What do you know about the masonry trade?
For example, I'm looking around at the prices of reclaimed stones; caps, quoins, coping, general ornamental architectural stone. And it seems to be very high, for example the pictures cap stones cost 650£ per pair, and are dimensioned at 70*70 cm bases roughly and 45cm in height. Now these are old and carved stones, so that's a fair bit of money.
However if any of you know about this, what is the value based on? For example, it's clear to me that cut stone is far more valuable than cast concrete, is that the main thing that affects price? Because modern cast concrete stones are multiple and far cheaper than reclaimed cut stones. But I wonder if somebody was cutting these stones from raw stone instead of casting them from concrete, would they still be worth £650 or is that value mostly in their age?
Also does anybody have any idea about the prices and the trade in purely architectural stone, cut wall, roof, chimney fluted and classical shaped style stone????
Geologist opening a marble quarry in quebec. Were getting 14$/cubic feet for architecturAl stones. Were selling rAw blocks of 18' x 4' x 4'. Production cost is evaluated at less than 2$/cubic feet.
And your price is really only dictated by the look of your stone and the current demand... Not that much about its usage. If the stone looks good, they will see if its physical qualities fit the needed usage.
>>1312020
Alright. Thanks for the post, that's good to know, but somehow I think the marble market is different to what I'm looking at. Which is more traditional stonework used in restorations and conversions in the UK.
However a further question. Not relevant in the case of Marble, but perhaps you know about it; would people pay more for a machined, modern CUT STONE ornament ( say an ornamental cap stone ) than they would for an identical modern POURED STONE item?
Afaic, poured stone and cut stone look pretty much identical, however I can imagine people paying more for cut stone for posterity's sake, I wonder if that is the case.
>>1311927
As a fully trained stonemaze, I have to say, this gives me a ROCK hard boner.
Also, poured/cast stone looks like shit.
The only reason I can imagine why someone would want that is because it is cheaper.
>>1312348
Alright, so how would you evaluate a piece of ornamental stone? How much of it's in the type of stone Stone, it's age, whether it's been hand cut or cut by machine etc etc?
Also what kind of stone masonry do you do? And what are the most valuable architectural things that one could cut?
>>1312374
I've put it down a few years ago :(
The Value should be much higher if it is made by hand.
If it is made by a machine, it look like the same as 90% of all other tombstones.
Most hand made stones are unique.
It also depends how weathered the stone is. The more the longer it takes for restoration.
> most valuable architectural things
cathedral and churches
Srsly the only positive thing out of religion for me.
Also statues but that's more a sculptors work
>>1312533
Okay, just to confirm I'm not talking about tombstones, or kitchens or any of these other stone related industries, although I'm sure they're lucrative.
I'll tell you what I'm thinking about, so recently I've been working with a stonemason, and basically he's got a constant demand for reclaimed quoins, sills and lintels which he values at £50 per quoin and about £300 per lintel for the sizes of windows that he is putting in. Mostly in Sandstone because of the area we're in.
And these are very basic cottage Quoins and Lintels, so I figure that the kinds of architectural stone which you see on the roofs, windows, bay windows, above the doorways; ALL over old grand townhouses and wherever else. So that got me thinking that these fancier, more ornamented carved stones, must be worth A LOT of money, and looking through salvage websites they do seem to be.
So essentially what I wonder is; using a CNC router and CAD, to design and manufacture ornamental stone, would that stone be saleable for just as much as hand cut stone or reclaimed stone.
So say I had a CNC router capable of cutting stones like the OP, would they be worth just as much as the old reclaimed ones in the OP image? Is this realistic.
Appreciate the replies from someone that knows their shit. What's your business now?
>>1312655
Normal people don't give a shit if it is hand made or by a CNC machine( (maybe a few parts need some handwork) if the price is right.
If it looks the same and the buyer have no idea how the surface processing should look if it is handmade, then there is no difference.
You can do a lot of awesome stuff with CNC and stone, but I can't tell how big/fine the details can be made with a CNC.
Maybe there is a company near you doing CNC stone cutting. There you can get some better information.
>>1312713
>>1312713
Okay that's great, thanks for the information. It's what I wanted to hear.
It seems to me a lot of stone cutting is still being done by hand, and I imagine that with the cost in terms of all the hours you're paying a skilled mason for hours for carving architectural stone, if you had a CNC machine capable of doing that kind of work, not even fine detail, just basic fluting and cornicing.
Then I thought this could well be a lucrative business idea.
>>1312738
That stuff made entirely by hand is expensive.
As much as possible is pre-worked by machines and then finished by hand.
Check this out, stuff made with a CNC machine:
http://galerie.amc-competent.at/garten-figuren/?wppa-occur=1&wppa-cover=0&wppa-album=56
>>1312828
Thanks, CNC's have great potential. Interesting to see.
