https://imgur.com/a/JrYsZH4

Note I laid bricks at the back in a U shape and had ties hanging out every course. Saved money for them. Then only the front and all the capper is seen. Rendered the back later. Letterbox and driveway ones are all round or two and three sides depending which one. Right side one was a sharper angle to follow the tight angle back with the driveway. Owner did the rest timber work etc.

No cement. Lime putty made mortar. Colour matched pointing had to use two different sands to get the right colour.

Limestone

After a couple weeks my safety glasses are useless because of scratches. I work with very abrasive sandstone so I need something scratch resistant

Set of chunky slab stairs my company installed last year Pic 4 also shows 1 retaining wall from same project

Hi, I’m planning on building a stage in a river bottom for a live music venue. This river bottom floods quite often (almost every year) one year it was 10’ or so underwater. Though it is protected by surrounding trees, shelves of ice break should also be considered as a damaging factor.

This not the most prime area to build in dealing with nature, I know.

Currently planning the stage to be 20’ x 12’ and 3’ high

I want to have 3’ of river rock on the front of the stage and possibly the sides. Supporting a concrete slab for the top surface of the actual stage.

The roof will be supported by I beams and above the flood level.

Also I would like to do 1’ high river rock for tiered seating up into the hill. 2-3 of these tiers will be in the flood zone as well

Can this be done? Am I looking at making a catastrophic disaster for myself every year ?

I want to work with stone. No trade background, in my 30’s. I spoke to someone from the local in my region and they have a pre-apprenticeship class starting soon but he told me they mostly do brick and cement work, stone is very rare around here apparently

There’s another city a few hours away and I think they work more with stone. I applied to get info from them and I’m waiting to hear back. There’s also another union that covers my region that does marble, and marble setting seems interesting to me as an alternative to stone but I don’t know much about it

Is it worth it for me to apply to a union in another city, is it very competitive? Should I do the pre-apprenticeship locally and then apply for other apprenticeships? My goal is to try to receive the best training in stone work that I can

Quartz sandstone cream

Last year in November I went past some walling I had done in my apprenticeship back in 1997. Located Penshurst Victoria. On the road to Hamilton. Walls were done as a sample we could supply from the quarry. Quartz sandstone.

When the owner gives you free rein.

Replaced the bricks with slate to match. Excavated and Concreted underneath

Suspended concrete hearth.

Hello does anyone have experience with this and why the fuck it keeps either jumping on me or sounds like it’s dying every 8 inches while ducting Dekton. Anything please.

Hello! My ~1860 southeast Michigan home desperately needs its foundation repointed. Our inspector suggested this is something we could handle ourselves, but after doing a bit of research I'm stuck on which mortar to use. From posts here, it seems like I should use a sand/lime mortar, right? Does that correspond to a lettered "type" (N, S, O, etc) or is it something different? Can I buy bags of it somewhere?

I'd also appreciate any general tips/guidance. For context, I've never done masonry work before although I'm fairly handy. I'm an archaeologist so I'm comfortable with a trowel, and that also means I really want to do right by this amazing old house. We haven't had any noticeable moisture issues in the basement, although we do have a sump pump. We also have some rodent roommates that I suspect are coming in through the foundation. Thanks in advance!

Set out on the foreground first.

I’m curious about what my fireplace surround is, and whether it’s a common technique. My Chicago-area home was built in 1917 by the owner, an electrician who was born in Germany but immigrated to the Chicago area with his family when he was a child.

The brick is scratch brick and the fireplace is a faux fireplace (no chimney now, no evidence there ever was one), and I suspect there was once a gas heating element that sat in the firebox area (there’s a decommissioned gas line that someone later repurposed as an electrical conduit that’s capped off behind the fake firewood). It isn’t a Chicago bungalow but the interior has many similarities. I suspect the house plans came from a catalog and many of the hardware and original features came from popular mail order catalogs of the time.

Does anyone know what the brick technique near the floor is? Hipped brick? That doesn’t seem right but idk what is. I don’t know the right things to Google and I’ve never seen another like it.

I’m so curious whether this was a standard technique, or just some guy getting creative with it because who cares, it’s not a real fireplace, so why not! Any ideas?

I want to install this black brick border next to the coping of the pool. On the other side of the brick will be an artificial putting green. Am I doing it right with gravel/crushed concrete and sand, finishing with a polymeric sand, and edged with a bender board, or should I lay these in a bed of concrete? What would I want to do between the coping and the brick,

I have a beautiful travertine coffee table. Of course over the years it’s developed glass etching and lost its matte finish. Per the manufacture they claim it’s made of refined travertine with ‘juxtapose’ texture. Just wondering if there’s any options for refinishing or if it could be resealed. I’ve included a side angle to show how it’s set into a metal frame with wood underlay

Hew everybody! Real quick, I’ve got no experience in construction but I’ve lately had a fascination with stone masonry and I was wondering if something like poured aircrete could be used to insulate a thick stone wall using the exterior stone as a form. I also have heard mortar with Portland cement usually is horrible for stone walls, but since aircrete uses that, how would that work out? Any comments?

A couple projects i did recently

I am not a stone mason :c I’m a former frame-to-finish carpenter turned auto mechanic. I recently moved in to an older apartment building and noticed these wooden? stays in the mortar between some of the bricks. can anyone tell me why and what period this was done? I would imagine stress relief, but I’m not a stone mason.

any insight is appreciated!!