Has anyone ever built a stone house?

[mezzogirl]

I am curious the pros and cons of building a DIY stone house compared to a house built of wood. I like the typical historic farm house style- two story with a porch across the whole front, chimney on one side. Nothing huge, probably something in the realm of 1500 sq ft. I see that someone is renovating a little stone cottage, but I wondered if anyone here has ever built one from scratch.

[Jerngen]

I haven't but I have drooled over the pics in this link for the last few years. Tells you how they did it

http://www.hollowtop.com/cls_html/masonry.htm

[mezzogirl]

I see why you are drooling. It looks fabulous. I am so torn about what I want to live in. I love the historic look and feel, but it is so much easier to build from scratch rather than restore or renovate. Hisband is not wild about buying something that needs an overhaul and problemsolving someone else's building skills. So he wants traditional wood farmhouse and I am thinking about stone. Go figure. Thanks for the link.

[Seagrape]

Originally Posted by Jerngen

I haven't but I have drooled over the pics in this link for the last few years. Tells you how they did it

http://www.hollowtop.com/cls_html/masonry.htm

I'm salivating, too. Those are beautiful projects and not likely any could ever be built here in Nebraska where it's all dirt and no rock. The early settlers here built sod houses, a few of which are still standing.

[DW]

Didn't the Nearings tell about building with stone in their books?

[tamilee]

Originally Posted by Jerngen

I haven't but I have drooled over the pics in this link for the last few years. Tells you how they did it

http://www.hollowtop.com/cls_html/masonry.htm

Hi Jerngen:

Cool link. I've added it to my favorites folder. Thanks for posting it.
tamilee

[Rocky Fields]

Hey.

I've built three stone houses. I mostly repair/rebuild stone barn foundations and build stone fireplaces/chimneys around here. I'm a master stone mason (journeyman). I spent two years in Ireland and three years in Scotland learning old world stone construction techniques. Most of my work in my past was done on church buildings. Slipforming is a four letter word to me.

Some pros of stone farmhouse compared to wood: 1.less maintenance...stone doesn't wear out like wood,paint, and siding does...there is tuckpointing to be done from time to time however.2.better survivability during high winds/tornadoes 3. better fire resistance 4. animals/insects won't be chewing thru the walls 5.beauty of natural stone makes it more attractive 6.holds value better than wood on real estate market

RF

[Witterbound]

The biggest downside of a stone house has got to be the cost. Are you thinking about a stone wall that serves as the only wall? In other words, you don't have any 2x4 walls inside where you can insulate and put up sheetrock? If that's the case, then it seems to me that there would be a lot of drawbacks (how do you insulate, how do you run your electric, etc). If not, then you're going to put up a 2x4 wall inside, with insulation, sheetrock, etc, and the stone part is simply going to replace what would otherwise be siding....