Before/After

[Sow's Ear Mal]

Air chisel--new favourite tool.

37163_478876557974_469997_n.jpg (130.47 KiB) Viewed 1360 times

stucco all off front smaller.JPG (222.53 KiB) Viewed 1360 times

[Superbeetle]

Wow! Fantastic work!

What finish are you putting on the addition?

[shazapple]

Much nicer looking! What's under the left window, an opening to the basement?

[Gothichome]

Ooooooooooh! Look at the detail you have uncoverd above the windows. Looks like you once had an root cellar acsess at some point. Now the home looks truly old.

[Fanner (WavyGlass)]

What a transformation, it looks amazing!

[Sooth (WavyGlass)]

Holy sh*t that's a gorgeous stone house! Why would anyone want to cover over that???

Nice job!

[Sow's Ear Mal]

Thanks! I'll be re-pointing it later this summer. Re the addition, it will be done in rough-sawn board and batten. The opening that's visible under the one window is actually one of three basement windows. The grade around the house was raised by about a foot 20 years ago, so now they are mostly hidden behind window wells. The current priority is a new roof though. It rained on my side of the bed all last night. Refreshing at first, then annoying.---mal

[CS in Low Hud]

Holy sh*t that's a gorgeous stone house! Why would anyone want to cover over that???

I agree that the stone does look great. But it's possible it was always covered with stucco. Here's a write-up of that technique: http://www.limeworks.us/blog/index.php/ ... -building/ and it includes some ways to sometimes tell if the stucco cladding was original or not. I should add that the article is coming from a company which makes lime plaster stucco, so their conclusions should be viewed in that context. Still, either way, I love visible stone-work, and think it looks great!

The detail visible over the window and door openings is pretty, but not there for decoration. It's a structural component sometimes called a "flat arch". As long as the opening is less then 3', this works pretty well. For larger openings, masons would sometimes construct a second semicircle arch within the stone wall a foot or two above the flat arch.

I'd highly recommend "The Art of the Stone Mason" by Ian Cramb to anyone interested in historic stone construction techniques. Ian was a maser mason specializing in historic stone structures, and was active in both in PA and projects in Europe. It probably would be a good reference for you!

Chris

[Texas_Ranger]

At least in Europe back in the day exposed stonework was often considered cheap and stucco was a sign of wealth. Look for example at small villages in Tuscany. The farm houses strewn across the hills are usually exposed stone (including those built well into the second half of the 20th century!) but even in the smallest town the "better" houses are stuccoed.
In some other regions the romantic movements of the 19th century discovered exposed stonework and actively pushed it instead of regarding it as a sign of poverty.

[Gothichome]

Chris, Mal. I just had to look up flat arches (I'm a little smarter now). Found this. The images did not show unfortunately But the link did post.

Shallow flat arches of stone, although sometimes pleasing to the eye, are very objectionable constructionally. If a flat arch must be used, to be self-supporting it should be of such height that a segmental arch of proper size can be drawn on its face, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 107. Even then it is desirable to drop the keystone about 1 inch below the soffit line, so as to wedge the voussoirs tightly together. An arch such as is shown in Fig. 107 might be safely used for a span of 5 feet, but with great caution for larger spans. The strength of such an arch may be increased by "joggled" joints, that is, notching one stone into the other, as shown by the dotted lines at a. Such joints, however, are quite expensive.

Very shallow flat arches, such as is shown in Fig. 108, should be cut out of one piece of stone, so as to be in reality a lintel with false joints cut on its face. The ends of the lintel should have a bearing on the wall of 6 inches, as shown by the dotted lines, the face being cut away for about 2 inches in depth and veneered with brick. If this method is too expensive the lintel might be cut in three pieces and supported by a heavy angle bar, as shown in Fig. 95.

Very long lintels are often made in the form of a flat arch (see Section 190), but are, or should be, always supported by steel beams or bars.

Rubble Arches. - Arches are sometimes built of rubble stones. The stones should be long and narrow and roughly dressed to a wedge shape. They should be built in cement mortar, as they depend largely upon the strength of the mortar for their stability.


Fig. 107.


Fig. 108.



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