Stone Pier / Corner Extierior View. Lancaster PA.

On this stone masonry project we have the exterior view of a corner / pier built with sand stone. To the right of the pier is what is left of the wall that used to support the corner of the barn. It used to wrap around the corner at it’s current height and wood extended down to support that end of the building. Before this pier could be built temporary supports had to be installed so the wall could be removed. After the wall was braced the lumber that made up that end of the building could be taken down. Then it was possible to remove the stone wall.

After inspecting the stone wall it was determined that the wall was built on top of the ground, meaning it was not on a footer. This meant the base of the wall was exposed to freezing temperatures and that is the last thing that you want. This leaves the wall vulnerable to cracking caused by freeze thaw cycles. As the ground freezes it expands lifting the wall and then when it thaws it settles again. It’s a subtle movement, but when it happens a hundred times or more over the course of one winter season it can cause major damage to a wall. This is a less than ideal situation for a load bearing wall.

In order to remove the section of stone wall saw cuts were made on the interior and exterior. Then the wall could be removed without disturbing the rest of the wall as it was not in very good shape. After the wall was gone it was time for the excavator to bring in his machine to dig the trench where the new pier would be. Once the ditch was dug a reinforced concrete footer was poured below the frost line. Next a solid stone wall was layed up to grade “No block were used for this stone work”. After all that it was finally time to build the pier.

The corners on the rest of the barn that are not visible in this picture are all large stone no less than 14 inchs in height. In order to match the rest of the barn as much as possible this pier had to be built the same way. Fortunatly the stone were available. It can be a challenge to get stone that size. Some of them are 30 inchs long. This makes for a very heavy stone and since I was working by myself on this job, just moving them around was rather difficult. Now I did have the benefit of a skid loader to get them onto the scaffolding. After that though it took some engineering to get them onto the wall, especially the top course. However in my opinion all the effort was worth it. The home owner is happy with the result and that is what it is all about.

This stone masonry job is located in Lancaster county P.A.