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A "how much?!!?" moment.....
Hello, has anyone out there ever purchased a stone garden bench? A real stone one, rather than reconstituted stone.... I was at a local reclamation yard today (albeit a fancy one behind a local garden centre) and I spotted a cute little stone bench. It didn't have a price tag on. It looked roughly cut, which is what I prefer. Just three blocks of stone that were just the right size to make a bench. I thought to myself, "if they tell me it's priced at 60 quid, I'll offer them 50"......
I nearly fell over when the chap said it's £395!
He told me all about how it had been put together, and how rare stone is...but still, £395?!
If I found a stone mason, do you reckon I could get one out together for a better price...or should I just 'dream on'!?
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I guess I'll be dreaming on then! Unless I have a lottery win! Ah well, it would have been too heavy to slip into my handbag anyway
Dream on Tootles. My OH is a stomemason, a cremation tablet would you cost you that. a headstone double that. Cornish granite is like gold dust..If you can buy stone from India or China, it will be far less than English stone, its cheaper to import from there than here! Sad about the air miles but they do buy them in unless someone specifies Cornish or Darmoor.
I think I'm going to do just that pansyface. A nice little project. I think I drive past one on the A1 when I'm heading south of Nottinghamshire. If I give up my morning coffee I could have enough for one in a few years! If anyone knows of any fab reclamation yards pls do let me know.
Thanks for the heads up on the stone types Lyn. I've googled stone masons and its clearly a very skilled profession. Massive saws!
We bought one in 2000 for 70 pound from a place called Italian Marble & Statues in Chandlers Cross, Herts. Just keep looking, you'll find one
What about gumtree, ebay, freecycle etc... someone might be getting rid of one and be more than grateful for the £50 rather than take it to the tip.
There's lots of beautiful stone in Dorset. It's the winning of it which is the difficult and expensive bit. There's a stone masons yard just down the road, I have quarrymen friends in Portland and Purbeck and many acquatances throughout the county. And an extensive library on the subject as well as photographs. Fantastic and skilful products can be obtained from India and China but the conditions in which those craftsmen and women work are equivalent to how things were here in the industry some 100 plus years ago. Plainly put, the conditions are dire. While the industry here is still a dangerous one, the H & S regulations are extremely strict and usually expensive. The Dorset stone industry also has to cope with incomers/retirees complaining about any interruption to their green dreams. It's like the farming industry, everybody wants their food and drink instantly available but most have no idea of the work that goes into producing it.
Tootles,we find more garden stuff at the auctions ,were at our local one in Norwich,on Monday looking at a mix of planters,statues, garden burners and the like even good stuff dont cost anywhere near the prices you mentioned,get on line and find the ones near you ,log on and see whats up at the next one there doing ,give em a call and ask what bids they already have on the item if they have one and either go or put a bid in on the phone ,saves you actually driving there although the buzz of the auctions is brill, dont be afraid to give it a go,but you might get hooked we did, good luck Toot
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GARDEN-STONE-BENCH-/281459785925?pt=UK_Home_Garden_GardenFurnitureR2_SM&hash=item41884f80c5
Finding one close enough to collect will be the only issue I guess.
My OH has just said that they cannot go to the quarry anymore, which is in St Breward, Bodmin, for Cornish granite.
It now has to go from the quarry to Hull, then it goes to Bristol then it is delivered to their workshop about 10 miles from the original quarry, then, if its not
Headstone standard, which has to be very good, the process is reversed, hows that for travel miles!!!
I know it sounds mental, but I would stick with rocks and stones found on the beaches! Around where I'm from (Clacton) there's some beautiful rocks especially up Walton way. Get some sizeable ones and make your own little stonehenge!
Considering how much it is to buy a headstone, I'm not surprised that that stone was expensive!