S n e c k e d s to n e M AS O N RY

by Bobby Watt

This method of bonding stonework is so prevalent in Scotland and SNECKED MASONRY involves three kinds of stones:
Ireland it has been referred to in some journals as ‘Celtic Bond’.
Amongst the French speakers in Canada it is known as ‘travail RISERS—Or JUMPERS, these are the stones extend up through the
ecossais'. horizontal beds. They can be square, or almost square, or up to
three times as long as they are high.
Whatever it’s called, this is a method of building an incredibly strong
masonry wall with differently sized, (and even very loosely LEVELLERS—These form the bulk of the wall. They are usually at
squared), stones, in either ashlar or rubble work, with a pattern that least twice as long and up to five times as long as they are high.
is both handsome and, at the higher levels of workmanship, artistic.
SNECKS—These are the smaller pieces that enable the mason to
The principal characteristic of snecked work is the keying together make up the differential in height between the top surfaces of the
of parallel courses of stone. This is achieved by interrupting the levelers and the risers.
level height of a horizontal course by placing a taller stone that
reaches up into the next course. This vertical interlacing gives a wall The easiest way to build snecked masonry is to work with uniform
a tensile strength that enhances its compressive strength. material such as that provided by free-stone suppliers, like Indiana
Limestone, who saw the stone into standard bed heights that
When I served my apprenticeship we were never provided with enable us to conveniently build snecked work with a minimum of
a set of instructions to build snecked work; it was picked up bother. The visible faces of such stones are usually pitched. But
directly on the job. When I started teaching stonemasonry to beware; some suppliers, either ignorant or unprincipled, provide
brick and blocklayers at Durham College in Ontario, I learned the stone in this category that is face-bedded, that is to say with the
value of putting the basic tenets on paper for the students to take bedding plane of the stone running vertical, parallel to the surface
with them. plane of the wall. For shame! This stone will, in time, defoliate.

36 s t o n e x u s VII
 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
1. Always lay sedimentary stones on their natural bed.
2. No stone should be higher than it is long (Fat Tony), except at
corners.
3. Avoid blocked or running joints. There must be only one stone
on at least one side of any vertical joint.
4. Avoid setting any more than three stones against a riser.
5. Risers should be evenly distributed throughout the body of the
wall and the grouping together of like-sized stones is to be avoided.
6. Avoid the ‘stepping’ effect of levelers of the same bed height and
same approximate length set on top of each other.
7. Avoid lining up the vertical joints in alternate courses. This gives
the wall too much regularity and detracts from the over-all appear-
ance. Slightly offsetting the vertical joints imparts liveliness.
8. Generally, risers should never touch except at corners and open-
ings. (Jambs)
9. Don’t allow horizontal joints to run more than four or five feet
(1.5m). And, if possible, break up the horizontals on short stretch-
es between windows or doors.
10. Try to provide a substantial bonding lap. A minimum of a
quarter, ideally a third, of the length of a stone being set should
cross the joint between the two stones below it.

In the simplest type of snecked work: There is an alternative to the lines when building a stone veneer
against a backing wall. If the back up material is plumb and straight,
The height of a leveler is equal to the heights of two snecks plus the measure from it to the arris of the stone being set to ensure conti-
thickness of a joint. nuity. Each stone still has to be individually leveled. Using a four
foot level along the wall helps you keep all of the high points level.
The height of a riser equals the heights of a leveler and a sneck plus
the thickness of a joint. It is very important to be thinking three or four stones ahead of
yourself to avoid making mistakes in the wall. If you do make a
To set out the work, you need to first cut some corners (quoins) and mistake, hopefully you will realize it and if you realize it, hopefully
build the wall ends, or ‘plumbings’. The cornerstones should be ris- you will be responsible enough to take the wall back down and fix
ers. (Just as an aside, anyone who thinks that a stone wall, any it. It is either right or it is wrong. If it’s wrong you have no right to
stone wall, can be built starting in the middle without building cor- be calling yourself a stonemason!
ners does not deserve to be called a stonemason.)
Avoid blocked joints—two or more stones on BOTH sides of a ver-
Here is a good place to introduce an important masonry term, ‘arris’. tical joint. And especially avoid running joints—multiple stones on
An arris is the angle at which two planes meet. The corner of a build- BOTH sides of a vertical joint.
ing, right angle or not, is an arris. The arrises of a single stone are the
corners where the plane of the visible vertical face of a stone meets Once you have mastered the idea of this bonding method, it can be
the planes, horizontal, vertical (or diagonal) that will be hidden with- used with every kind of stone available. Even irregular material—split
in the masonry of the wall. Each rectangular stone thus has four arris- and roughly squared granite boulders or field stone. Be aware that
es on its visible face. All of the arrises of a single stone should exist the rougher the stone, the more difficult it is to stick to the rules.
on the same vertical plane. If not the stone must be taken “out of
twist.” All of the arrises of all of the stones in the wall should exist It can be very helpful to draw the bond when you are getting ready
on its vertical plane (although the faces may protrude). to start your first few projects. It is also fun!

To assure this, building lines should be stretched between the cor- When using any sedimentary stone that does not have sawn beds,
ners (plumbings.) If the wall is very long, it may be necessary to every possible size and shape will be encountered, it is very chal-
build an additional plumbing, (sometimes called a tailing), in the lenging to get it right but the results can be remarkable. The best
middle of the span to support the building lines or ranging lines. rule for this type of work is to always make sure that when you set
your levelers against your risers that there is enough height left for
In snecked work, with so many different levels of work going on, it a reasonably sized sneck.
is useful to set a line set higher than the levels at which you are
working. This is called a ranging line and sighting down from it GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY BUILDING!
along the arrises of the stone being set and the arris of the stones
already in the wall keeps your wall straight and plumb—or straight Bobby Watt is Scottish and a traditionally trained master stonemason who
and battered, as the case may be. The building line is used when is the Principal of RJW Stonemasons in Ottawa, Canada (www.rjwstone-
you are trying to attain a constant level line, such as the top of the masons.com). He is also a respected teacher and lecturer on the subject of
wall, or setting up for window sills or band courses.) stonemasonry and historic masonry restoration.

s t o n e x u s VII 37