The Bottom Line
- Advice for the cost-conscious.
- Beautiful photos of dry-wall stonework from all over Europe and the New World.
- Price: this book on dry-wall stonework is hardcover, and you pay for that.
Description
- Handy metric conversion chart in appendix.
- The author is cost-conscious, discussing how to get tools for dry-wall stonework at flea markets.
- Finding stone and using recycled stone are also discussed, in lieu of paying for it.
- Terminology for dry-wall stonework and general "hardscaping" is presented in Chapter 2.
Guide Review - "The Art and Craft of Stonescaping" -- David Reed
"The Art and Craft of Stonescaping" supplies information on dry-wall stonework projects. By "dry-wall" stonework I mean dry-laid stone patios and walkways, as well as dry-stack stone walls.
If you think you might enjoy working creatively with your hands, using the solidity of stone as your medium, read this book and acquire some techniques with which to work. Doing so may pay dividends psychologically, as well as aesthetically. "Stonescaping is one of the few simple pastimes in our high-tech, high-speed world that allows us to reconnect with our natural surroundings," as we read on the front flap.
Chapter 1 covers tools and equipment. I like the fact that the author is cost-conscious enough to discuss obtaining tools at flea markets. And Ch. 2, in covering stone selection, doesn't neglect to mention the possibility of using freebies: i.e., finding stone and using recycled stone. Also discussed in this chapter are types of stones; e.g., fieldstone and flagstone pavers. Ch. 3 addresses a difficulty that scares people off from using stone: moving it. Reed also covers trimming and splitting stone here.
The remaining chapters explain other aspects of dry-wall stonework, including how to provide proper grading and drainage. Interspersed with this information are examples of stonescaping: dry-stacked retaining walls, flagstone patios, stone paths, waterfall pools, garden terraces and more.
