New Stone Work - Your honest opinion please!

GTXBuilder · Nov 28, 2017

Hello,

I recently had stone work done on a new house. Please take a look and give me your honest feedback.

Thank you,

G

griz · Nov 28, 2017

My two cents worth....

Pic 1...stonework too high, looks out of proportion

Pic 2....obnoxious vertical line to left of small upper window in center of pic. Expansion joint????

Pic 3....joints look a tad wide. I prefer tighter laid stone work.

Fouthgeneration · Nov 28, 2017

Looks like low bid, most likely illegal alien, cheesy tiny mixer. marginal scaffolding....

Stones smeared, Bond, James Bond maybe.....

that inside corner, I could use to climb to the soffit, then CONTROL JOINTS on Peon masonry........I don't recall many CJs on old school peasant hovels...

Late Neo- Classical Multi-cultural tuscany/ southWest no-Where style/design---not all the crappe stonework's fault, some the drunken window placement/sizing...... Hilly lots are for young couples and crazy old people, not very salable in most markets, spend the extra 10KS for flatter lot next time......I ran out of breath just counting the steps......:jester:

Left over stones perhaps bought to "save" money????

Exposed stone ledge = cheap skate, Yes, we did use some masonry, but ran out of $ and or Taste.....Cover less wall, but start BELOW grade so it looks more authentic.

D + the plus is for using full bed materials....

Low bid, maybe a little lower then normal booty.

This is the house you "forget" to put your shingle in front of.....:blink:

The good news: it will be easy to do better next time, if you can sell this eyesore at cost.

kirkdc · Nov 28, 2017

A very poor choice of cultured stone, too irregular which makes it look wavy and downright ugly.

I've laid a lot of phoney stoney and real rock. That style of stone is one I would refuse to lay, it's just too ugly due to the irrgularites of it. And it's run up way too high on the front of the home.

The stone is all beat up and scratched bady, and they didn't accent around the windows first and then fill in around them. Slapped up in 2 days would be my guess. Really bad, sorry.

What did ya pay for that ?

Kniggit · Nov 28, 2017

kirkdc said:
A very poor choice of cultured stone, too irregular which makes it look wavy and downright ugly.

I've laid a lot of phoney stoney and real rock.

Thats not cultured stone.

91782 · Nov 28, 2017

OP got what they paid for - guarantee that.

Kniggit · Nov 28, 2017

What part of the country is this in? Looks like it was just thrown in, they semi look like they knew what they knew what they were doing..ie no boxes or long stacked joints but it looks like very little care for what it looks like just get it done.

Leo G · Nov 28, 2017

I'd say it went up to high also. Other than that, looks OK to me.

GTXBuilder · Nov 28, 2017

Thank you all for your honest feedback. I just received a written commitment from the sub-contractor to remove all of the stone from this home and replace it. More details and updates follow.

91782 · Nov 28, 2017

GTXBuilder said:
...More details and updates follow.

No thanks.

jomama · Nov 29, 2017

I actually logged on to CT to start a thread about this, and ask the pro's advice over at the DIY site, I guess I don't need to now. :laughing:

As I said over there, I think it looks terrible. The design is fine IMO, the execution is severely lacking. Just because the stone come's in "that" shape doesn't mean you should/have to lay it in "that" shape......

91782 · Nov 29, 2017

why would you post on another site about a job that is not yours?

KAP · Nov 29, 2017

This one section highlights the execution... if you can't get it right on the flats... :whistling

.

Windycity · Nov 29, 2017

Yea I am enjoying it! Looks like the Masons literally threw those stones on top of each other as fast as they could...jagged stone obviously will not be perfectly straight and square however you at least want to get them somewhat level...and I can bet almost nothing got leveled there

good thing is if that does get torn down stone is pretty easy to clean and reuse usually

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Golden view · Nov 29, 2017

I've never worked with stone or subbed it out. I don't see much in my area. Anyone care to share an example of a similar material expertly executed?

Inner10 · Nov 29, 2017

Any of Bytor's posts.

artisanstone · Nov 29, 2017

Uh...

My point was that if the stone is wedge shaped, not every stone will be level on top. Also, a torpedo level is a pretty poor way of checking level on a 2' long stone.

Windycity · Nov 30, 2017

Yea besides if the customer picks an irregular shaped stone product they probably don’t want ever stone straight, square and level, Just like my picture above I tried to keep the flatter stones level and the oddball ones add some character by not being perfect

Here is a project that I did where the stone is more square and straight...this obviously requires the stone to be level

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superseal · Nov 30, 2017

They needed a better mix of high and low rise stone...the style of pointing makes a big difference as well.

I commonly take chit stone and make it look good...

superseal · Nov 30, 2017

some more...

B.Johnson · Nov 30, 2017

I look at the chimney at the roof ridge with the scaffolding, ladders, and jacks and all I can think is how much work it would be just to get one stone up there.

Your work looks great!

stuart45 · Nov 30, 2017

Does look like hard work with materials.
Most of the old stones houses round here have brick chimneys.
I took the grandkids to an old stately home round here last week which had a load of twisted stone chimneys, but I expect the owners had plenty of cash to throw at the build back then.

JBM · Dec 5, 2017

Ill tell you what i think when you tell me in what position of cheapest to most expensive was his bid.

JBM · Dec 5, 2017

when you have wonky stone you have to come back to level as fast as possible while cutting the stone as little as possible. With thin stone anyways. Also use the largest side of the stone to get out of a low spot and get to level, not to create a high spot.

natural1 · Dec 6, 2017

Hard to look at.
So the sub is going to re-do the whole thing? How does a job get that far along with out noticing the poor quality.

Whats up with all the small windows?

91782 · Dec 6, 2017

bingo!

Fouthgeneration · Dec 6, 2017

Here is my Wild Assss Guess of what happen,

0. Builder / owner wants 'real full bed stone'......

1. Builder contacts a Journeyman employing Stone masonry sub for Square foot prices for material and labor, get a honest answer and goes 'Holy manure'.... that cuts into gulf course time & $.

2. Contacts local 'lick and stick' illegal alien subs for lower bid/estimate, Si senor, cheap and FAST. No waste.

2.5. Builder specs use of 'scrap' rocks to save a few more $ on this Pig. Illegal aliens drive on, El Jeffee is always right. "Looks good from Zambezi".

3. Cheap design, + cheap materials + poor taste,semi competent labor - lack of style = ugliest home in the development.

4. A few hundred thousands of dollars are tied up in this scat till it is peddled to a greater fool.

Buy an old board game for the spinner, relabel the sectors with your supply chain, designer, banker, InterNet Forum posts, Mom & Dad, weather, and various subs.
When ever your work is sub par, spin the spinner to assign blame.

I'd suggest work on the "man in the Mirror" for actual improvement in Home building results longterm.

kirkdc · Dec 7, 2017

haha. very well could be.

kirkdc · Dec 7, 2017

Does anyone start and finish a job (without collecting any money to even get started) ?????? HUH ??

Contract ??? HUH ???

33-33-33 ?? HUH? 40-30-30 ?

Hell I collect 50% to start, 25 when half done and get the the last 25 when almost finished.

Windycity · Dec 7, 2017

I do all the time but only with contractors that I know very well and trust them....some of them I have known over 20 years now

Otherwise hell no

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JBM · Dec 7, 2017

Probably a Mexican crew, usually no money down for production work. You get what you pay for.

6stringmason · Dec 26, 2017

I see numerous problems with the execution. ****ty material is one. You can tell just by looking at how it was laid that it was a wham, bam, thank you ma'am job.

Fouthgeneration · Dec 27, 2017

A hundred batches, each cleaned out in a different spot in the yard ????????

Tumble mixers have been banned for quality mortar ~40 + years....

Original Poster Please respond with more facts please, Some one is always the hind most, we just hope it is some one else that is on the bottom of the quality/value ladder.....

You could pray the owner stuccoes over the fine stonework.....

JBM · Dec 27, 2017

This thread is utter failure on both the builders end and masons end. I don’t go 2 days without verbal acceptance from person writing the check. To think weeks worth of stonework was done without a payment plan or visual acceptance is monkey plus football. I find it hard to believe a super or the builder didn’t swing by to see a section done, piss off with your taking all the stonework down....

Bull Trout · Dec 27, 2017

It kinda feels like the OP tried to "save" money by doing it himself instead of paying the exorbitant fees the sub contractor were asking for, and came here for affirmation of his good job

New Stone Work - Your honest opinion please!

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