Cairn Building Workshop

POSITION: Always seems to be on top of a hill. Unlike hill dykes where stone is traditionally brought down to the site, the materials for a cairn have to be transported UP the hill. These days it is unreasonable to expect any builder to cart stone uphill using biceps and boot leather, so some form of vehicle is required. This can involve covering long distances over trackless country, so it’s quite important to get this right before putting in the final quotation for the job. You may even need the services of a helicopter – it has been known!

ESTIMATING MATERIALS: “Oh dear. Let’s see, is it seven or nine feet across the base? How high will it be? What will the batter be? Shall we just keep building and see where we finish up? If, fifteen feet is too high, well we’d better reduce the base diameter or it’ll look like a giant cow-pat from the road.”

A real minefield as you can see. A pillar will be the same proportions all the way up, and the height will be specified, so estimating the amount of stone required will be simpler than guessing something that vaguely tapers to an uncertain height. In my own limited experience of cairn building, I’ve found that the customer can’t say exactly what he/she has in mind, and any suggestions from the builder are very welcome. “About twice as high as me, and narrow. You know what I mean.” I recommend getting them to supply a sketch with rough dimensions so that you DO know what they mean, then bring in far more stone than you actually require for, as you approach half-way and the curve gets tighter, you will need to be more choosy over each stone used. Check if the customer wants a plaque inserting in the stone work – or you may be heartbroken later! 

BASE: Use a line and pin to draw your circle.

 

 

When

Location

123 Washington Ave, Portland, ME, View Map