Outdoor Masonry Stone Projects

Outdoor Stone Wall

Among outdoor masonry projects, stone work has its own unique features and creative challenges. Examples of outdoor stone work include but are not limited to outdoor chairs, stone borders, and stone walls. One thing that sets stone work apart from any other landscaping media is its uniqueness.  No two projects will turn out exactly alike, because each stone is different in size, shape, and color.  The excitement of working in stone is that you won't know exactly how the project will turn out until the last stone is fitted into its nitch. Stone work stands out from other types of hardscape because of its durability and solid functionality. An outdoor patio chair will last an average of seven years. An outdoor stone chair can last literally centuries. Stone work is also among the most sustainable forms of home improvement, especially when local rock is used. The project only requires reordering parts of the natural landscape.  

Unlike prefabricated stone masonry, which entail completing a step by step plan, outdoor stonework is a creative endeavor from start to finish. Pre-ordered stone can make lovely stone work; however, selecting stone from a local stone quarry outlet, or harvesting stone from the local environment calls for creativity as it requires attention to the color and shape of each specific stones the builder is purchasing.  Selection will go a long way towards determining the ultimate outcome of the project.  Building with outdoor stone is an equally creative undertaking. Each stone must be carefully inspected for size, shape and color. As each piece is being added, the builder must strive to fit the right stone into the right nitch. Making a stone wall is like creating an abstract painting. One wall builder might be a rank amateur, another a Jackson Pollack. Look closely at the wall pictured on the page. You will see large stones interspersed with small ones, horizontally aligned stones interspersed with vertically or diagonally placed ones.  Sections of the wall, where smaller stoned segments flow past larger stones, will draw your attention. In one segment stones are arranged in an exciting wheel like whorl. In another area, upper stones suggest an arch. No two walls are alike and no two segments of the wall are identical.

Stone work, especially involving larger stones, might be the most physically exacting part of outdoor masonry. However, at the end of the day, the homeowner or mason can rest with a sense of ultimate satisfaction. He has constructed something that will last for centuries. He has irrevocably changed the face of the landscape. A stone wall may cordon off a space for hundreds of years or more. Some historical walls are thousands of years old and draw spectators to this day.  A carpenter works with wood harvested from a tree that might be 25, 50, 100 years old, or more; whereas the stone mason uses rocks that can last for literally millions of years and bring with them an ineffable sense of the Earth's history.

In the final analysis, two unique qualities and challenges of stone masonry stand out above all the others. "Solid functionality." More than any other type of landscaping, stone masonry combines solidity with functionality. "The challenge of fitting the right stone into the right nitch." Building a stone project is an in the now creative challenge whose outcome cannot be known until the last stone is laid into place.  

For professional outdoor stone masonry in the Yorktown Heights, Westchester County area contact the Turf Barbers; 914 302 2469 ; 2929 Quinlan Street Yorktown Heights, NY 10598;