The Stacked Stone Fireplace...
Stacked In Your Favor!

A dry stone or dry stacked stone fireplace, for many of us, is the ultimate fireplace surround. Carefully assembled by human hands, the placement of each stone reflects the skill and artistry of its creator. Each hand-crafted surround is truly unique and -- in many instances -- a veritable work of art!

Stone Hearth pictured above by Peace Design

Technically,  dry stone  is  a building method by which structures are con-
structed  from  stones  without  any mortar  to  bind  them  together.  In practice, however,  the stones used
to  build a stacked stone fireplace -- though assembled tightly together -- sometimes  allow  for  a  very narrow mortared bed joint that is raked back deeply  into  the  stone work  so the mortar is undetectable.

The practice of dry stacking stone goes back thousands of years, in many parts  of  the  world, and was often used to erect retaining walls and field boundaries or fences to contain livestock.   The strength of a dry stacked wall relies on the weight of the stones and friction between each stone to those around it.    Very strong and long lasting walls can be built with this method, with some existing English Cornish "hedges" believed to date back to 4000 B.C. or before.   To build an enduring wall,  care must be taken to make sure it's on a solid base,  the  stones fit tightly together,  and  basic rock wall building techniques are adhered to.

There  are  several methods of constructing dry stone walls, depending on the quantity and type of stones available.    Most older walls are construc-
ted from stones and boulders cleared from the fields during preparation for agriculture (field stones),  but some were also erected from stone quarried nearby.  Thousands of miles of such walls continue to exist, many of them centuries old.

While  the  dry stone technique was generally used for field enclosures and retaining walls, including the attractive undulating wall pictured below, left, it has been utilized in a multitude of other ways, as well.   For example, the benches  around  the  fire pit in the photo below,  right,  employ  dry stone bases capped with large stone slabs for seating.

In addition,  it has also been used for buildings,  such as shown in the two storybook cottages pictured below.

Since at least the Middle Ages,  some bridges capable of carrying horse or carriage traffic have been constructed using dry stone techniques.     The beautiful arched example pictured below is of much more recent origin and was  constructed in Ontario by members of the Dry Stone Wall Association of Canada in 2007.

More Stacked Stone Fireplace Designs

One of today's finest stacked stone fireplace artisans is Lew French, who resides on Martha's Vineyard. The design pictured below, with a close-up on the right, is a striking example of his artistry!

See More of the Exciting Stone Artistry of Lew French

Dry stone or dry stacked stone fireplace designs can be created  from  vir-
tually any stone type, shape,  size and color . . . . in nearly any configura-
tion.  As shown in the following examples, the stones can range from small river stones in varying colors carefully assembled in a symmetrical arrange-
ment  (below left) . . . . . to large monochromatic stone blocks arranged in a random, asymmetric manner for a much more rustic look (below right).

The following two designs,  crafted from river rock and beach pebbles,  are perfect for a small beach cottage . . . . .

while the monumental designs pictured below, crafted from massive round boulders  or  large rectangular blocks of cut stone,  are right at home in a sprawling mountain lodge.

See More Monumental Fireplace Designs

Outdoors, as with dry stone walls, a stacked stone fireplace is a  perfect complement to the surrounding land-
scape.    The unique design pictured
at right is from Champlain Stone . . .
. . . while the more traditional design shown  below  was created by mem-
bers  of  the Dry Stone Wall Associa-
tion of Canada.

Please check back often or subscribe to our  RSS feed,  as we fre-
quently add new photos of stacked stone hearth designs to our site.

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