When you choose to build with stone one of the most important considerations is the person who builds it, all too often high quality stone is ruined by inexperience and bad building practices, a good stone mason can turn average quality stone into a beautiful piece of building work. The origins of building with stone go back millennia and working techniques were passed on through different generations working side by side. Today, the majority of skills for this work still have to be learnt on site. Stone houses have a natural beauty, they are very low maintenance and don't require painting or siding, they are built to last and do. Natural stone is the traditional building material of the UK; stone has been used for building and roofing purposes for over two thousand years. Stone is a highly durable building material with high thermal mass. Locally quarried stone is an eco-friendly alternative, it's versatile, available in many types, shapes, sizes, colours and textures. Stone is about as sustainable as you can get. Look at Stonehenge. Look at the Pyramids. Although not technically houses, those things have lasted forever. Remember the Three Little Pigs? One of the pigs built a house out of straw, another sticks and another stone. Straw, in an ironic twist, turned out to be a rather good building material, but stone has always been a good building material.
