PASS!!

Ken Tuach now holds a Level 3 Adavanced Dry Stone Wall Certificate from the Dry Stone Wall Association of the Uk.

The test was observed by two Master Craftsmen Dan Snow and Chris Tanguay of the DSWA, additionally certified as examiners. The test was comprised of two parts:

Part A, unlimited time to build 10 square meters with various features.



Part B, seven hours to take apart and rebuild 4.5 square meters or retaining wall.




Details on the features:

The Level 3 Part A feature was built at our stone yard in Pynn's Brook, NL July 2012. It meets the required special features of high wall and curve and is 10 square meters of face on the outside of the curve. It has a sacrament about 11" deep sitting on a solid sand base. From the top of this footing the wall stands 7' tall with a batter of 6:1. It has 3 staggered courses of through stones 1m apart. If i remember correctly its weight was calculated somewhere around 22 tons. The odd looking cope stones are a load-cast feature which was split in half using feathers and wedges. One end of the wall is left open as there are plans to extend the wall this summer.


The Level 3 Part B test was taken at the Stone Trust in Dummerston Vermont, April 20th, 2013. A strip and rebuild of 4.5sq meters of retaining wall in 7 hours, no corners required. This particular wall stands about 4' to the base of the copes with one row of troughs at mid-hight. If you look REALLY closely you might make out the blue chalk lines which delineated the limits of the rebuild; the blue chalk stayed untouched and everyting in-between was removed and rebuilt.