About Natural Stone

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About Natural Stone

Shumock Masonry Inc. est. 1981

PHONE: 215-840-0321 / 215-491-9525 FAX: 215-343-7647 E-MAIL: SHUMOCK MASONRY

Serving Eastern Pennsylvania - Bucks, Montgomery, Chester Counties area since 1981

We Can Offer A Wide Range Of Reliable Resources And Possibly Great Discounts For:

NATURAL STONE WORK

Natural Stone Work is the most meticulous & artistic phase of the masonry trade. Our artisans can take almost any unworthy piece of natural rock and cultivate it into a masterful piece of sculpted stone which intertwines with other sculpted stones, yielding a "one of a kind" masterpiece.

Today's natural stone work differs from the stone work of yesteryear when only local stone was used!

The combination of stone comprised of various stone indigenous to various demographic areas of the world gives us today's "Blends". The blending of stone is responsible for the full range of different colors & textures we see today.

Unlike the "old" days the stone facades we see on houses today are veneers (2", 4", 6", 8"), it is extremely rare that stone would be used as a structural material as was when the complete structure was stone in & out - solid stone walls.

Even then it was all assembled / installed not using mortar as we know it today but mud & straw, mud & horsehair or a lime putty. It's not the mortar or mud that held it together it was the integral way that the mason placed the stone in place, mortar was just a filler to seal the joints of the stone & balance them as the next stone was installed. And when it was all said & done it was covered in a plaster, just as it remains on some of the old buildings today. Pointing was usually done on visible stonework which was more seen on monumental or more urban & institutional buildings back then.

Today, the plaster is pulled off the old stonework & usually pointed in to give it the aesthetics we ogle at, which is now prevalent on the old stone buildings. It would just be too costly now a days to construct of solid stone!

"NATURAL / REAL STONEWORK" Is applicable to almost any situation.

The skill level of the stone mason is directly responsible for the cut or shape of the stone & how it is installed.

Today's stonework is a combination of the stone masons skill and the blend & type of stone selected.

Unlike the old days stone is more of a veneer up against a structure. "Ancient Times" it used to be that the stone mason was a "Master Stone Cutter" which was a specific skill alone, the "not so" skilled stone cutters were the setters.

Now a days "Master Stone Cutters" are a rare commodity, considering the stone is not generally cut that precise for fit anymore, the "now" generation of Stone Masons must have a general understanding of old world construction & new world techniques. He not only has to be a stone cutter, he has to have an innate ability to create the aesthetic appeal that is desired by the customer creating stone fireplaces, chimneys and facades on houses / buildings / structures. He has to be able to take a raw pile of rocks, cut & shape them and set them in a "customer - determined" pattern in a disciplined manner that is indistinguishable from the other stone masons installing adjacent to them.

One can Not be a "MASTER STONE MASON" unless they "DO - THE - TIME" ? "The Shu" - Book 3: Chapter 1; Verse 26:

MASONRY SERVICES GALLERY HOME REFERENCES CONTACT US JOBSITE HUMOR

BRICKWORK FLAGSTONE FIREPLACES 2" STONE VENEER MASONRY RESOURCES