Site Prep Workshop for Dry Stone Wall

   Dry stone wall building workshop that teaches proper preparation and focuses on setting up batter frames and sorting stone in NJ and nearby NY.   The NYNJ Trail Conference is excited to announce this workshop being held in partnership with The Stone Trust. Established in southern Vermont in 2010, The Stone Trust’s mission is to preserve and advance the art and craft of dry stone walling.       This workshop is ideal for both beginner and dry stone wallers, enthusiasts, homeowners, and contractors alike. This is a special workshop where some of the top dry stone walling instructors in North America will be teaching the art and craft of dry stone walling on this historic site. It is a great opportunity for those in the greater metropolitan New York City area to lean about dry stone walling without a long distance trip.      This will be the first of two planned workshops to build a permanent wall in front of the Trail Conferences’s new headquarters at the historic Darlington Schoolhouse in Mahwah NJ. This workshops will build a free-standing wall which will be three feet tall and run for over 160 ft. The wall will be built using the standard structural practices. The style of work will aim to match the historic dry stone walls and fences of the area. There are several cheek ends and curved sections for the more advanced participants.      Workshop participants will learn the needed site preparation for building a wall. Participants will be lead through discussions of sourcing and selection of stone to use, and preparing the foundation. For the better part of the day, participants will be learning from and working along side the instructors setting up batter frames and sorting stone for building. Knowing how to efficiently build sturdy batter frames and understanding how to use string lines are two of the trickiest aspects for many dry stone wallers.   For more information and to register please visit The STONE Trust