Building Stone Walls [Paperback]

John Vivian (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 1976

Includes equipment requirements, instructions for creating wall foundations, coping with drainage problems, and hints for incorporating gates, fences, and stiles.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Well, here it is: Basic tools, basic techniques, illustrations and photographs, and all the planning and safety instructions you will need to build a variety of stone walls. This is a book that can help you beautify your back yard with the grace and texture of natural stone, or launch you on a career of reconstructing the Inca Empire or building a second Great Wall of China if you get carried away. Up to you...

From the Back Cover

A beautiful stone wall...yours with just a rock pile, a few tools, and this book!

Building Stone Walls tells you all you need to know to build your own sturdy walls. Carefully detailed, clear drawings show the techniques to follow -- and how to avoid problems.

Learn here about:

-- wall foundations

-- basic "one-over-two" method

-- chinking "in" or "out"

-- height-to-width formula

-- using lower quality stone

-- building retaining walls

-- building in gates, fences, and stiles

-- moving stone, boulders.

Excellent example photos show good and poor walls, while the author's lively text tells you how to build, step-by-step. Slopes, drainage problems, using rubble -- these challenges and more are thoroughly covered.

If stone is your material, then this is the book for you.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC; 2nd Edition edition (January 3, 1976)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0882660748
• ISBN-13: 978-0882660745
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #151,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #31 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Masonry

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

87 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and fun to read; lots of good sense, October 10, 1999

By 

Thomas Moertel (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Building Stone Walls (Paperback)

Building Stone Walls, as a book, works very well. The writing, typography, design, and illustration all support one another like well-chosen stones, and the result is pleasing: a simple, wonderful book. Even if you have no plans to build a stone wall, the book is worth reading because you can't help but share the author's enthusiasm as he describes the permanence of stone walls, talks about different kinds of stone, discusses tools and techniques, explains footings and drainage, provides advice for working with not-so-good stone, and shares myriad other pearls of wisdom. And, if you are planning on building a stone wall, or just have a fondness for stone, then by all means add this book to your library.

61 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview; good first book on building with stone, September 5, 2002

By 

Matthew Spady "800rsd" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Building Stone Walls (Paperback)

Compact and concise, John Vivian's "Building Stone Walls" is a book that you can take with you while collecting (or buying) stone for your project, preparing the location, and building your wall. It offers a good overview of stacking stone, as well as a couple of less common ways of using stone (re-channeling moving water, for example). Best of all, it has some very practical, timesaving tips, particularly advice about when it is necessary to start with a trench and gravel base and when it is not.

With our particular project - building a retaining wall with field stone recycled from decaying fences around our house in the Catskills - we found that Vivian's book did not include quite enough detail. He only supplies a few paragraphs on the construction of a retaining wall, though to be fair, what information he gives is practical. By itself, however, this would not have been enough to guide us through the project.

For more detailed information on retaining walls, we turned to "The Granite Kiss", "Stone in the Garden" and "The Art and Craft of Stonescaping." Keep in mind, however, that the latter two books are more lavishly illustrated, a cross between a how-to book and a coffee-table book, so you probably would not take them out in the field.

That said, if you have never worked with stone, and want to get an idea of what is involved in planning and preparation, finding and moving stone, and building a wall, Vivian's book is a practical and inexpensive book to buy first. Five stars for useful, concise information in a very usable format.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars McRaven did it better!!, May 5, 2005

By 

hk538 (NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Building Stone Walls (Paperback)

Charles McRaven's "Building Stone Walls" is much better. Covers all the material and techniques that Vivians book does and more! Don't waste your time on this book. If you're looking for more detail on working with stone, McCraven's book is the one.