Listening to the stones

The design and creation of distinctive, unique projects in stone is our business. We hold the medium of stone in high regard, worthy of your ideas to enhance your home or business. The project might be the showpiece of your property, or subtle accent for your garden. Our emphasis is on function, form and detail. We use the natural beauty and permanence of stone to create art that you will appreciate every day.

Precision and an eye for detail

While we frequently follow the plans of architects and garden designers, our favored method is for our own team to design according to the aesthetic and physical needs of the site. Once broadly defined, the next step is consultation with the client or designer on the selection of materials and the construction process. We'll discuss features that highlight the unique character of your project, special touches that we delight in creating such as the introduction of water, tables and benches, niches, birdbaths, sundials and more. Other subjects to cover are bringing in machines if needed, special drainage situations, the removal/preservation of existing features, and any restrictions particular to your site or personal preferences.

Every stone carefully set

The majority of our work is done using "dryset" technique. We believe this method is the ideal for most applications. Closefitting the stone, utilizing the individual shape, color and texture wherever possible (often hewing the rock to fit when not) produce in the end an expression of natural strength and symmetry. The means we use to construct our dryset walls, rock upon rock, are superior to nonbreathing concrete or mortar work. The hydrostatic pressure is slowly bled off, and the gravitational push is resisted by "deadman" pieces sunk deep, along with a considerable backing of waste rock unsuitable for the face.

Within the broad framework of the project, we need the freedom to listen to what the stones tell us, as it is our reason for being. Rarely does a plan survive its implementation, and we believe in an ongoing dialogue between stones, client and ourselves, and ultimately your trust in us to tie it all together.

The project takes shape

Depending on the size and scope of your project, when construction begins it can have quite an impact on your perspective- trucks offloading boulders or heaping piles of stone, trackhoe positioning the thick choker cables for rocksetting. You'll see dramatic changes daily.

Once the handwork starts, it settles to a slow rhythm that we think our clients share. There will be the tap-tap of patient hammer and chisel, and the sound of rock chips sprinkling the ground as a new angle is formed, and you'll perceive the courses laid, the flow of a curve, and the grand design, emerging stone-by-stone.

A work of art in your own back yard

Building with stone has been around forever, for good reason. The strength and durability are a given, and executed properly, the function is exceeded by the myriad of aesthetic values: clear angles, graceful curves, pleasing shapes and lines, textural contrast and color tones. Whether for a dramatic cascade of water or a boulder arrangement softened by your flora, Eric Contey Stonework uses all these concepts in creating for you.

Every project we build is a labor of love. Each stone is examined, hefted, fit in any number of ways until it finally becomes a part of the mosaic which is the whole. The value of the endeavor to the client is in direct proportion to the care we take creating it. Once completed, it will outlive us all. We find this deeply satisfying and so will you.

For more information, contact Eric at 503.234.8619, or email us. CCB# 120321