Comments

Hi, just to let you know if you are ever looking for a venue for a course,
I have tons of rock and would love to have a dryrock wall built. Just let
me know. Thanks Laurie

beautiful job on the outdoor fireplace

Many thanks. I received a congrats about winning the photo contest in email from someone on holidays out west - People are regularly checking your very attractive website

Doug Jamieson

Hello, John.

Thanks for your words and inspiration during wall-building workshop last weekend at the Chrystian farm. I've come away with perhaps equal doses of inspiration and humility: not sure which will win out. I see you posted photos and words about the wall and the oven (those two chickens in the photo with Bob and the new oven should likely give that oven a wider berth...)
Thanks again, John.
A

Thank you again for all I was able to learn from you. I had a great time, and I can't wait to start walling on my own.

Matt ( East Lansing, Mich.)

Hi DSWAC

Last year I built a small section of a limestone garden wall with the intention of making it look like it had fallen into disrepair. It was someone else's design idea and I'm still not sure I made it work (in restrospect I wish I'd done things a bit differently but it meant design changes), but my point is that I liked working on it as an exercise. It was so interesting and it forced me to think about the logic of building a wall so that in its fallen down state it looked authentic (assuming it was built properly in the first place of course).

Anyway, another good walling weekend was had by Joe and I in Grand Valley this past long weekend. The Landman's have both a lovely property as well as a lovely family, very friendly and welcoming. As usual coming home all we wanted to do is continue on with the next project. I quite liked working with the chocolate limestone. Really nice stuff to work with. Funny how all the different stones, depending on where they came from have their own characteristics just like people. You have to get to know them and treat them accordingly.

My next plan is to begin working on a wall ( both Joe and I) using stone we reclaimed from a barn foundation last Spring. Unforntunately we didn't manage to get more before the powers that be "got rid of it all". Such a shame. There were two barn foundations on two adjacent properties. The one had big beautiful, huge cut granite field stones. All gone.

Well again, thanks to you and Eric for a good weekend. Looking forward to Rocktoberfest. I HOPE I can get there this year. Sounds great.

We thoroughly enjoyed our week-end with you at the Landman farm. Your passion for DSW is infectious and we can hardly wait to begin our own project. It will be a vegetable garden enclosure using stones from area
fence lines. Enjoy your summer. The bridge at Gananoque sounds
intriguing, Best wishes, Jill and Dave

Mary, We are trying to sign our daughter, Kaitlyn, up as a member but can't get in to the Membership Information page. Can you help us? It says "access denied". Thanks. Regards, Jill and Dave

Awesome weekend at the Frontenac Biosphere office building a stone arch. I got a lot out of the hands-on work and instructor guidance. Picked up more priceless dry laid stone working knowledge and enjoyed the good nature of my fellow students. Keep up the good work DSWA of Canada and thanks for allowing your Southern neighbors in the USA join the fun!
p.s. JSR, please send me a members password for the DSWAC website.

Hello John,
Our designers and landscape crews were fuelled this morning as we revealed our story and pictures of the workshop and from your portfolio. We’ve opened the box for more possibilities for our landscapes and we greatly appreciate your contribution. Thank you for the great weekend.

Aaron P. Wallis

Hi John,
Thanks again for course this weekend. The guys are still talking about it and I have spent some time just looking at it. I have looked through your book at the projects you have done. Very impressive! You are a very good teacher.
Take care
Tom

Dear Mr Shaw-Rimmington

You'll be interested in recent developments regarding the Town of Midland's
approval of the Midland Heritage Committee's recommendation to designate the
Drummond Wall as a heritage site. The developer then issued a formal
objection which was to lead to a meeting with the Ontario Conservation
Review Board. A settlement has been reached which was presented to Midland's
Council meeting of March 22(tonight) and is attached. Although the terms of
the settlement appear to be confidential, it was verbally reported by Town
Planner Wes Crown that the developer has agreed to redesign the plan of
subdivision at his own cost so as to leave the wall intact and its future
will be under the control of the Town of Midland. I will try to obtain a
copy of thus agreement, but it appears the news is good.

Jack W.

Is there a fee for the workshops or do you just need to be a member?

Hello! I just wanted to say thank you for the excellent pictures of dry stack round rocks. We have a gravel pit of about 160 acres and I never thought I could use them for my retaining walls/landscaping projects. You gave me some great ideas. I just hope my back can take it!!!
Heidi Upstate NY

Hi Mary,
I been thinking about becoming a member for quite a while now. I want to keep developing my skills, so there's no better way than to become more involved. Just yesterday I was saying to Joe that the best way to learn to work with stone is just by doing it over and over, again and again. And ever since I got a taste of dry stone walling I've known that I want to try more.

Hello,
I am the Secretary of the Yorkshire Dry Stone Walling Guild, your
interesting site was pointed out to me by one of your countrymen due over
here for a course in May. I think we should forge some links. Visit
www.ydswg.co.uk to see what we are about. Look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards Brian Wood

Hi John, I was in your workshop at Northwest Landscape in Burnaby about a year ago. I am still collecting stone to rebuild my falling down retaining wall in my front yard. I am trying to do it as cheaply as possible because I have very little disposable income after my teenage twins are through. So far I have collected about 4 or 5 tons of salt and pepper granite, all free. Some was from walls and is random block shapes and sizes, some is more of an ashlar/thick veneer, and then I have about 300’ of coping. It is all about 4” thick, 1’ wide and ranges in length from 2’ to 6’. I now have an opportunity to get some reclaimed Arizona Sandstone, not quite free, but at $50 a pallet it is too cheap to pass up.
My question is, what will the grey granite and the brown sandstone look like together? Have you ever used stone in combination like that? I don’t want to spend the money and time and energy to haul it by hand if it won’t look good. I just can’t visualize it and can’t find any photos of the two together.

Wow. Great information here. I like seeing the catalogue of older canadian walls. Are there any walls out east?

Good day to you John. I just wanted to let you know that We had a delightful time hosting the workshop for you here in Redwood City and love all the knowledge that you and John imparted to us not only about our own project but about other projects and concepts for using the dry stone wall method in all sorts of applications. There is something special in seeing that community of stone souls coming togehter in that beautiful wall that I get to look at everyday. Thanks and I look forward to more. Earl :-)

Hi, I've been visiting this website for a few years because I love dry laid
stone work, and you have the best photos on the Internet. I'd love to
attend one of your workshops, but between travel, hotels, workshop fee, and
now a passport to go to Canada (I'm in Michigan), it's just too much money
for something that is just a hobby.
Have you ever considered making a DVD with examples of well made walls and
construction techniques? I'd love to learn proper stone laying techniques
for the price of a DVD since I can't afford to come to Canada for training.

I've built a couple of stone retaining walls using round, glacial
fieldstone found locally, but I can't imagine how to build a durable,
freestanding wall with the same round rocks.

Thanks for a great website,
Rob