4 Reasons to select Slipform Stone Masonry for Your Home

Building slipform stone houses is a labor of love. The technique is time consuming, physically difficult, and time draining. It isn't a prospect that your average owner/builder should take on without doing a lot of research. This said, building your personal stone house using the slipform method could be the most satisfying experiences you will ever have, provided you know what you are getting into. As a solid proponent of slipform masonry, I thought I would share five reasons that you might consider the technique.

Slipform Stone Masonry is Easy to Learn

Just as any building technique requires care, attention, and a bit of trial and error to master, building with slip forms does need a bit of effort to master. Even so, if you can use a level, move some rocks, and count, you can learn the fundamentals of slipform building in a weekend. If your corners are square, your forms are plumb, and you also give consideration, the craft is more forgiving than many techniques, and lends itself well to learning as you go.

Stone Houses Require Little Maintenance

There's a lot to be said for permanence. Many experts guess that a well-built haybale home will have a useful life around 90 years - a few hundred year-old haybale structures do exist and are still in use. Mother Earth News indicates that even a neglected cordwood house should be expected to last a hundred and fifty years. In contrast, there a many, many stone houses in use that are more than five hundred yrs . old, and several thousand year-old stone houses throughout Europe have been continually inhabited since their construction.  More help  with a modern metal roof (with an expected useful life of 100 years or more) and you will expect your slipform home to shelter your family in comfort for generations.

Stone Houses Are Valuable

If you're considering building with slipform masonry, you are likely also considering a great many other alternative and owner/builder options including Earthships, Hay Bale, Cordwood, and Post & Beam. With the possible exception of a traditionally build post and beam house, a slipform stone house may be the only option that will be as valuable or higher valuable than a traditional stick-built house.  get more info  of a stylish stone house generally exceeds that of other homes. Stone is lasting, stately, and speaks of permanence. These qualities interest buyers, and whether the housing market is struggling or not, which will give you an edge over other sellers, and a SERIOUS edge over those seeking to sell alternative homes - typically being among the most difficult houses to market.

Stone Is Attractive All economic considerations aside - considering things on a purely aesthetic basis, stone looks great, and it looks great to everyone. The selling point of other popular owner-builder techniques is pretty subjective - some like one approach, others like a different one. Earthships, for example, have become attractive homes to me, while my partner describes them as "weird-looking." No one would describe a stone house as weird or unattractive, increasing the selling point of the style.

Whether slipform stone is for you personally or not isn't a decision you can create predicated on any online article, but once you make the decision, there are a great number of reasons to feel great about stone. With luck, this article has given you food for thought, or served to reaffirm your commitment to stone building.