Wanaka Stone

The perils of poor workmanship

Kath Jones — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 01:47:09 +0000

You’ll probably spend hours researching what type of stone you want, the colour(s) that would work best, and whether it fits into your budget and timeline. You don’t want to fall down at the last hurdle by engaging a stonemason who doesn’t have the skills to do a good job.

Unfortunately, that’s what happened to customers of ours in 2017 who ordered stone for their new build in Queensland, Australia.

They arranged for a local stonemason to lay the stone we shipped to Australia, but a day or two through the job they got in touch for advice as their feature wall was turning into an eyesore.

Lucy recommended discontinuing the services of the local stonemason and engaging a stonemason experienced in laying Central Otago schist and Cluden in particular.

Most people can appreciate the difference between average and amazing stonework, even if they can’t articulate it. A schist feature should be compelling to look at. Unfortunately this wall draws the eye for all the wrong reasons. There are different spacings between stones, many running joints, and wobbly courses (horizontal layers). This is not only unappealing; the wall also has poor bonding, which can be a structural issue.

Lucy put the homeowners in touch with Aidan from Pembroke Schist, a Wanaka stonemason specialising in Central Otago schist.

He went the extra mile (literally) by flying out to Queensland to take down and re-build the wall.

Aidan has over 20 years’ experience working with schist and you can see that perfectly here. He has used each piece of stone to construct a beautiful feature wall. The different sized stones are nicely distributed and evenly spaced both horizontally and vertically. There are no running joints, the courses (horizontal rows) are straight, and there are some larger blocks breaking the straight lines.

A good stonemason can create a beautiful wall with any stone.

Our top tips:

Find a good stonemason early on. We have many stonemasons we work closely with and are happy to recommend them.
Stonemasons are the best people to estimate how much stone will be needed and they can guide you on style.
Be clear about the look you want, take photos of stone you love.
Ask for recommendations from local builders, architects, or homeowners who have successfully created the look you’re after.
Make sure the stonemason knows how to work with the stone you’ve selected – schist is different to work with compared to granite, limestone, or brick/block, etc.
Ask to see examples of finished work and any published customer reviews for the stonemason you are considering engaging.
Once work has begun, if you’re not happy talk to your stonemason about it immediately.

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Know your stone: how to tell fake from local, quality schist

Kath Jones — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 00:26:55 +0000

Schist stone is an ever-popular choice for architectural projects across New Zealand, with much of it sourced from Central Otago. This isn’t always the case though, with schist cladding often imported.

Article published by ArchiPro Editorial Team – 08 August 2022

Whether it’s used in a rural, mountainous area where the rugged and natural form of the stone complements the surrounding landscape, or used as a feature in a modern build, New Zealand schist is easily recognised across the country. Known for its ability to stand the test of time, the naturally formed building material can be a sustainable option with a minimal carbon footprint – especially when purchased locally.

However, Wanaka Stone’s Lucy Middendorf shares that not all stone is equal and recently, many Kiwis have been purchasing stone they believe is locally sourced, but isn’t.

A qualified geologist, Lucy is a quarry manager and co-owner at Wanaka Stone – alongside her husband Grant who earned his quarry manager certification during his decade with the New Zealand Army’s Engineers Corp (RNZE). The pair have extensive experience with stone and have been supplying rock from two Central Otago quarries – Poolburn and Cluden – since 2014.

“Container loads of stone often come from China. The stone that’s imported is always a thin veneer that’s usually about 30mm or 40mm thick. Sometimes there is fake stone, so people could actually be buying a product that might be made out of concrete or other materials,” explains Lucy.

“It often has cuts on the top, the bottom and the sides, so when you apply it to a building it actually looks very regular – not like natural stone. Sometimes the importer only imports the flat pieces of stone, not those especially cut into L shapes for the corners.”

While Lucy says it can be difficult to recognise the difference between a stone that is from Central Otago and one that’s from offshore, there are a few recommendations that she has to ensure that quality schist is being purchased.

“They need to ask the question of where the stone is from, otherwise they’re not going to be told.”

Should stone be purchased in person?

Whether or not viewing stone and purchasing it in person is feasible for homeowners, Lucy recommends one simple first step: “They need to ask the question of where the stone is from, otherwise they’re not going to be told.”

“If a client lives locally or they can make a trip, they should definitely come and have a look, and touch and feel the stone. It’s a fun day out actually. All of the customers who turn up love coming out and seeing the stone and how we operate.”

A visit of the quarry can provide a good understanding of the different products, and how the stone is transformed into the final product.

“It gives people a really good appreciation of the whole process. They can be involved from the very beginning right through to having it on their property,” says Lucy.

“That’s another difference between sourcing locally and from overseas – we can actually supply every piece of stone that you need.”

What can Central Otago stone be used for?

Unlike much of the stone that is sourced from outside of Aotearoa, local quarries such as Wanaka Stone are able to produce stone products for multiple parts of a build.

“That’s another difference between sourcing locally and from overseas – we can actually supply every piece of stone that you need,” says Lucy, with Wanaka Stone able to provide stone veneer and schist cladding, window sills, lintels, fireplace mantels and hearths, and more.

“Often we end up being asked to supply some of those products to people who have bought stone overseas because they can’t get all of the pieces from the one place.

“We even crush our waste products – any stone offcuts that we can’t make into something – into decorative gravel to use every piece of stone in some way. So anyone who uses stone for the construction of their house can then progress to using it in their landscaping. We’re quite often dealing with people over many years, not just as a one-off.”

Lucy also explains that if stone is needed further down the track, it can be difficult to track down the same imported product: “Say you want to do a renovation in 15 years’ time, you’ve got almost no chance of matching something from overseas – unless you know the exact same company is importing exactly the same product from the same quarry, you just won’t match it again.”

Schist stone products supplied by the company are also bespoke – each slab of rock is split to the required dimensions.

“Each time we’re sourcing stone, we’re doing it based on what the clients and designers want. We process it, quality control it, and it gets delivered to homes across New Zealand – right from the Far North down to Invercargill.”

Get in touch with Lucy and the team at Wanaka Stone to learn more.

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August 2022 Newsletter

Kath Jones — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 02:51:17 +0000

Thank you for your continued support in what has been a challenging and wild winter so far!

This weather has been great for the ski industry, but not so great for processing or transporting stone. We’ve had delays caused by flooded roads and trucks stuck in mud. Our container shelter at Poolburn nearly blew away on THAT DAY of high winds earlier this month. We’re hoping for a more settled spring!

Definitely call ahead before driving out to either quarry as the road conditions have been very changeable.

Below is a photo of the bridge over the Lindis River heading into Cluden Stone Quarry after the early August rain. This rain event closed the Lindis and Waitaki Valley roads for days.

Results of customer survey

Thank you to all these who completed our customer survey at the start of the year. The results were overwhelmingly positive and really gave us (and the team) a great wee boost.

You scored us an impressive 9.6/10 when asked how likely you were to recommend us to friends and family.

This is a fantastic endorsement of what we do, and we appreciate the confidence in our service and products that this shows. We got some great constructive feedback, around some of our systems and processes and have taken onboard the comments. We are steadily modernising and moving towards more automation of our systems.

Increasing costs

We are seeing surges in costs in all aspects of life, and we are sorry to say we have to pass these on.

We have worked to minimise increases, with mostly a $20/tonne increase for most products. There are a few items with slightly greater increases to account for the specific increases in cost of production.

The crushed schist gravel hasn’t changed and will remain the same until we complete our next crushing and screening campaign over summer.

Please get in touch with Lucy for an updated price list.

Continuing investment in our people and equipment

This summer we installed a container shelter roof over our guillotines at Cluden Stone Quarry. This was primarily to provide shade in the hotter months, but it also created an upgraded smoko room where we now have power to run a heater and toastie pie maker on cold days. We also installed heaters and lights over the top of the guillotines to provide warmth outside on the -11 mornings and to make sure everyone can see safely before the sun comes up.

The container load of new equipment we ordered last year – including two manipulators for Cluden and a new conveyor for Poolburn – finally arrived from Italy after long shipping delays.

The manipulators (hydraulic arms) at Cluden move the stones onto the guillotine by remote control and take a lot of the heavy lifting out of our work. This reduces the risk of repetitive strain and crush injuries on our team. We are excited to be the only quarries in New Zealand to have these manipulators installed, but expect to see others following when they realise how amazing they are!

The new conveyor will reduce our unplanned down time at Poolburn and we expect to see an increase in production as a result.

We have also introduced a wellbeing allowance for our permanent staff to help with the costs of supporting their physical and mental health. We will share more details about this on the Jobs page of our website.

Planning ahead

We are still experiencing longer lead times than we have in the past. It pays to plan ahead by around 6 months at the moment for guillotined stone. We are doing everything we can to reduce this lead time but demand continues to be high and orders are coming in as fast as we can clear them.

We aim to always have Naturals in stock at Poolburn in two sizes: up to 180 mm and up to 250 mm. In addition we can supply retaining wall and crushed schist gravels at short notice.

School Visit June 2022

We had a fantastic day hosting a group of children from Take Karara school in Wanaka. They came to select stones for their new naturalistic playground being built by OuterSpace Landscaping. The kids had a blast attempting to smash all the frozen puddles in the quarry and did a fine job of selecting stones to a specification. We look forward to seeing them enjoy the finished playground.

We are hiring

We are looking for another team member. They could be either casual over summer or more permanent. Please recommend us to anyone who enjoys working outdoors in a great team. We have a strong record in safety and supporting staff wellbeing and are happy to sponsor visas for great candidates. Check out our Jobs page on the website for more information.

The post August 2022 Newsletter appeared first on Wanaka Stone.

December 2021 Newsletter

Kath Jones — Tue, 21 Dec 2021 00:57:54 +0000

It’s definitely the end of the year

We will be closed from Wednesday 22nd December until Monday 10 January for a well-earned break. Thank you for your support and custom over the year. We really appreciate it!

Customer Survey – tell us how we did

Wanaka Stone are beginning a strategic planning process to identify how we can improve our performance. We recognise that customers are the most important part of our business. We have developed a short survey if you could please complete. It should only take you a few minutes.

All feedback is anonymous.

We would really appreciate your honest feedback (the good, the bad, and the ugly). With this feedback, we will look at how we can better improve our product and services so you the customer have a better experience dealing with us.

Wanaka Stone Customer Survey

We look forward to your feedback.

Covid 19 Traffic Light Procedures

In line with Ministry of Health guidelines, Wanaka Stone will be adopting a COVID-19 risk management plan to protect the health, safety, and wellbeing of our people, customers, and communities. This has been created in consultation with our on-site staff and aligns with the COVID-19 Protection Framework (the Traffic Light System).

From Monday 13th December 2021, we will implement the following measures:

At ‘red‘ we will limit the number of non-essential visitors. All visitors must:
– provide vaccine passes
– sign/scan in
– wear face masks when they are within one metre of staff.

At ‘orange‘ all visitors must:
– sign/scan in
– wear face masks when they are within one metre of staff.

At ‘green‘ all visitors must:
– sign/scan in.
– Face masks are not mandatory, but visitors are encouraged to use them if they prefer.

Like many of you, we operate as a small close-knit team. Having staff off sick has a direct impact on our level of production, so it’s in all our best interests to avoid Covid-19 as much as possible!

If you would prefer contactless pick up or delivery, please arrange this in advance. If you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch with Lucy on 0210 266 9300.

See more about visiting us on our contact page.

Fully stocked with schist chip (shot rock)

We have finally got back to good stock levels for all schist chips, we have 60mm, 40mm and 20mm back in stock with plenty to last the rest of the year.

We can deliver in our 10.5 tonne truck for local orders, or contract other transport companies to move larger quantities or send it further away.

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NZ Stone Mason Association

Wanaka Stone — Sat, 14 Jul 2018 04:26:00 +0000

Choosing the stonemason is probably the biggest decision that will determine how your stonework turns out. A good stonemason listens carefully and creates well-constructed work in the style you choose.

Currently in New Zealand stonemasons do not have to be Licenced Building Practitioners (LBP) or have any qualifications. There are many skilled stonemasons available who have years of experience but as the industry is busy there are also some who have little experience and knowledge and this often results in poor workmanship.

We have been corporate members of the New Zealand Stone Mason Association (NZSMA) since 2016. The NZSMA is dedicated to advancing the profession of stonemasonry in New Zealand through promoting best practice and sharing knowledge.

The association has a small team of volunteers working to improve training syllabus, professional standards and knowledge of the regulators to improve the overall standard of stonework through out the country.

We support the NZSMA and see it as a positive step towards ensuring all stonemasons are suitably competent to complete work and ensure all work is safe.

Talk to us today about your project and we will be happy to recommend stonemasons who are skilled and experienced.

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Winter Update 2017

Wanaka Stone — Mon, 07 Aug 2017 04:07:00 +0000

The building boom has continued well into 2017 and we are busy at Cluden Stone Quarry even in the depths of winter. It has been fantastic to be part of so many stunning projects.

The construction boom has justified our big 2016 investment in a new Italian guillotine and other equipment that improved our reliability and efficiency. Our Italian guillotine is producing longer and taller stone which has been proving popular and fast to lay. We are continuing to replace equipment to keep up with best practices and ensure our team are kept safe.

We have plenty on already for this time of year and expect spring to be even busier, so do get in touch early to confirm stone orders to avoid delays with your projects.

Increase to Pricing
We have managed to hold our prices steady for over three years, but we can no longer continue to absorb the significant increase in compliance costs, equipment, and operating expenses. We are raising our prices from 1 August 2017, honouring quoted pricing on confirmed orders, while new orders will be at the new rate. If you have any queries or want to get hold of our updated price list, please contact Lucy by return email or phone.

New quarry increases colour options
Grant and the team have been busy developing further up the Cluden Valley to supply large stone for digger stacked retaining walls. The colour is an attractive dark grey to blue-grey with quartz veins and some massive quartz pieces. You will see these blended into our standard bags, and we are also supplying grey only orders with this stone.

New Zealand Stonemason Association Code of Practice
The New Zealand Stone Masons Association has recently published an industry Code of Practice. This document includes some design detail and best practice guidance. The Code of Practice can be downloaded off the NZSMA website, or Lucy can email it direct to anyone would like a copy.

Wanaka Stone Website

Please do refer friends or clients to ourwebsite to check out stone inspiration and styles. Your Style Choices guide has been popular with architects and those making decisions about how they want their stone to look.

Linksgate Subdivision (below) in Arrowtown used a blend of natural browns and golds and guillotine cut stone to achieve a dry stack style wall finished with soldiers.

Finally, we love to hear from our customers, past and present and always enjoy checking out photos of finished work. So please, keep sending the photos through and keep in touch!

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Cluden Stone Quarry bringing stone cutting into the 21st Century

Wanaka Stone — Sat, 16 Apr 2016 03:48:00 +0000

Cluden Stone Quarry has invested in a state of the art Italian made guillotine which has the best hydraulic technology, safety and speed available on the market. This new guillotine weighs 7 tonnes, comes with a 4 metre conveyor and uses 24 cutting teeth which can mould around the stone before the pressure comes on, decreasing breakage and increasing quality output. This is a huge step from humble origins back in the mid 1980’s when Neil Purvis first recognised the quality stone on his station.

The first building stone to be taken from Cluden Quarry was loaded straight into a truck and transported to its final destination. Stonemasons used sledge hammers and bolsters to break it into pieces usable for cladding. The work was hard, slow and resulted in significant waste rock.

Older buildings clad with this stone are easily spotted around Wanaka town centre. Each piece of stone tends to be quite small, rustic in appearance and have a large number of natural gold-brown faces. The styles laid almost always used a mortar joint of 10mm or more.
Guillotines were introduced to New Zealand around 15 years ago, with some possibly being used earlier. They completely changed the way stone was used, with the breaking and cutting of stone occurring at the quarry instead of onsite.

These hydraulic powered machines were all engineered locally and work in much the same way as a log splitter, they are designed to cut the schist along the natural lineation, creating a fresh straight face for laying. Guillotine cut stone makes life easier for the stonemason as they receive pre-cut stone and only have to trim it, rather than breaking it with a sled hammer and bolster. It also makes transport more efficient because only useable stone is being carted, waste rock stays in the quarry and doesn’t need to be removed at the completion of the job either.

These days Cluden Stone Quarry work closely with many architects, stonemasons and home builders to cut stone how they prefer it. Whether it is specific colours, shapes or textures we are happy to work with the client to achieve the desired results.

Schist is the metamorphic basement rock of the whole of Otago district, with outcrop from the coast around Dunedin right through to the Southern Alps and West Coast of New Zealand. It formed over 200 million years ago during the Jurassic period.

Schist has many different colours and textures and they all tell a part of the story of how it was formed. The blue and grey colours that form the predominant colour of Wanaka Schist from Cluden Stone Quarry was originally sandstones that have undergone intense heat and pressure. The charcoal blacks would have originally been mudstones, possibly with lots of organic matter present.

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