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A typical day

Start at 7am. Set up scaffold and mortar boards. Pick and cut stone to fit, with a chisel and hammer or a diamond saw, then set it in the wall, checking line and level constantly. On a restoration you cut out failed mortar, replace a cracked block with one you have carved to match, and keep the old work intact. On a landscape job you build a dry stone wall by eye, stone by stone. Dust, weather and heavy lifting all day. Clean up and cover the work by 3:30pm.