When we received the bids for stucco, we were surprised at the cost. Stucco is labor intensive and requires an application of wire lath and three coats of stucco over the entire surface making it more expensive than we thought. Limestone rock is quarried just a few miles from the house making the cost of stone a little more than stucco but the difference wasn't significant enough, so it was an easy decision to have stone all around. We made this decision just in time because stone requires a ledge around the outside of the slab.
Trying to match the new stone to the house turned into a bit of a challenge. Stone varies as it quarried from the ground so the available stone changes slightly over time. After rejecting several samples, we finally had a close match.
After the ice and snow from our big storm melted we were ready to go.
Every morning for about a week we had breakfast to the sounds of mixing mortar
Each stone was fit and set by hand
There is a required air gap between the stone veneer and the garage wall, with clips attaching the stone structure to the garage
Plumb lines kept the corners straight
Watching the stone masons was fascinating. They were completely tuned in to the modern world with their cell phones while practicing an ancient art. This guy is chipping the stone on his leg with a mason's hammer in a way that hasn't changed in centuries. Notice that none of them are wearing gloves.
Rock tossing (and catching) skills are essential -- Going up!
They enjoyed our project because fitting the random stones is more of an art and the current popular trend for block stone takes the art out of it for them.
We watched as they placed the last stones on the side facing the house
Our neighbors are happy with their new view of a beautiful stone wall
The stone work made a huge mess, but created a new courtyard garden area (yippee)
They sent over a crew to clean up and we could not be more pleased with the result.
There were even a few rocks left over which we had the crew move to the front yard for future projects
Now it certainly does look as if it has always been here.
Now I have a newly defined space in which to create a garden and after a year of working on other projects, I'm ready to get going. I'll share our progress along the way.
This is realy a wonderful job. Thanks for the bit on masonry. I was never sure how that was done....especially the attachment of the stone to the basic structure. It's a piece of art all on its own. Excellent choice for your home and garden:)
ReplyDeleteThank you Chris, we had to be educated on that also so I included it because it's not easy to picture after the building is finished.
DeleteLooks great! Wonderful job. Blends nicely with your house and landscaping.
ReplyDeleteThank you, now the real work begins.
DeleteJob done. And very well done at that. Happy garage anniversary. Mm, never said that before.
ReplyDeleteThanks Crystal, we thought about cake, but not sure the building would appreciate the effort.
DeleteVery Nice Shirley! It’s a lovely addition.
ReplyDeleteThank you Lucy!
DeleteNo gloves? Makes my hands dry and itchy just thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful job they did, and an interesting process to see. I had no idea there was such a large gap between the stones and the building. Also your roof-line is remarkable to me, is that material and steep pitch common in San Antonio? It looks like you're ready for a major snowstorm. One last thing...I spied a wonderful Agave by the side of the (original?) garage!
The steep (10/12) pitch was to allow plenty of head room upstairs to keep the space usable. We did modify it down a bit from the New England Saltbox where they do need to worry about snow. The typical Texas Hill Country style house does have a steep roof that flattens as it flares out over a deep porch.
ReplyDeleteThat is the original garage and the agave is A. Ovatifolia, 'Whale's Tongue'. It's the first one I added here and was inspired by "Moby" at Digging.
looks hill country chic to me.
ReplyDeleteThank you, that's such a nice compliment greggo!
DeleteIt looks great, and it's cool to see how they constructed it.
ReplyDeleteThank you Pam, it was fun to watch the process.
ReplyDelete