Stonework

Where the stone grows the Quarry:  Quarry Of Catskill PA Bluestone

 

The tools of the craft - hammer and chisel:

 

George Steeves

 

 

Update 2008.02.18 - Stone vs Wood

 

I recently was asked to estimate the cost of building a stone riser for a porch deck. During the process of doing the estimate the people mentioned that the “Pressure Treated Wood” deck had been estimated at $18 a sq. ft. Since we lay patio stone for $15 a sq.ft. I suggested putting in a stone deck. The riser had to be 6” higher to support the stone and heads had to be cut on all the edge stones but all in all the cost came out almost the same. The big advantage is that the stone is an investment that is good forever and even pressure treated lumber in time deteriorates and requires constant maintenance .

 

 

 Helderberg bluestone from Cass Hill

 

 A good example of how to clime a grade with stonework.

 

  Field sotne Gilboa, NY

  

 

 

 Stairs are a challenge for stone masons 

 

 

Alcove Blue stone mixed with Catskill PA  Cornwallville NY

 

Stonework: 1976-2006

 

When I first started doing stonework I built mostly with field stone as labor was cheap and the stone was free.  Through the years labor prices have increased many fold and farmers now want money for their stone.  In 1978 I started laying blue stone which is a much more cooperative material than field stone.  I have found do to the ease of acquisition and quicker construction time, the price of a blue stone structure is competitive with field stone.  In addition a blue stone structure is much more stable.  Yes, I still do some field stone constructions but the majority of my work is blue stone.

Catskill Pa Stone from Meshoppin Pa

In the city of Albany there are buildings with blue stone constructions 300 years old that bear testimony to the integrity  of dry laid blue stone.  This becomes all the more amazing considering that there is no blue stone near Albany.  One must travel south to Clarksville and Alcove a distance of at least 10 miles to reach the end of the Normanskill Limestone Formation where the Upper Devonian formation starts to produce blue stone. 

Prior to the introduction of cement in the early 1800's, the stone industry was one of the primary industries in New York State employing many talented craftsman  and quarrymen.  Today, dry laid stonework is primarily used in the construction of retaining walls, patios and walk ways and of necessity it is done by hand as it was many years ago.

Lilac and grey Catskill PA from Downsville NY

The introduction of cement is not the only technology to affect the stone industry.  In the early 19^th century stone work was done with malleable iron tools.  The invention of the “Bessemer” process to make steel provided greatly improved tools for quarrying and stone cutting.  In my life I have seen the introduction of carbide and diamond tools which has had great affect on the craft.  Of course lifting and moving machinery like excavators, loaders, and trucks have removed a lot of the labor from the industry.  Unfortunately The stone still must be laid by hand and there is a shrinking supply of craftsmen.    

This monumental construction is Opus 40 by Henry Feight near Woodstock NY. 

The blue stone quarry industry in New York was big business and from Coeyman's Hollow south to Woodstock there are thousands of quarries where blue stone was mined.  There was always a preference for the quarries with a down hill trip to the river where the stone was loaded on barges for shipment.  I have studied the history of the quarry industry and have perused many of these old quarries.  It is mind boggling when you walk for miles at a quarry site and view thousands of tons of over burden that you know was moved by hand. 

Alcove Upper devonian Bluestone set in blind mortar

Anyone that would like to see a good example of this industry should go to OPUS40 near Woodstock and walk the woods adjacent to Henry Feights monumental work.  The amount of stone still lying in the overburden piles is tremendous.  Since that quarry was used primarily to cut side walk stones for NYC anything less than 3'x3' or over 3" thick was rejected as junk.  In Quarryville there are hundreds of acres of quarries.  I know of quarries where hundreds of pieces of flagstone are stacked ready for shipment but there has been no road leading to the location for over 150 years.   Near the town of Reidsville NY there is a landing stone 9'x18'x10" that is sitting on blocks hand cut and prepared for shipment and the nearest road is almost two miles away.   This stone weighs over 25,000 lbs and I would like to meet the men that thought they could ship this stone using hands and horses or oxen.  I definitely would not want to be the despised Van Renssalear Tax Collector that had to climb Cass Hill to enforce tax collection from these guys.  I would think that getting tarred and feathered was getting off easy.

Upper devonian blustone quarry near Alcove NY

Today we quarry very little as the stone that was rejected as junk and placed on the overburden piles is high quality wall stone.   Bruce Obrien of NY Quarries in Alcove told me that for many years his father operated the quarry and did many constructions using stone from the overburden piles as it was unnecessary to mine stone.  The O'Brien family has been responsible for teaching the stone craft to many employees over the years and much of my knowledge can be traced to that source as we have utilized many of the same workers.  I have always believed in hiring knowledgeable workers and learning all I could from them.

This picture taken recently is a patio that I installed in 1985.  Walls constructed of native  Renssalearville Blustone and Patio of Catskill PA from Downsville NY.

In the southern part of NY state there is also what they call a blue stone industry.  In my mind this is really not blue stone but I feel should be more accurately called Catskill PA.  This stone is lighter in color than upper Devonian blue stone and it runs flatter so that it is easier to produce large flag stones.  Most of the patios and walkways that I do today use this stone rather than true blue stone as the cost for true blue stone flagging is prohibitive.  Catskill PA comes in a light blue green color and lilac.