Forgotten Details

The idea to chip out part of the broken stone seemed plausible. I had forgotten the full nature of these mud stones. They commonly have a core of silvery gray material that is filled with fossils and is incredibly hard. When these mud stones are out in the open this core is impervious to sledge hammer blows. What made me think that I could chip away at it when it was part of the wall? The silvery gray color is hidden under frozen reddish brown mud.




Five new stones have secured the right end of the fault. A shim can be worked under the second stone of the patch. The repair should hold the wall in place. When the supply of wall stones is not frozen under ice and snow we may be able to find stones that will do a better looking job of filling the hole. For now the wall is ready for winter.

The Depth of the Problem

There's a lot of wall resting on our "weakest link". I removed the pieces of stone that I could get out with my fingers. There are more broken pieces, but they are frozen in place at the moment. The thought of removing all the stones in the wall above the bad one is not a happy one. The attempt to chisel out the offending mud stone is looking like the best alternative.

It is fortunate the such a nice long stone with considerable weight on the right end rests on our crumbling stone. It makes partial removal seem possible. It's just a matter of time before Ed gathers his hammer and chisels and gives it a try