Any stone masons on here?

[deaconjim]

I am in the process of writing a novel. Part of the story involves laying stone for a chimney. I'm not trying to go into detail about the process, but I do want to make the scenes and dialogue authentic. Since my experience with stone masonry is limited to appreciating the skill of others, I would be grateful for any advice I can get.

[renee o'neill]

My husband is ask away

[beaglebiz]

My DH is not a stone mason, but he is a GC. He installed our chimney. there is a thimble made of clay that attaches to our woodburner, the lining of the chimney is also clay.
The chimney blocks (this is modern day, 1995), are 70 lbs each. He worked alone, so he could only set one or two blocks at a time, or the mortar would squish out. Our house is a Cape Cod style, with a steeply pitched roof (we also have a second floor). the chimney needs to be higher than the peak of the roof in order to get the venting you need. I can remember my DH, with a 70 lb stone on his back, climbing the ladder, past the roofline (because the peak of the 12/12 cape roof is on the center, and the chimney is to the right) with the ladder propped against the house, going high into the air. It was backbreaking work, and I do this Id encourage him to hire a stone mason if he had to do it agaion.
I know Im probably no help, but thought Id relay our family's experience.

Also, we put a cast iron clean out door about three or four feet up from the ground.

[deaconjim]

Originally Posted by renee o'neill

My husband is ask away

Thank you, I've sent you a PM.

[deaconjim]

Originally Posted by beaglebiz

My DH is not a stone mason, but he is a GC. He installed our chimney. there is a thimble made of clay that attaches to our woodburner, the lining of the chimney is also clay.
The chimney blocks (this is modern day, 1995), are 70 lbs each. He worked alone, so he could only set one or two blocks at a time, or the mortar would squish out. Our house is a Cape Cod style, with a steeply pitched roof (we also have a second floor). the chimney needs to be higher than the peak of the roof in order to get the venting you need. I can remember my DH, with a 70 lb stone on his back, climbing the ladder, past the roofline (because the peak of the 12/12 cape roof is on the center, and the chimney is to the right) with the ladder propped against the house, going high into the air. It was backbreaking work, and I do this Id encourage him to hire a stone mason if he had to do it agaion.
I know Im probably no help, but thought Id relay our family's experience.

Also, we put a cast iron clean out door about three or four feet up from the ground.

Thanks. I've been around construction all my life, and I know just enough about the process to know how little I really know. I hate reading books where the author hasn't bothered to make sure their scenes are realistic, so I really don't want to be guilty of the same thing.

[Rockyshore]

My brother is. If you need any further assistance, maybe he can help.

[MELOC]

include stuff in such a way that it stimulates the senses. "the mud stuck to the trowel with the consistency of...", "the smell of ammonia tickles the sinuses as he mixed the mortar", "the dust from the blue/ gray mix wafted in the air and stuck to his sweat laden shirt as he began to mix the mud..."

i like the word "thimble"...toss that in there, lol.

[blufford]

I can't find the article now. I remember reading a story about how the why the chimneys on all the colonial homes in New Castle (old), Delaware all lean slightly. It seems that early masons would line their newly built chimneys up with one that was already built which must have already leaned a wee bit. It seems that masons making present day repairs or relacements keep the same (historic) lean in them done much in the same manner

[strawhouse]

Ive been a licensed Mason for 16 years, built many fireplaces and enough projects that I cant even remember them all!

[deaconjim]

Originally Posted by strawhouse

Ive been a licensed Mason for 16 years, built many fireplaces and enough projects that I cant even remember them all!

Okay, here is what I need to know (everyone please feel free to chime in).

My main character has torn down a stone chimney at the end of a 100+ year old log cabin (off grid) and is rebuilding it with local stone. He has the help of a very experienced stone mason. I don't want to get too technical, but I need to be able to describe the scene as they get started. The foundation has been poured.

• How long does the foundation need to cure before starting work?
• What would be the first steps once the foundation is cured?
• What is the basic process for doing the job?
• How long would a job like this take?

Thanks for the help everyone.

[Spinner]

My son is a good mason so if you have any other questions, you can post them and if strawhouse or renee's DH isn't available, maybe I could have DS answer a question or two for you.

[beaglebiz]

All I can say is remember, you can only place some at a time, or the stones will sqush out the mortar. I'll stand by that, as I have lived it

[texican]

I'm a rookie only (do my own stone work, and any regular stone mason can tell it's amateurish). You might work in the novel the blistering of the hands the first few days (cement blisters) and later the fingers cracking and bleeding. I use to have very sensitive hands and fingers... now, they're mostly rough and insensitive... too much mortar mix on the fingers...

[strawhouse]

How long does the foundation need to cure before starting work?

-After the foundation is pured the stone work can start the next day. I like to keep the forms on the concrete for the majority of the job to protect the edges of the frsh concrete from chipping and breaking. Stone work can be slow when your shaping and searching for stones, this will give the concrete a chance to cure as well.

What would be the first steps once the foundation is cured?

The first step would be to figure out what stones are available for the project. I like to sort the stones, finding the best corner stones and sorting them into a pile as well as any "in fill" stones get put into a pile. At this point alot of the stones start to get shaped with a chisel and set into a more usuable form. At the same time visually I inspect the stones and anything that stands out as a "nice stone" or something that could be a bit of a show piece I set aside and take a mental note.

What is the basic process for doing the job?

A fireplace design needs to be figured out. There are alot of simple designs and some are more popular than others. An example is do a search on "Rumford Fireplace" The basic design will answer alot of questions like the size of the firebox and the "mouth" or the front of the fireplace.
The next is based on the site, making the fireplace fit into the place that it is being built. Looking at where the chimney is being routed and how it will affect the building envelope. Is the chimney inside the building? or is it easier to be built outside?

The stones start to be laid making the shape or the exterior of the fireplace. As the mason moves up the front of the fireplace is shaped in and so is the back of the firebox. Once this gets enclosed the "anvil" or "smoke box" is constructed above the front opening of the fireplace, this is where inside the fireplace the chimney starts. The chimney is a square opening where the stones get laid as smoothly as possible so it cuts down on cresote build up. The exterior shape of the chimney is stricty a visual process. Once the chimney is built a a concrete cap is usualy poured to finish off the stone work and to move water away from the flue opening. Sometimes a large stone cap is used to finsih off the chimney as well.

How long would a job like this take?

It drastically varies, if the site has alot of decent stone that will cut down on time. If it is pulled out of a quarry that will drastically affect it as well. I think a safe assumption would be about 30 to 60 days.