Stone Wall Cladding

stone walls are extraordinarily durable. There are many that are still standing after hundreds of years. Stone walls have been around since people first started building, and they haven't gone out of style yet. Quite a testament to their staying power, physically as well as aesthetically.

Types of Stones
Stones are either rough or finished. A rough stone is any stone that hasn't been altered. A finished stone has been shaped to be uniform and can be stacked much like a brick.

Building a Dry Stone Wall
Other than the heavy lifting, a dry stone wall is easy to build. First, a trench is dug where the wall is going to be. It should be slightly wider than the wall. The trench is then filled with gravel to form a foundation. When using rough stones, larger stones are placed to cover as much of the gravel as possible, then smaller stones are placed to fill in gaps. This process is repeated layer by layer. For the sake of stability, it is important to make sure that gaps between stones are covered by the center of the stones in the next layer. When using finished stone, this process is quite simple. Finished stone is, however, significantly more expensive and lacks the rustic look of rough stone.