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In some sections of the country, the home builder has an ever present building material, at hand in the form of field stones. Stones are excellent for many building jobs about ,he house; they are not too difficult to work with, have a pleasing appearance and, of course, if picked lip on the premises, cost nothing. Before you start any extensive building project with stones, take a few days to pile up a good assortment of them at the building site. Do not make the mistake of having to go off searching for the right size stone after your mortar is all mixed. A good rule is to have all the stones you need for the job at hand before you start building. Select only good solid stones. Do not use those filled with cracks. Water will enter these cracks and freeze during the winter and perhaps damage the wall. Stones can be shaped to the proper size with a mason's or sledge hammer, and a cold chisel. Do not bother with very heavy stones except for the foundation of the wall. Large stones are difficult to work with and if they are too heavy to lift will require a derrick of some sort to get them in place. Do not try rolling a heavy stone into position with the aid of a plank as you may ruin the work that you have already done. The best policy is to use only stones that you can lift easily. In laying a stone wall, keep both, faces of the wall flush. Do not let stones protrude beyond the natural wall face, as ledges may be formed that will allow moisture to seep in and thus damage the construction. Use bond stones at frequent intervals to tie the wall together; if used in every 10 square feet or so, these will make strong walls. Bond stones run the full thickness of the wall and are the strengthening factors in a wall, binding it together. The stones should be washed clean before they are used. If the stones are encrusted with dirt the mortar will not make a bond with the stone. Mortar for the stones is made with I part cement to 3 parts sand. Add enough water to make a workable plastic and pack the mortar joints tight.
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