! Great video, love the tour you took us on.

Second time watching this video. I enjoyed listening you describe this beautiful building. I love stone as a building material. It's attractive and it's forever.

So nice 😊

Suggestion on your cabin .... solar for power and woodstove for heat and be sure to have year round water! Believe me a BAD days is coming Morgan gold sent us .

GREAT new video! Thanks. I am SO loving learning about granite. Please keep it up!!

Start it and we will enjoy watching you do it---not many can do what you do with stone!!!

I'd go feral without electricity.... so a nice solar generator would be my must-have.

Thank you for the tour. I’ll have to keep my eye out for those details next time I’m at a historical building. I think that stone bench, at the library, would be a good addition to your property. One for Morgan too, considering quite the stone pile is building up on his farm driveway area.

Such an interesting and informative video. The Museum is beautiful.

Hi Alfred, I'm here from Morgan's channel. Great videos, I love learning about new things. You're quite the engineer. Gidday from Sydney Australia.

Looking forward to watching your stone cabin build.

Ever since I first learned about Portland brownstone, I don’t know why but it always jumps out at me. The Portland brownstone quarries are just a short drive from us, the site is largely a water adventure park now with zip lines into the water and scuba diving. It’s even more impressive when you realize how big the site is and how much stone was carved out of the earth to get sent all over the eastern half of the country.

That smooth edge looks really good.But why you say making it by hand. Angular grinder, small diamond blade, sliding on a something like a sawmill will make perfect angles. Or make it nicer but cutting only horizontal side and the vertical just a quarter splitting the rest. You are better than me at inventing mechanisms :)

So glad you got a channel, Alfred!

All I can say is its going to be so cool, can't wait to see what you do ;)

This channel is so underrated

This cabin sounds so awesome! Can't wait to see it come along!!

Great video! I love to see the local landmarks. There is a tiny brick cottage (folly?) on the Goddard College campus with a huge fireplace I’ve always liked. I think your ideas are excellent, keep up the quality content!

I've always been partial to a groin vault and a spiral staircase.

Very interesting. I live in a Build Block home in the desert of Arizona. My walls are 18 inches thick. Love the foliage where you plan to build.