Walls also serve as habitats for wildlife, small mammals, nesting birds and of course many invertebrates. Many plants, including lichens and mosses, grow in the crevases, though ivy in particular should be removed.

See Latest Work for work completed in 2020 - 2024.

Many of the walls you see on these pages needed to be repaired while others are new. All require the same care and attention to detail. This includes the choice of stone, the appropriate capping and style of building. For some conservation areas these elements are proscribed - eg where other properties in the village have upright copes any new wall may be required to be the same.
Time is spent clearing the site with perhaps some hedge cutting or tree pruning, and then making good at the end of the job, lawn seed will be sown if necessary. All waste material is taken to reclamation/recycling sites for recycling. Green waste is separated from hardcore and goes to composters while stone and other materials are crushed so repairing your wall is a 'Green' thing to do.
Tom can arrange for name plates, carved or engraved stone property names and other accessories, such as gates, as requested. He is also in touch with sources of different stone for capping or paving.
If there is significant vegetation covering your wall it may be best to have it all removed in winter when it will be easier and less time-consuming and in any case should always be done after the end of the nesting season.

Why Tom uses as little cement as possible.

Traditionally dry stone walls should not have any mortar but over the years many have been rebuilt or repaired with cement. The life of this mortar can be as short as 5 years whereas a wall with no cement could last many decades, settling into position slowly.

The video (it is an mp4 so may not be supported on your browser and may need to be opened in a new tab, perhaps by right clicking) below shows Tom removing an old cemented wall showing how the mortar has crumbled away.
Exceptionally planners in some areas insist that a repair is done with cement to match other walls. There is an example on the Latest page of a lime-mortared wall in Wantage.

DRY STONE WALLING

Turning a pile of stone into a fine wall. This is 35 tons of stone used to build the walls in Aylesbury. This was all new stone for a new wall however, when a wall has fallen down or is otherwise damaged Tom will sort the stone so that as much of the old stone as possible will be reused. This is not only convenient but also means that it is ecologically sustainable and that the old stone will be mixed in with new to maintain the look of the rest of the wall. He will take away rubble, where appropriate, for recycling.

A fine traditional dry stone wall in Moreton-in Marsh incorporating a curved section.

Some unusual ideas for your wall

You can incorporate name plates, old sinks or reclaimed carved stone into your wall. You could also have an alcove for the milkman or for your post and other deliveries. Make your wall destinctive with a feature which will still be there perhaps a hundred years from now.

Tom has incorporated both a nameplate and a flat slab in a front wall for the sale of produce from the owner's garden.

You will notice that there are different treatments of the tops of the walls. While the traditional upright copes may be the ideal it is always important to maintain consistency and thus many repairs require that other styles are used. However, as cement is more resistant than the stone it is often seen hanging over a hole in the wall and needs urgent repair.

If you have a repair it is worth thinking about changing the top of the entire wall if this is feasible.

A small wall in Witney - in keeping with the others in the street of this old market town where stone is frequently replaced with other materials.

Before and after in Middleton Stoney and a completed repair in Ramsden

With winter rain and wind many walls become unstable to say the least. It is worth checking them all and having them made safe before they become dangerous - this is particularly the case where your wall is on the roadside and you could be liable. Tom can advise you and will only recommend work where it is necessary.