Dry Stone Walling Bursary Training Portfolio
16.07.18 - 12.07.19
P. Jeyacheya
Workbook Two
Workbook Two consists of five questions. Together the questions cover a range of topics that are useful to a dry stone waller. Questions 1 & 2 cover the classification of rocks and how to calcuate the volumes & tonnage needed for building a dry stone wall. Questions 3 & 4 cover the structure of a dry stone wall and the potential faults that could occur for a number of reasons. The final question looks at how a dry stone wall provides habitat for a variety of organisms.
The answers are mostly highlights and are not intended to give a full understanding of all the topics covered. Instead they serve as an introduction that should be build on over time and with experience.
Workbook 2: Rock Classification
Q1a:
Give an example of walling stone for each rock classification and type and describe its characteristics:
Rock Classification
Sedimentary
Walling Stone - Type
Limestone
Caithness Flagstone
Sandstones
Pennant
Old & New Red
York Stone
Rock Classification
Naturally porous allowing rainwater to enter and leave the stone easily
Most are easy to dress with a walling hammer
Hard and durable where the quartx content is high
Rock Classification
Igneous
Walling Stone - Type
Granite
Characteristics
Irregular non-bedded lumps
Usually hard, dense, brittle and splintery
Good for single-stone-width walls
Create distinctive uncoursed random wall
Rock Classification
Metamorphic
Formed through the alteration of other rock types through: geological time, heat and pressure
Walling Stone - Type
Schist
Gneiss
Slate
Kirby Stone
Characteristics
Hard crystal structure
Lack porosity
Have 'cleavage planes'
Easier to split along bedding planes
Dense and durable
Cclour-fast
Q1b:
From your experience, which type of stone could you use for for the following wall types:
Field walling
Limestones
Sandstones
Granite
Garden walls
Blue forest marble
Sandstones
Bradford Delph
Decorative features
Bedded sandstones
Kirby stone
Yorkstone
Contact Us
Don’t put your project on hold. If you would like to know more about our dry stone walling services, then email us directly on drystone@rootscrafts.com or call us at 077 5321 8045.
Alternatively, you can fill out our contact form here here.

Our Services
Projects covered include:
- Free estimates & quotations
- Traditional dry stone walling
- Retaining Walls
- Cheek ends / wall heads
- Garden walls
- Field Walls
- Gap Repairs
- New walls with new or reclaimed stone
- Boundary walls
- Ornamental walls feature walls
- Dry stone walls with mortared coping stones
- Mortared walls
Areas We Cover
Lancashire boroughs of
- Rossendale
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Hyndburn
- Burnley
- Pendle
- and further afield ...
Services also extended to our nearest neighbours in:
- Todmorden
- Hebden Bridge
- Sowerby Bridge
- Littleborough
- ...and everywhere within that geographical circle