Ever pondered through historical sites and buildings and wonder after all these years how is it possible to keep the building standing and intact. Have you been to a house and fiddled your hands against the stone benchtop and wondered how it is durable.
Well that’s where our wonderful stonemasons come into effect playing an important role to prepare stone for building and repair stone that has been damaged. Further to this, they are most important for creating strong standing builds and creations. We sure should thank them for maintaining the structure of churches, houses and historical buildings that we enjoy seeing and taking photos of.
A stonemason’s everyday job consists of cutting and carving different types of stones. Making and fitting stonework like window frames and archways. Dressing stone and building walls. Clarifying and translating drawings. Working with a number of different hand tools. Collaborating with historians and conservationists. Lifting and carrying heavy materials and equipment.
So we know what a stonemason is and what they do but what is sandstone? Sandstone is a type of sedimentary rock composed of sand-sized grains of mineral, rock or organic material bound together with silica, clay, calcium carbonate and iron oxide. Often sandstone is the colour of off whites, creams, pale pinks and browns. Sandstone is recognised for its natural strength, durability, load bearing ability and slip resistant nature. This is a big plus as sandstone can deal with the harsh climates of Australia. Not only that, but Sandstone is good for insulation as it keeps homes cool in summer and warm in winter.
With sandstone, beautiful buildings and homes are created but it sure needs to be properly maintained as it is vulnerable to rising and falling damp or drainage problems.
If you desire to be part of such beautiful and durable creations and become a stonemason then Traineeships and apprenticeships are available to help you gain the necessary experience to become a stonemason.
To all our stonemasons; past and present we thank you for all your hard work.