Saturday, April 24, 2010

Compounding the problem.



Is it ironic that the work I most enjoy doing has nearly the same description as the thing I enjoy the least? Dry walling can never be as much fun or feel as creative as dry STONE walling. However a number of uninformed people don't even seem to be aware that there is in fact a difference. On more than one occasion someone seeing the website has called me up figuring I did dry wall and asked if could do their basement. I have to admit I was tempted to say that I did just to see how much of a wall I could actually get built in someone's basement before they started getting upset.

While I admit that good dry walling takes a special ability and when its done right is pretty impressive, it will never be a substitute for the satisfaction that comes with seeing or building a good dry stone wall. So why are there so many substitute products? Every year in fact more wacky faux-stone products come on the market . New stone impostors made from not only from pre cast concrete material but also extruded plastic and polyester resin material are forever being introduced at trade shows and building supply stores . How anyone could ever be fooled or satisfied by anything that isn't made from good old natural stone is beyond me.

It is a great shame if people continue to have less and less access to such a simple and wonderful natural building material as stone.
To think that modern technology needs to try to improve on or reproduce real stonework, (whether it be dry stone or mortared ) only compounds the problem.