Choosing the right stonemason
Reading time: 12 minutes
From the grandest of cathedrals to the humblest cottages,stonemasonshave helped to craft some of the most beautiful and long-lasting buildings we have.
With such a specialised and distinctive trade, it’s vital that you find the best possiblestonemasonto perform your work. We spoke to some of the experienced tradespeople recommended on MyBuilder to find out the key things you should know in order to make the right choice:
- Look out for experience as much as accreditations
- Make sure you are comfortable with them
- Ask questions about how they’ll approach your job
- Get quotes that cover everything and establish a payment plan
- Check their familiarity with planning permission and building regulations
- Agree what aftercare will happen after the build
Keeping these points in mind can help you focus on what to look for when you’re meeting with tradespeople and getting quotes for the work. Carry on reading for more details on how to go about finding the right tradesperson for your job.
Look out for experience as much as accreditations
Stonemasonscan carry out a wide range of work - everything from building and maintaining traditional stone walls, either for homes or in a garden, to creating bespoke lintels, doorsteps, and other stone finishings. Although general builders, handymen and other tradespeople such as landscape gardeners may be able to carry out some tasks, such as constructing a basic garden wall, a specialist will always be best placed to carry out these kind of jobs.
When looking for a tradesperson for your project, it’s sensible to speak to ones who have performed plenty of similar jobs to the one you have planned. As well as seeing previous examples of their work that they can show you as part of their portfolio, you may also be able to arrange through them to visit their previous jobs - they should be happy to put you in touch with previous clients they have done work for before.
除了查看他们的推荐信，你还可以做其他事情来了解他们的经验。在MyBuilder上，你可以看到他们为房主提供的工作的真实反馈，也可以看到他们所从事工作的图片。世界杯荷兰vs威尔士竞猜也不要害怕向他们提问，比如他们所拥有的资格证书、他们在这个行业的时间长短，或者他们将如何处理你的工作。许多人将有特定的资格，如NVQs或城市和行业证书。其他人可能在已经建立的石雕中心工作过，比如在大教堂工作，它运营着大教堂讲习班的奖学金，或者接受过国家遗产培训小组的课程。其他人只是在工作中学习，和另一个更有经验的石匠一起当学徒。
Some tradespeople may belong to trade associations. Stonemasons may belong to a number of trade bodies, which can cover a variety of different disciplines. These include:
- Federation of Master Builders (FMB): The UK’s largest trade association for the construction industry, all members are inspected by the body and expected to uphold standards and follow a code of conduct. There are different levels of membership, with the highest, Build Assure, offering the option of an insurance-backed building work guarantee.
- Guild of Builders and Contractors: Members of this body who become a “Trusted Member” have to demonstrate three years of trading with customer and financial referees, and abide by certains standards such as providing written contracts and clear payment plans.
- Guild of Master Craftsmen: Covering a variety of trades, each full member is assessed in person by the Guild to ensure they are reaching high standards of work. The Guild also provides a conciliation service for disputes between homeowners and member tradespeople.
- National Federation of Builders: Members must provide business and financial references, have public liability insurance and adhere to a code of conduct. Although it does not offer a guarantee against work, it operates a complaint procedure.
- FairTrades Association: Established in 1983, the FairTrades Association covers multiple trades and works to ensure standards, encouraging its members to offer insurance-backed guarantees on their work.
Membership of a body such as this is a good indication that a tradesperson is competent and working up to certain standards, however, there are many experienced tradespeople who do not belong to these bodies - there is no obligation to be signed up, unlike membership of the Gas Safe Register, a legal requirement for tradespeople who work with gas in the home. While trade body membership can be seen as a good seal of approval, it is experience that is the most important thing to look out for.
Nick Kilshaw of Kentish Builder, a bricklayer and stonemason with nearly 300 positive pieces of feedback on MyBuilder said:
我的建议是看看人们得到的反馈，看看他们的照片，看看他们实际上获得了什么经验。不要只看一些漂亮的照片——看看他们是否有类似工作的照片，问他们一些相关的问题，确保他们知道自己在说什么。当我向人们展示照片时，我可以告诉他们所有的事情，他们可以自由地打电话给之前的工作，并直接听到他们的声音。
对于砌砖我有nvq，最高可达三级。然后我进入了修复行业，石匠——这是我真正的职业。石匠没有那么多的资质，所以它归结为经验。人们是根据反馈和评论雇用我的。
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Make sure you are comfortable with them
As well as knowing if they are experienced with your kind of job, you should simply assess how comfortable you feel with the potential tradespeople. You can do that from your first contact with them; are they polite on the phone, do they arrive for meetings at the scheduled time, do they ask lots of questions about the project?
根据工作的规模，石匠工程可能需要一些时间。在整个项目过程中保持良好的沟通是必不可少的。你不应该以和他们成为最好的朋友为目标，但你应该能够有一种专业的关系——你必须感到自在地公开谈论任何可能出现的担忧，并处理任何问题。Nick said:
Getting on with a tradesperson is key. They should be really open and happy to talk you through everything, tell you what they will do and how they do it. If they seem reluctant to put you in touch with past clients or explain everything, I’d think that was a bad sign. There are plenty of good people out there.
Ask questions about how they’ll approach your job
A bit of knowledge can go a long way when it comes to building projects, and being prepared to ask questions of your potential tradesperson can help you to judge how they’ll approach the job. No one wants a tradesperson who is happy to cut corners or take shortcuts. As well as asking about previous jobs, ideally going to see them, and checking their past experience, reviews and references, ask about their day to day processes - how they’ll work on site, what a typical day consists of, how they carry out the specific task needed, such as repairing loose stones or doing some repointing.
当涉及到这些常见的石雕工作时，许多人试图使用他们的DIY技能，而名声不太好的工匠可以寻找捷径，努力做到快速和最少的工作。Nick gave some pointers of things to look out for to ensure quality workmanship:
I’ve done many repointing jobs, and you get a lot of DIYers that just haven’t got a clue. They don’t know about grinding out the old mortar, how to wash out, what mix to use, what finish. It’s got to be done right - I don’t suggest it as a DIY job.
Sean Warrington of Pointing & Brickwork, a bricklaying and stonemasonry firm with more than 100 positive pieces of feedback, said:
We use mortar grinders attached to extractors, so anything that comes out the wall goes into a big machine, whereas when you get people that don’t specialise it you’ll find they just use a small angle grinder and there’s dust everywhere. I’ve actually got photos of how not to repoint because I like to show clients if it’s done badly, this is what it can look like, and it can devalue your property. It’s better to use a specialist because obviously they’ve got specialist equipment, they’re faster, neater and more efficient.
Get quotes that cover everything and establish a payment plan
较小的工作，比如修一堵低矮的花园墙，不需要复杂的报价，而对于许多较大的工作，建议至少与三个商人会面，并从他们那里获得报价。他们报价的细节和范围可以告诉你很多关于他们的过程。重要的是要确保所有的报价都是对等的——它们是否包括材料和劳动力，以及任何分包商可能做的，以及增值税?如商人要拆除及处理以前的任何物料，例如正在拆除的旧石墙，是否包括在内?准确比较报价的唯一方法是同类比较，并从见过这份工作的人那里获得报价。
Taking a sample of at least three quotations can help you spot any that seem unreasonably low - if this is the case, it could be the sign of a tradesperson who wants to win the job, but will make up the true value by adding on extra costs during the course of the build.
On large repointing jobs, many bricklayers may subcontract, hiring scaffolders to come and erect professional scaffolding to allow them access to the whole wall. Talk to the tradesperson you are interested in to see if this is necessary and how it will be worked out.
After agreeing to a price through an accurate, written quotation, make sure you have a payment plan in place that you are comfortable with. A written contract is the best way to ensure you are on the same page, with no misunderstandings.
A reputable tradesperson will generally not expect, or ask for, the total value of an expensive job up front. However, a small deposit is not uncommon. While many builders buy materials on account from trade suppliers and will not request money up front to cover these costs, if it’s a small firm working on a large build with high costs involved, this may be worked into the plan.
Usually, payment will be deferred until after the work is completed. Many tradesperson are happy to be paid in cash, but most will now accept cheques or bank transfers. Barry said:
I ask for a 15% deposit, I find that’s normal for the trade. It depends on the size of the job. How it works for me is I meet the clients, we discuss the work, I’ll gather as much information as I can about what they want doing. I send them a quote and a breakdown of all the costs, and at the bottom it will say ‘subject to 15% deposit upon booking’, and then I’ll give them a start date. I’ve had jobs that have gone on for quite a few weeks.
Nick said:
For a big job, something that is several thousand pounds and taking place over several weeks, I will ask for staged payments on Fridays to cover wages and materials. I don’t typically take any deposit. For a very small job, they might pay up front, just say here’s the £100, carry on with it. On a week’s work, usually I’ll just get paid at the end. It’s only a big job that requires staged payments. You just have to agree up front and both be happy with what you’ve agreed.
Check their familiarity with planning permission and building regulations
Depending on the kind of work you are asking the stonemason to carry out, you may need to consider planning permission and building regulations. For example, if you are building a wall alongside a road or pavement alongside a road more than 1m high, you will need to apply for, and obtain, planning permission before construction begins.
However, most maintenance jobs on existing walls and repointing will not be subject to planning.
Some work involving stonemasons, such as on an extension or outbuilding, may require sign off from your local authority’s Building Control department, which administers building regulations. Other work may require a structural engineer to prepare a report beforehand. Discuss with the stonemason you are interested in hiring whether your job will be subject to planning or building regulation. Experienced stonemasons will be knowledgeable about all the latest requirements and and how they apply to your project, and how they will be dealt with by the planning departments of local authorities - they may even know planning officers to ask for advice. Beware of any tradesperson who is casual about the need for planning permission or Building Control inspections - breaching regulations can lead to costly fines, and being forced to undo any work. Nick said:
I’ve been to jobs before where people haven’t realised that anything like a structural engineer’s report is necessary. They think they don’t need it, but it pays to do a bit of research and give it some thought, because it can be the first question I ask when I’m invited for a job, and if it hasn’t been sorted, then I won’t be able to come and do it.
Agree what aftercare will happen after the build
With any building project, there is the possibility that complications and problems may arise. Often, these issues may not manifest themselves until after the work is notionally complete, and the tradesperson has moved on to other jobs. That being so, it is sensible to hire a tradesperson who is happy to return to the build to follow-up on their work and make right anything that may have happened since the work finished.
Some tradespeople will put something to this effect in their initial contracts with the homeowners, while others will offer a more informal arrangement. If the tradesperson is willing to put you in touch with previous clients to see their work, then it is a good sign that they have maintained good relationships, taken pride in their work, and ensured that they have followed-up on any issues that have arisen.
