Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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103 of 104 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent book on working with stone, April 27, 2000
If you a novice at working with stone like I am yet desire stone walls, paths and waterfalls in your garden, then this book is for you. Reed writes in a simple, straighforward style that is easy to follow and the accompanying photos are excellent. He shows how to construct a beautiful dry stacked retaining wall and I never imagined that it is so easy. I also found the chapter on building a waterfall very helpful and I hope to do this soon. Also covered are chapters on making paths, courtyards, steps, terraces, benches, etc. It is an excellent book, well worth the money and one that I have referred to countless times.
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73 of 74 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Decent reference with wide appeal, May 31, 1999
By A Customer
David Reed covers the gamut of stonework techniques from selection to design to implementation in this book. His treatment of the subject is straightforward and easy to understand, while at the same time working in the history, emotional appeal and crafter's zeal I associate with stonework. Thankfully absent from this text is the typical extensive coverage of concrete and other 'wet' media: Reed and his contributing authors work mainly with dry-stacked stone, preferring a more natural look. One failing I saw was a concentrated discussion of stone types native only to his area; wider coverage of various types of stone and perhaps a pictoral glossary, would have been appropriate and worth-increasing. In total, nonetheless, a well-written, well-organized motivated treatment of what the author clearly loves.
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41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This book is a keeper!!, August 4, 2001
My wife and I just built a new home in Eastern CT. The site is very wooded and the area has a great tradition of drystacked stone work which is evident everywhere we travel in the "Quiet Corner" of CT. I wanted to create a 30' dry stone retaining wall as well as a set of steps to transition between the walkout basement area to the rear garage area of my new home. After the initial excavation and construction process I was left with a sandy and steep slope of about 10'in the rear of the house. The rain was causing sand and soil to block the walkout basement area - - this was not acceptable. The solution I selected for the problem was to build a dry stacked stone wall and a set of steps. Mr. Reed's book was clearly written, concise as to materials, tools, and basic techniques, and he did a good job of clarifying the underlying elements of constructing dry stacked stone retaining walls, steps, and tree wells. The book is well organized and starts with the tools then moves on to more challenging projects. After reading the book I was confident that with the basic tools, the right materials (which were in abundance) and some help from a 10 ton excavator I would be able to construct the walls, walks, and steps I needed to make the site interesting. I am just about done with my project and all of the "local" guys have been favorably impressed with what I achieved. They grew up doing this work. Make no mistake, moving 20-200 lb stones with hand tools is hard work. On the otherhand the satisfaction you receive from standing back and looking at what you have done is worth every drop of sweat. I can only recommend Mr. Reeds book - - - in theory and in parctice it was well worth the money and and easy read that is well illustrated with drawings and photos. George O'Neil
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