Building Stone Walls & Pillars in Mill Bay, BC with Lennox Masonry

Stone is a timeless material which humanity has utilized for both functional and aesthetic purposes throughout our collective history. It’s uses are multi-faceted and seemingly endless. The act of working with stone creatively, forces the mind to fixate on shapes and patterns, forming perceptions and habits until a stonemason is able to look at a pile of rubble on the ground and see through to its ultimate potential.

When it comes to designing and building unique stone features for clientele, apart from the clients vision and preferences, as well as my own, I find that the type of stone being worked with really gets the last say as to what style and shape it will take on. In that sense, the stone itself has completed most of the guesswork and it is now up to the stonemason to fine-tune and discover the how, why, when, and where. There is a relationship forming between the material and the sculptor so to speak without a word being spoken. In a way, becoming a mature stonemason is really the art of learning how to perceive the possibilities inherent in the stones and allowing yourself to be guided by those possibilities while the stones do the same. Though, in my experience, there are times when the stones don’t always want to go along with my vision and make it rather difficult for me to accomplish my task by breaking in unfortunate ways while being molded by my hammer. In essence, we don’t always see eye to eye, and maybe that’s because I can be stubborn and unwilling to stray from my desired outcome… we’ll never know!

Mill Bay, BC is a small commuter town located in the Cowichan Valley Regional District and is so aptly named for the fake that the community formed around a sawmill in the bay during the 1860’s. Here you’ll find marinas and sprawling views of the Saanich Inlet, as well as Brentwood Bay. 

The following stone walls and pillars are located along the Saanich Inlet and are visible from the main road in Mill Bay. You guessed it! Mill Bay Road. The client was interested in having some stone retaining walls built in order to house a garden and two stone pillars to create an entryway. We settled on the use of local river rocks, Pacific Blue Sandstone, coarse sand, and natural hydraulic lime to bring it all together.

The client wished to introduce lighting on or around the pillars and I recommended building recessed archways into the stone pillars from which lights could hang down from the top. The ground was trenched out and PVC piping was laid to ensure a safe and reliable power source from the electrical box through to the pillars. Concrete foundations were formed and poured as a sturdy foundation from which the stone walls and pillars could be erected. Once the foundations had fully cured, the stonework began in earnest.

Both the pillars and the retaining walls were built incrementally due to the weight of the stones and the malleability of the lime-based mortar. Natural Hydraulic Lime is a traditional mortar and takes much longer to cure than modern day Portland cement-based mortars. So, while building a wall or pillar up, the stones and the mortar need ample time to set together before any further weight can be introduced. Otherwise, stones start sliding around and things become uneven. 

As far as creating curves in stone walls is concerned, I have found over the years that the best way to form even curves is actually with small irrigation pipes tied into wood stakes. It beats a string line and is fairly straightforward. 

The arches in the pillars required some additional formwork and several unique stones were selected for the interiors of the pillars to add some depth and creativity to the overall design.

After everything had time to settle, the stone walls and pillars were capped with a Pacific Blue Sandstone which was quarried and cut by BC Marble Products here on Vancouver Island. They were also able to provide a large stone which was used as an address sign on the main retaining wall.

Lastly, the stones were sealed to highlight their colours and intricacies, and bring the project to life!

This project took several months to complete due to the weight of the stones, nature of the lime-based mortar, weather delays, and because it began around the same time Lennox Masonry was restoring the city hall in Duncan, BC which took up most of my mental energy at the time. In the end, we were all happy with the finished result!

Lennox Masonry of Victoria, BC has been proudly serving both Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands for over a decade. We are small group of skilled masons with a great deal of passion towards our trade and for improving the communities we live and work in. We extend our gratitude to the lək̓ʷəŋən people for allowing us to share and work on this corner of the garden with them. We are thankful for the residents and businesses of Victoria, BC for supporting us in our endeavors!

If you’re in need of a professional and reliable masonry company for your next project, please contact us today! And check out our Project page for inspiration when it comes to your next masonry idea!