I don't remember if I posted this question here before, but here goes. I have 15 acres in north TX and want to build a rock house. After much research and cost comparison, I have discovered that I still want to build with rock. I recently purchased a book titled The Stonebuilder's Primer by Charles Long. This book details the kind of house I want to build. Has anyone out there built a house out of rock, and if so, are there any pointers/hints/suggestions that you can think of? I would appreciate all replies.

-- HannahMariaHolly (hannahholly@hotmail.com), May 15, 2001

Answers

Hi Hannah, Melitza and I have just started slip forming our cellar for our a- frame. We are doing it as much like the way the Nearings built their houses. We chose this way as it is very difficult to move stones, concrete, forms and such. They developed a way to keep their forms small (ten feet) so that they as husband and wife could handle all the labor. Probably the hardest part of the construction is moving the materials to the site. We gathered the stones from our hillside and brought up gravel and sand to the site in our pick up. We purchase bags of portland (weigh 92 pounds each) mix all of it together by hand in a wheelbarrow. This is the most economical way to do the walls. The only thing that I am changing in our process of gathering materials is the part of moving the sand and gravel to the site. I am going to have it delivered by the company, so that I will have plenty of it and not run out during stages of the construction. As I can only carry about 1500-2000 pounds of the material in my truck it has cost me time going back and forth getting material each time I run out. My advise to you is to have as much of the material on hand before you start so that you will no lost time by stopping and running to the quarry to pick up more sand, gravel or even stone if you don't have to. The slip forming works out pretty good and we do a 22 inch quarter of the wall each time. It takes us a couple of hours each pour but, with the heavy lifting and amount of concrete pour we think that is fine. Usually, after a pour we are too hot and tired to start another section and just wind up going to the creek to cool off. Hope I helped you, Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), May 15, 2001.

Hi Ernest! I'm glad to hear that you have started on your house--I'm envious! I hope you're taking photos so you can post them here or at the BWH forum! I had thought about hauling materials, the portland and sand and stuff, but haven't given it a lot of thought. I bet it would be a drag to run out halfway thru a pour! Thank you for mentioning it--I will definitely have to keep that in mind. As for the rock, it's laying all over the 15 acres. I figured I would use either my pickup and a trailer or some sort of skid, or my 9N and some sort of trailer or skid, to transport it from wherever on the land to the house site. That's something I could be doing while I'm waiting to start construction. I could go up there (I live some 325 miles away from the land) and move rock over by the house site. Thank you for the hints--I will keep them in mind.

-- HannahMariaHolly (hannahholly@hotmail.com), May 15, 2001.

Hannah: Hooray, Another brave soul building a rock house!!!! I'm slipforming one as we speak. If I can be of any help just holler! Here is a picture with the finished room in back and the bathroom and kitchen going up in front. Anyway I hope you have as much fun as me. Also please post some pictures with your progress. how bout joining Countryside Friends Pictures? You to Earnest!....Kirk...Paste this

http://www.geocities.com/PicketFence/Garden/8784/pt5.jpg

-- Kirk Davis (kirkay@yahoo.com), May 15, 2001.

Well, that's who I was going to tell you to contact.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), May 15, 2001.

Hi Hannah. An old car hood - upside down - makes an excellent rock skid. Chain it to your tractor. Sandy

-- Sandy in MN (jpevans_56353@yahoo.com), May 16, 2001.

Hi HannahMariaHolly,

I am a (semi) retired contractor, among other things. I've done a very limited amount of stone walls, so you may know more than I do by now, but I have designed and engineered a lot of buildings, so here's one thing I'd like to tell you.

Back up the rocks with at least six inches of concrete with plenty of rebar in it. You can do the concrete at the same time you stack the rocks, but I prefer to stack a foot or two of rocks, then, using these rocks as a form on one side, just form up the other side, and pour the concrete.

The reason for the concrete is that rock walls are notoriously weak in an earthquake, and the area you live has a high earthquake risk. (do a search for New Madrid Earthquake, if you're skeptical--it is the strongest quake to ever hit the 48 States, and was epicentered not all that far from NE texas)

I realize the concrete will add a substantial amount of expense to your job, but I personally would never build ANYWHERE without at least a modicum of earthquake preparation.

Have fun!

JOJ

-- jumpoff joe (jumpoff@ecoweb.net), May 16, 2001.

Thanks everyone! Kirk, I'll go now and look at your photos. I haven't begun construction yet, other than to figure out where I want the house, but I will be taking lots and lots of photos. I also plant on doing most of the work in the fall/winter/spring because I'll be darned if I'm going to work out in the summer heat!! Right now I have to finish renovating a friend's house before I can start on my rock house, so that also puts me off until this fall. Joe, thank you for the info. I was going to incorporate rebar into the plan in some way. As for the braveness of starting to build a rock house, I've come across so many naysayers who think I'm nuts, stupid, or naive about how much labor and time it'll take. It's nice to talk with others who are doing or have done the same thing.

-- HannahMariaHolly (hannahholly@hotmail.com), May 16, 2001.

Good for you! I hope you'll love your rock house as much as I love mine. They must have built it well because it is now 91 years old. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the walls are 18" thick. Also it is very cool in the summer until it gets about 95 degrees outside, and I have no close trees to shade it.

-- debra in ks (solid-dkn@msn.com), May 16, 2001.

Hannah: I'm a fair carpender and worked with wood some but rock construction is different! I go very slow and I'm actally afraid to finish. I love it so much I don't want it to be finished. I work when its freezing and when its 105 outside and don't seem to notice. When I start laying rocks I'm soon lost and when i'm finished it seems the home is building itself! Then I stop and have some coffee and just stare at it. Its like clouds, you see all kinds of shapes and faces. also The face is always changing with the weather. Looks different in the rain, sun, shade, shadows. Not only is it beautiful but it won't burn down, won't have rats and mice in the walls, insects don't overrun the house, won't ever have to be painted, and could last for 1000 years! Okay okay I'll stop!!!....Kirk

-- Kirk Davis (kirkay@yahoo.com), May 17, 2001.

See what I mean?

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), May 19, 2001.

Ha!!! So sorry Don. I can be a bit of a bore at times!!!....Kirk

-- Kirk Davis (kirkay@yahoo.com), May 19, 2001.

Not boring at all to me Kirk....I have built with stone before and I know EXACTLY what you are talking about. What a feeling.....now if I could just not feel my back I would be all set.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), May 19, 2001.

Two things no oneelse has mentioned, 1. Rocks are very heavy so you need a very massive foundation. 2. The best colors are found inside of split rocks.

-- mitch hearn (moopups1@aol.com), May 20, 2001.

Yea Mitch and also you must be careful not to build on fill. don't want that ground settling on you. On the foundation I just doubled the width of my 12inch wall. 24inch wide and 24 inch deep. I also ran 5 1/2 inch re-bar all the way around.....Kirk

-- Kirk Davis (kirkay@yahoo.com), May 20, 2001.

Kirk, I wasn't being sarcastic - I've seen your pictures. I can rabbit on about anything and everything, but you've actually done it. I had a (second) cousin who built two magnificent homes out of stone, then died of a heart attack. I'm not saying the stone was at fault: he was as old then as I am now, and it will be a few years yet before I can build my own, rather than just moving into someone else's idea of landlord's heaven - it's a worry. When I do, I won't be using stone - my back would divorce me at the mere thought. Mind you, the shape I'm in, I wouldn't need the stone as an excuse - they'd just look at the body and say "Of course he died - what else?"

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), May 22, 2001.

G'day ... this probably comes too late, however my wife and I have built a stone house (having never built anything before) and found the experience very satisfying and nowhere near as difficult as some people would expect.

Facts:

House size = approx. 26 squares (internal). A square = 10'x10' Plus 7' verandah right round, adds up to approx. 42sq. under roof. Materials = approx. 150 tonnes basalt 200 bags of portland type cement, 30 tonnes of stone dust. Internal partitioning walls made from concrete block. Method = freestone and mortar. Mortar mix = 4 parts stone dust 1 part cement dust Foundation = Concret slabe with with 450mm wide footings for external stone walls. We stood up and braced all external door/window frames (window/door frames glazed and are "floor to ceiling", allowing doorways onto the verandahs from all rooms) - these "uprights" were used as guides to infill the wall spaces. No horizontal string lines were used, we used instead vertical (plumb lines) string lines and found it much easier to work as well as not creating any nuisance whilst lift stone into place.

The stonelaying was easy and no formwork was used.

This is a brief explanation ... if you've got other questions plaes ask.

We are located in rural Victoria, Australia.

Best regards Colin

-- Colin Causon (causon@netconnect.com.au), July 29, 2001.