Stonemason for Sydney's North Shore

Heritage areas, Federation and interwar homes

Northern Beaches Stone works as a stonemason across Sydney's North Shore, from Mosman, Cremorne and Northbridge to Chatswood, Lindfield, Wahroonga and Hornsby. Blake Cooper holds NSW contractor licence 328680C in the Stonemason class, and much of our North Shore work is matching new sandstone to old.

Large parts of the North Shore are heritage conservation areas, and many streets in suburbs like Mosman, Cremorne, Lindfield, Killara and Wahroonga are lined with Federation and interwar houses built on sandstone bases, with sandstone front fences, gate pillars and garden walls.

Work on a heritage item, or work visible from the street in a conservation area, usually needs Council consent, and the rules for exempt development are tighter. Under the Codes SEPP, for example, a retaining wall in a heritage conservation area can only be exempt if it is in the rear yard. We are happy to work with your heritage adviser, architect and Council on what the approval asks for.

Matching old stone

A repair or extension only looks right if the new stone matches the old in colour, texture, block size and the way the face has been dressed. On older North Shore homes that often means recycled sandstone, or new stone hand-dressed to match the original tooling.

The mortar matters as much as the stone. For most sandstone buildings and walls from before about 1920, the standard advice is a lime-based mortar rather than hard cement, so moisture and salts leave through the joint instead of damaging the stone. We repoint and rebuild with that in mind.

Retaining walls on leafy, steep blocks

The harbour foreshore at Mosman, Northbridge, Castlecrag, Greenwich and Lane Cove is steep, and the Upper North Shore is cut by gullies running down to bushland. Sandstone retaining walls and stairs are how many of these gardens are terraced, and plenty of them are old enough to need repair or rebuilding.

Big trees are part of what makes the area, and Councils protect many of them. When a wall or footing needs to go near a significant tree, we plan the footing around the roots with advice from your arborist and any approval required. As on the Northern Beaches, walls that need approval or engineering are built to the engineer's design, working with your certifier and Council.

Restoring old walls, steps and front fences

Sandstone that has stood for 80 or 100 years can still have plenty of life left in it. Common problems on the North Shore are eroded or flaking blocks, joints that have been patched with hard cement, walls pushed out of line by tree roots or poor drainage, and steps worn hollow in the middle.

Depending on the damage, we replace or redress individual blocks, rake out and repoint joints, or take a section down and rebuild it with the original stone wherever it is sound. We tell you on site which option makes sense, so you are not paying to rebuild a wall that only needs repair.

Access on established streets

Many North Shore jobs are on narrow lots with tight side passages, rear gardens below the street and limited parking. We plan deliveries, stone storage and barrow routes before work starts, protect paths and lawns along the way, and keep the site tidy for you and your neighbours. Where stone has to be cut on site, we set the saw up away from doors, windows and the neighbours' fences and wet cut where we can to keep dust down.